The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was an institution of the
Commonwealth Family
A Commonwealth organisation is an organisation affiliated with the Commonwealth of Nations. This article is a list of such organisations, which include societies, institutions, associations, organisations, funds and charities that support the Com ...
that aimed to use the global network of the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
more effectively for the promotion of
global trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy)
In most countries, such trade represents a significant s ...
and investment for shared prosperity. It was formed at the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1997
The 1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 15th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 October and 27 October 1997, and hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair. ...
(CHOGM) in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and replaced in July 2014 by the ''Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council'' (CWEIC).
The CBC acted as a bridge for cooperation between business and government, concentrating efforts on these specific areas:
*Enhancing Trade
*Mobilising Investment
*Promoting
Corporate Citizenship
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...
*Facilitating ICT for Development
*
Public Private Partnerships
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
Commonwealth countries are major stakeholders in the process and success of the Doha Development Agenda. Together the Commonwealth's 53 member countries account for 30 per cent of the world's population and about 25 per cent of its international trade and investment. Commonwealth countries account for 40 per cent of WTO membership. CBC's trade development objectives include encouraging
trade facilitation and further liberalisation of services; encouraging developing countries to play an active role in the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...
, and in new trade rounds, by maximising their negotiating strength through cooperative action.
The CBC helps to mobilise investment into Commonwealth countries through measures including ensuring access to international capital markets; strengthening 26 domestic capital markets; encouraging regional integration; committing the private sector to work together with governments to help achieve a successful market economy for generating investment.
A key feature of CBC was its global membership, comprising corporate members from both developed and
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
. This gave CBC the capacity to make a special contribution to the debate on corporate citizenship, dominated by
developed countries
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
.
The CBC worked to involve
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
engagement in facilitating the implementation of an Information Communications Technologies for Development programme. The CBC programme enhanced
collaborative partnerships
Collaborative partnerships are agreements and actions made by consenting organizations to share resources to accomplish a mutual goal. Collaborative partnerships rely on participation by at least two parties who agree to share resources, such as ...
between the various stakeholders including governments, private sector, donor agencies and
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.digital divide for both social and economic development.
*Promote ICT for Development in Commonwealth countries.
*Promote an experience exchange among stakeholders in Commonwealth countries.
*Promote business and government cooperation for development.
*Create awareness and enhance the knowledge of policy makers regarding economic, technical and legal aspects of implementation of ICT for development.
*Provide and facilitate training and
capacity building
Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...
.
CBC believed that there was a significant gap for independent support to emerging market governments in the structuring and transacting of ICT infrastructure opportunities. The key CBC objectives were:
*Examine how support from highly experienced individuals can assist through the creation of an infrastructure technical advisory unit.
*Provide senior-level
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
support to provide focused advice.
*Provide mechanisms that will help governments leverage the huge capacity of the private sector to address the demand for better infrastructure.
The Commonwealth Business Council went into liquidation in 2014.