Private Sector

Partnering with UNDP

At UNDP we believe that business and development are often mutually reinforcing: businesses that promote development by employing the poor and providing the goods and services that they need, also benefit from development as rising incomes generate new market opportunities and possibilities for expansion. The trick is often to initiate this ‘virtuous circle’, identifying and developing new business ideas that provide affordable goods and services for the poor and generate profits.

Developing these ideas and putting them into practice however, often involves challenges that businesses can best address in partnership with other actors – including other businesses, government agencies, and civil society organizations. Sometimes the need is for greater understanding of potential ‘bottom of the pyramid’ markets, sometimes for basic research into new products and processes, sometimes for enabling environment reforms, and sometimes for better access to potential customers.

The list is long, but whatever the challenge, UNDP is keen to help. Often our role is simply to bring the right actors together and to broker solutions, drawing on our extensive global knowledge base. But in some situations we can also assist through direct technical assistance and access to seed capital. We offer a universal presence – we have a full time operations in 166 countries, trusted relationships with businesses, governments and civil society organizations alike, a wealth of development expertise and an intimate knowledge of development conditions ‘on the ground.’