Private Sector

Investing in Pro-Poor Goods and Services

Focus Area

Globally, inequities are increasing.  Nearly 40% of the world’s 6.5 billion people live in poverty of which, a sixth - 877 million live in extreme poverty.  While the worst failure is Africa where the number of people living in extreme poverty has nearly doubled from 164 million in 1981 to 316 million in 2001, even for the rest of the world the figures represent an increase in extreme poverty by nearly 3% compare to 1981. As per UNDP’s 2006 Human Development Report Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the global water crisis even if the targets of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for water and sanitation are achieved, there will still be more than 800 million people without water and 1.8 billion people without sanitation in 2015. 

UNDP Role

UNDP recognizes that many of the world’s development challenges can be overcome with the help of vibrant economic growth, driven by private enterprises that create jobs, generate tax revenues and provide goods and services that the poor need. Since the poor interact with the private sector both as consumers and as entrepreneurs, private sector is and can progressively play an important role in delivering goods and services for development and poverty alleviation. Civil society organizations are vital to bring about participatory and accountable approaches to meet the MDGs and improve the quality of life of the poor. Although, with increasing globalization, the traditional role of the State is changing significantly, the role of the government is central in the development choices.

Achieving the MDGs requires a shift toward more inclusive markets. Accordingly, working alongside the UN specialist agencies, other partners in the international development system, and the private sector, UNDP is, as a priority promoting and facilitating investment opportunities for meeting the unmet needs of vital services for the poor and the disadvantaged including under the existential threat of climate change. 

UNDP’s activities in this area emphasize:

• Raising awareness, advocacy of viable business models and providing information on how businesses, governments and civil society can create opportunities for markets through market based approaches.
• Enhancing access to basic goods and services including financial products by the poor people by exploring sustainable business models in partnerships with the private sector as well as public private partnerships.

Flagship projects include the Growing Sustainable Business (GSB) and Growing Inclusive Markets (GIM) initiatives, which build local knowledge banks, identify barriers, ensure new sources of financing and replicate best practices.

For more information on UNDP work on inclusive financial services and remittances, please click here.