ABOUT the 2022 SUMMIT
BACKGROUND
Inclusive businesses provide goods, services, and livelihoods on a commercially viable basis, to people living at the base of the pyramid making them part of the value chain of companies as suppliers, distributors, retailers, or customers.
The Inclusive Business (IB) agenda was introduced in ASEAN in 2017 through a call by the ASEAN Leaders for greater emphasis on creating an enabling environment for IB. Since then, ASEAN has progressed in promoting IB in the region, having organised four (4) ASEAN Inclusive Business Summits, hosted by the Philippines, Thailand, ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises/ ACCMSME with the support of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and Brunei Darussalam, respectively. Further, the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) endorsed the Guidelines for the Promotion of Inclusive Business in ASEAN during the 52nd Meeting in August 2020.
At the same time, business leaders, impact investors, and development actors are investing in IB models that support economic growth and social impact at scale.
The ASEAN Community is promoting a better enabling environment for inclusive businesses to together address the challenges posed by COVID-19, build back better, and create positive impact to socioeconomic development. Business leaders and investors can learn from the diversity of business models in this region and public officials want to explore how to put into practice the recently adopted Guidelines for the Promotion of Inclusive Business in ASEAN.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The Fifth IB Summit will be a of panel discussions on IB policy promotion and parallel thematic and sector seminars. Companies with IB business lines will exchange on their investment cases and suggest how more and deeper social and commercial impact can be achieved through private investments stimulated through public incentives. The agenda will cover:
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Exchange on the policy instruments for promoting IB companies focusing on business coaching, accreditation, impact monitoring and joint reporting, and risk reduction financing and the transformation to IB;
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Discussions with suggestions the private sector to promote and support IB companies in ASEAN;
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Women economic empowerment through IB and climate change solutions through IB”;
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IB innovations in various sectors, including agriculture;
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Showcasing exhibition booths by the IB companies, as well as discussions between companies on a sector basis including concrete recommendations for institutionalising support programmes, and on how more and deeper social, commercial impact could be achieved through public incentives and linkages to other supporting tools; and
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South-South exchanges between ASEAN and other countries.
OBJECTIVE
Aligned with the theme of Cambodia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN 2022 (“ASEAN A.C.T: Addressing Challenges Together”), the motto of the Fifth ASEAN Inclusive Business Summit will be “Together ASEAN IBee”. The Fifth Summit will focus on supporting the implementation of the Guidelines for the Promotion of Inclusive Business in ASEAN; particularly on policy recommendations, and policy instruments and mechanisms of IB investment incentives. It will:
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review the progress made in promoting a better enabling environment for IB enabling environment (IBee) in the various ASEAN countries and globally;
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discuss opportunities for collaborating on policy promotion instruments such as business coaching, accreditation, impact monitoring and joint reporting, and risk reduction financing;
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exchange on women economic empowerment and climate adaptation solutions through IB; and
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provide a general forum for exchanging and learning from innovative IB business cases in the region.
PARTICIPATION
The Summit will feature and attract multiple stakeholders involved in the inclusive business ecosystem in ASEAN, including:
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CEOs from companies with inclusive business models
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Public officials promoting inclusive business
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Financial institutions and multilateral development banks investing in inclusive business
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IB impact investors
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Business associations advocating inclusive business
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Development partners and civil society organisations supporting public and private sector initiatives relevant for inclusive businesses.
The Summit will be organized in a hybrid format, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is expected to attract 150 participants joining physically and 250 participants joining virtually.
Organisational Arrangement
The Fifth IB Summit will be organized by the Royal Government of Cambodia, through the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation, in cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat and development partners such as ESCAP, iBAN, OECD, and OXFAM. The Fifth IB summit will be a two-days event held in a hybrid format through in-person and online discussions.
Other ASEAN IB Summits:
Between 2017 and 2021, four ASEAN Inclusive Business Summits were held as following
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1st ASEAN IB Summit, on 6 September 2017, organized by the Government of the Philippines, with the motto “Pioneering Change in the Way We Do Business”. For more information, click here.
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2nd ASEAN IB Summit, on 1 November 2019, organized by the Government of the Thailand, with the motto “Progress in public-private collaborations that can further support IB in ASEAN” For more information, click here.
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3rd ASEAN IB Summit, on 29 September 2020, organized by the Government of the Viet Nam, with the motto “Greater Emphasis on Creating an Enabling Environment for Inclusive Businesses in ASEAN”. For more information, click here.
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4th ASEAN IB Summit, on 22 September 2021, organized by the Government of the Brunei Darusslam, with the motto “Building Inclusive Businesses to Build Back Better”. For more information, click here.