Speaking at a conference focused on the subject of harnessing the potential for the private sector to have a positive impact on development, ITC Executive Director, Patricia Francis, outlined her view that government and civil society engagement with the private sector is a time commitment but is a necessary component of plans to alleviate poverty.
Ms. Francis also expressed a view that governments have to make their economies a comfortable space for the private sector to operate in and that ITC's raison d'etre is to increase public-private partnerships. She gave examples from three ITC areas of work - Standards, Women in Trade, and Ethical Fashion.
It was described how the Standards Map website clarifies the often opaque world of certification and enables exporters to easily understand importing countries' codes and requirements, meaning they can compete on the global scale.
Focusing on gender issues, Ms. Francis pointed out how the economic empowerment of women allows for poverty alleviation and that the Fortune 500 companies working with ITC are all looking to source from women, and not just for developmental reasons but also for business reasons. She explained how it is an ITC priority to support women in developing and transition economies as they aim to derive greater economic benefit from participation in export-oriented value chains and to improve the export competitiveness of goods and services supplied by women.
Turning to the Ethical Fashion programme, Ms. Francis described how ITC's work in this area, which was launched in East Africa, has improved the capabilities of over 7,000 people in Kenya and now aims to spread its reach to West Africa, specifically targeting Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali.