For the coming ten years, to be a decade of action, there is an urgent need to ensure that private investments are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieve real development impact. Against this backdrop, the 2020 OECD Private Finance for Sustainable Development (PF4SD) Conference in Paris brought together a cross-section of over 600 policy and decision makers from emerging, developing and OECD countries, investors and representatives of corporations, and leading experts from development finance institutions, research centres, foundations, and civil society. During the three-day conference (28 – 30 January), speakers and participants discussed how to work better together to leverage additional finance and expertise from the private sector, and create and strengthen partnerships that deliver solutions in line with the SDGs. 

“We need to join forces to ensure that existing investments are better aligned with the SDGs, and to drive more investment towards sustainable development in the toughest contexts, to make the greatest difference”, Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, urged the audience, underlining that “this requires to think beyond business as usual. The private and public sector have to work together in new ways to create incentives and to shift more finance to sustainable development outcomes and spur innovation.”

Putting the Kampala Principles to work: Inspiring case stories showing the way forward

The Kampala Principles for Effective Private Sector Engagement, launched in July 2019 in New York, were at the heart of discussions in Paris. The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) facilitated a series of discussions around how to address the concerns and needs of the business community, governments, development partners, and civil society and trade unions to foster trust and work together towards the SDGs. Discussions focused on practical ways to maximise the impact of private sector engagement in development co-operation and on how to address common challenges such as partnerships between private and public actors –including a lack of safeguards in the use of public resources, insufficient attention to results and outcomes, and limited transparency and accountability. 

Concrete country insights showcased how aligning to the Kampala Principles is adding value. For example, the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) shared how inclusive public-private dialogue helped to significantly improve the business environment in Kenya.  The Rwanda Development Board explained how effectively including the business community in national development planning processes can have a real impact on eradicating extreme poverty while increasing accountability and transparency among development stakeholders. 

The conference showed the great interest and ongoing efforts to actively work with the private sector on delivering on the 2030 Agenda. Yet, there remains tremendous potential for increasing the development impact of private sector partnerships on the ground. For this reason the Global Partnership and its constituents – as part of GPEDC’s new work programme – will continue to support partners in putting the Kampala Principles into action. These five Principles will help governments to align their engagement with the diverse domestic and international private sector, together with civil society and other relevant actors, to their overall strategic priorities.

Please read the Event Summary Document and share your case stories and examples of where the Kampala Principles are brought to life in your work and get engaged by contacting: info@effectivecooperation.org