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, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

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 significan ...

and investment for shared prosperity. It was formed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1997 (CHOGM) in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and replaced in July 2014 by the ''Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council'' (CWEIC).

Activities

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) or corporate social impact 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, with, or s ...

* 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 The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA) is the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which commenced in November 2001 under then director-general Mike Moore. Its objective was to lower trade barriers a ...

. 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 headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

, 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 A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...

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 less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

. This gave CBC the capacity to make a special contribution to the debate on corporate citizenship, dominated by

developed countries A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

Purpose

The CBC worked to involve

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy 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 private sector employs most of the workfo ...

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 f ...

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 The digital divide is the unequal access to information technology, digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide worsens inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information ...

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 have often ...

. 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 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.

References

External links

Commonwealth Business CouncilQuarterly Business Review (QBR)
{{Commonwealth of Nations topics Commonwealth Family Business organisations based in the United Kingdom Regional policy organizations Organizations established in 1997 Organizations disestablished in 2014 1997 establishments in the United Kingdom 2014 disestablishments in the United Kingdom