MANILA, Philippines - Key government stakeholders will be consulted this week by the Board of Investments (BOI) over a proposal to integrate inclusive business in government policies.
“The integration of these communities into global value chains improves their quality of lives and makes for better business with diversified supply and distribution systems,” the BOI said in a statement.
Inclusive business is a new principle included by the BOI on its 2014-2016 Investment Priorities Plan, the government’s blueprint in attracting investments to the country.
The principle essentially emphasizes the need for businesses to adopt strategies that promote opportunities for the low-income sector within their value chain and business models.
Opportunities may be in the form of providing goods, services, income or decent work to the poor. The BOI said inclusive business underscores engagement between enterprises and the poor as “partners.”
The BOI said insights and recommendations from various government agencies are important in crafting policies that would further enable local industries and sectors to be globally competitive.
The consultation will also ensure that there is a balance between being profitable and taking into account social good.
The BOI said inclusive business models would help address the challenge of inclusive growth, which means the poor benefiting from strong economic performance of the country.
Despite posting an average of 6.2 percent growth over the past five years under the Aquino administration, a little more than a quarter of Filipinos are poor by international standards, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.