Business Leaders Celebrate Progress, Pledge to Invest More in Africa

Global business leaders gathered yesterday at the World Economic Forum to mark the one year anniversary of the launch of the Business Call to Action (BCTA). The breakfast event, hosted by the Business Call to Action International Partnership, highlighted the immense opportunities for investing in Africa despite the global economic crisis

“Although playing no part in its causes, the poorest countries have suffered as much as anyone from the global economic crisis,” said Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, UK Foreign Minister for Africa, Asia and the United Nations. “Aid, trade and investment must all play their part in driving the recovery. The Business Call to Action offers an opportunity for the private sector to help create a better, more secure future for all.”

The Business Call to Action was launched by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) at a high level event for CEOs held in London on 6 May 2008.

The Business Call to Action International Partnership was announced in September 2008. Partners include the UK Government, AusAid, UNDP, Clinton Global Initiative, The International Business Leaders Forum and the UN Global Compact. In its first year more than 60 CEOs signed the Business Call to Action Declaration and committed their companies to invest in ending poverty.

To date, 18 companies have already launched initiatives creating thousands of jobs, establishing hundreds of small independent businesses and increasing trade with, and sourcing from, Africa and Asia.