( PROPARCO) - How can companies help limit the impacts of the sharp increase in fragile situations and crises encountered throughout the world? How can we ensure that they do not have the opposite effect and actually help to sustain such fragile situations?

These questions are currently a key concern for companies doing business in the regions in question as well as for development bodies. Therefore, it was very important to analyse these contexts and to share best practices and the most suitably adapted funding and partnering arrangements by letting the private sector and experts have their say. This is exactly what the latest issue of Proparco’s Private Sector & Development review set out to do.

Over two billion people throughout the planet are currently living in countries where development is being stymied by situations of fragility, conflict or violence. In such contexts, businesses can play a key role in terms of preventing and emerging from crises by creating jobs and producing essential basic goods and services. However, the resilience that the private sector can help to build is based around approaches adapted to activities that are both riskier and hampered by a lack of infrastructure and qualified labour, insecurity and corruption.

The review provides a platform for businesses, fund managers, development banks and NGOs to describe their experiences of being confronted with specific instances of fragile countries when working in Central Africa, Madagascar or in Egypt. They tell us about the adaptation strategies that can help to boost the role and impact of the private sector as a catalyst for development.

THE REVIEW: read and download the review in French or English

[VIDEO] :: Sidy Diabira, Investment Officer, and Baptiste Tournemolle, Environmental and social consultant, both of Proparco, describe the review’s main objectives:

[Conference-debate] : On May 30 last, Proparco together with ID4D Blog organised a Conference-debate on the role of the private sector in fragile countries. A summary is available on the ID4D Blog.

Private Sector & Development: a review and a blog

-A quarterly publication that looks at the different ways in which the private sector can support the development of Southern countries. Each issue of PS&D compares the viewpoints of authors from widely differing backgrounds in the private sector, research sphere, development institutes and civil society. http://www.proparco.fr/Accueil_PROPARCO/Publications-Proparco/secteur-prive-et-developpement

-A blog in addition to the magazine. The blog provides a forum for reflection and debate on the role of the private sector in the development of Southern countries. Internet users may now avail of this collaborative medium to give their opinion on the articles published and the themes tackled in Private Sector & Development magazine: blog.secteur-prive-developpement.fr.