INCLUSIVE BUSINESS

DeLab
According to this framework, governments can adopt:
It seems clear from this framework that “inclusive business
policies” are not separated from traditional private
sector and development policies, but are part of those:
in a sense, we might say that inclusive business policies
simply introduce or reinforce anti-poverty objectives into
private sector development policies, and the need for
market-based solutions into development and anti-poverty
policies. As a consequence, in real contexts, policies
for inclusive business may not be explicitly presented
under this name, but can indeed be recognized using
the framework illustrated above. A review of real cases of
inclusive business policies, carried out by Tewes-Gradl,
Peters et al. (2013), has identified 158 examples, covering
the spectrum of approaches presented above,
and comprising 19 different policy instruments. In most
cases the identified policies were intended at overcoming
regulation and financial barriers to inclusive business,
while comparatively fewer empirical cases were
found in relation to policies that intervene on information
gaps and infrastructural or capacity gaps (which does
not mean they do not exist). Development partnerships
are an interesting area to be explored (Colombia’s Zolip
programme is a reknown and interesting example) 6 , and
are attracting growing interest as will be highlighted in
the next paragraph.
a.Enabling policies:
aimed at removing fundamental
information, regulatory,
financial, and structural
barriers, and creating
the basic pre-conditions
that enable companies to
enter otherwise difficult
BoP markets;
b. Encouraging policies:
which go beyond the simple
removal of obstacles
and try to create positive
incentives or specific
obligations for companies
to engage in inclusive
business activities. As part
of an “enabling policy”
approach, governments
can also promote the birth
of public-private partnerships
aimed at inclusive
business development;
c.Empowering policies:
aimed at supporting the
success of inclusive businesses
by acting on the
other side of the barriers,
that is, by empowering
poor communities to
participate in value chains
and by bringing people
and companies closer to
each other.
6. See ANSPE (2014).
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