BCtA

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Inclusive Business and SDGsInclusive Business and SDGs
BCtA Fact Sheet

Launched at the United Nations in 2008, Business Call to Action (BCtA) aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that engage people at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP) – people with less than US$10 per day in purchasing power in 2015 US dollars – as consumers, producers, suppliers, distributors of goods and services and employees.

BCTA is a unique multilateral alliance among donor governments – including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the United Nations Development Programme, which hosts the secretariat.

Over 200 companies, ranging from multinationals to social enterprises, and working in 67 countries, have responded to the BCtA by committing to improve the lives and livelihoods of millions in developing countries through access to markets, financial services, affordable healthcare, water and sanitation, education and other critical services. BCtA member companies are market leaders that provide examples of successful, profitable and scalable models for reaching poor communities and contributing to global development.

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Global Leadership Platform for Quality Inclusive Business Commitments

  • Providing visibility and recognition to quality inclusive business commitments – the models that leverage the company’s core competencies, engage BoP populations directly, have demonstrated a track record of business and social development success, are at scale or scalable to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and are leaders on sustainable business practices including gender equity, universal principles of human rights, labor, environment and good governance.
  • Driving private sector commitments and encouraging wider adoption of inclusive business models as companies’ core businesses.
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Planning for Social Impact and Driving Inclusive Business Performance

  • Through its online tools, publications, workshops and webinars, the BCtA is supporting companies in their inclusive business maturity journey.
  • BCtA Impact Measurement Services (BIMS) is a unique offering for inclusive businesses to better plan for social and environmental impact, and contribution to the SDGs while driving inclusive business performance.
  • BCtA Impact Measurement Services (BIMS) provides technical expertise to help inclusive businesses conduct ongoing measurement of social and environmental impact along with financial and operational performance through survey-based data collection from their employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. For more details, please refer to the ‘Impact Practice’ page.
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Linkages, Knowledge Capture and Sharing

  • Building evidence base of quality inclusive business models across sectors and geographies that deliver social impact and contribute to the SDGs.
  • Upholding thought leadership on relevant inclusive business topics.
  • Contributing to public-private dialogue, policy making and sector development as they related to inclusive business while promoting conducive inclusive business environment on national and global levels.

Inclusive Business and SDGs

BCtA Worldwide, over 200 companies have responded to BCtA by making commitments towards the SDGs to improve the lives and livelihoods of millions through commercially-viable business ventures that engage low-income people as consumers, producers, suppliers, distributors of goods and services and employees. By 2030, these aggregated commitments will result in increased access to financial services for 59 million people, improved access to energy for 80 million people, improved access to healthcare services for over 617 million people and a 635-million-ton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, along with many other positive impact. But there is still much work to be done: inclusive businesses need support to increase their development impact. And while the responsibility for inclusive business rests with entrepreneurs, the environment in which the private sector operates is just as important as the nature of the business itself.
BCtA members are market leaders and innovators who recognize that inclusive business:
Drives Innovation
Builds Markets
Strengthens Supply chains
Enhances Competitiveness
Uncovers New Sources of Profitability