The problems facing humanity and the planet are now acknowledged as being too large to be tackled by public institutions only. Achievement of sustainable development rely on all actors of the society. All stakeholders: governments, civil society, the private sector, and others, are expected to contribute to the realization of the new agenda.
Private sector increasingly plays an important role as an engine of economic growth and job creation. It provides goods and services, generates tax revenues to finance essential social and economic infrastructure, develops new and innovative solutions that help tackle development challenges and it is a central actor in addressing climate change. The role that the private sector plays in development is also broadening from the conventional approach of supporting the economic development to more inclusive and elaborated public private partnerships. As such, the private sector has become an important strategic partner for UNDP in achieving its vision to help countries eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities and exclusion within broader sustainable development.
Nevertheless, the role of private sector is not limited to financing and investment. The innovative capacities, human resources, know-how and technological inputs are potentially other contributions. Private sector is an actor in development, which drives sustainable economic growth by bringing with its opportunities in value creation. It is also the fact that, achieving sustainable development will improve the environment for doing business and building markets. Trillions of dollars in public and private funds are to be redirected towards the SDGs, creating huge opportunities for responsible companies to deliver solutions.