Colombia: Country Case Study on Inclusive Business
Policymakers have expressed interest in learning from peers that have already begun to support inclusive business. To support this request for knowledge-sharing, the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business developed a series of short pieces that examine the motivations, institutional coordination mechanisms, priorities and challenges that countries face as they support inclusive business.
The alleviation of poverty and the promotion of social equity are important issues in Colombian public policy. What role the national government should play in boosting inclusive business is a relatively new question that the Colombian government is looking to answer.
Since the mid-twentieth century the private sector in Colombia has been working on initiatives oriented at sharing part of their revenues with their employees, their families, and society in general. This has usually occurred as part of their corporate philanthropy or corporate social responsibility policies.
While private companies have begun to pursuing approaches related to inclusive business, thus far the public sector has mostly been on the side-lines. With the current administration’s goals to reduce poverty, the national government has identified inclusive business as an important tool.
The case study below elaborates the motivations, institutional coordination mechanisms, priorities and challenges that Colombia faces in terms of supporting inclusive business.