DBCCI, SNV Bangladesh hosts 5th International Conference on Inclusive Business

Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DBCCI) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation in Bangladesh on Wednesday hosted the 5th International Conference on Inclusive Business at Le Meridien Hotel in Dhaka. 

With the theme "Inclusive Investment for Poverty Resilient", this year's conference aimed to find solutions on how business inclusion could contribute to eradication, said a press release. 

DBCCI President Md Anwar Shawkat Afser presided over the inaugural session and said DBCCI and SNV are jointly working on an inclusive business concept to cooperate with Bangladesh to turn poverty into prosperity. 

The two organisations will be working on Energy and Water sector. 

According to the press release, SNV Bangladesh Country office is implementing Working with Women Project 2 in Bangladesh, with funding support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, where the project is supporting RMG factories incorporating laws and policies related to health and SRHR through Inclusive Business (IB) models. 

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen MP in his speech as the chief guest said Netherlands and the people of the Netherlands have been amongst the pioneers of the ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) model of conducting business. 

"We are working across a set of both overlapping and differentiated sets of priorities, principals and actors – all of which focus on one desired outcome – an inclusive and responsible human development outcome," he added. 

He also noted that the government would like to discuss the possibility of Bangladeshi technical hands contributing to the design space which the Dutch businesses and corporate bodies are sponsoring – including but not limited to agriculture and ICT.

SNV Bangladesh RMG Inclusive Business Programs Team Leader Farhtheeba Rahat Khan delivered the keynote speech on the subject. 

Jamal Uddin, Inclusive Business Consultant, RMG Inclusive Business Program, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation in Bangladesh led the panel sessions.

BIDA Executive Chairman Md Sirazul Islam attended the program as a special guest. SNV Bangladesh Country Director Ismene Stalpers and  AVPN COO Kevin Teo attended the event online as guests of honour. 

DBCCI Board of Directors,  Md Shahjahan Shaju, Vice President,  Md Shakawat Hossain Mamun, Secretary General,  Ataus Sopan Malik, Joint Secretary General,  Noafel Bin Reza, Director Finance,  Md Nazmul Haque,  Shahid Alam, Director were present in the program.  Farzana Afser, First Lady of DBCCI and Managing Partner of TRIMOYEE were also present at the event.

The very first Inclusive Business (IB) conference was held in Bangladesh in 2016 with the joint effort from SNV, UNDP, BFP and BCTA. From 2018 onwards, SNV in collaboration with DBCCI is organizing these conferences on a yearly basis. 

This year for Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) has collaborated with the initiative and as an international collaborator to take forward this initiative in the longer term.