Alexandros Ragoussis and Neil Gregory from the International Finance Corporation, World Bank, will present the main findings of the report Private enterprises in conflict-related situations.
Addressing the challenges of conflict-related situations has become a top priority for the development community and private sector development is an essential part of the IFC effort. Yet the collective understanding of the role and solutions that work for private firms in these situations is incomplete. IFC has been working since mid-2016 on this report that discusses private enterprises in conflict-related situations ranging from countries at high risk to territories in active conflict and in post-conflict transition. The objective of this work is to enhance the understanding of the role, the challenge and the opportunity presented to private businesses in these situations, all with a view to proposing targeted and innovative solutions. Alexandros Ragoussis and Neil Gregory look at the theory, the evidence, the business perspective and the policy perspective, and conclude with five principles for the development of a healthy private sector in conflict-related situations and how they apply to development partners but also governments and businesses.
Neil Gregory (@nfgregory) is Head of Thought Leadership for IFC, promoting private sector solutions for development challenges and increased private investment in emerging markets. He has held a range of senior strategy and management roles at IFC, including research, business planning, investment and advisory functions. He has extensive work experience in South Asia, China, Africa and the Caribbean. A British national, Neil has MA and MSc degrees in economics from Cambridge and Oxford and an MBA from Georgetown.
Alexandros Ragoussis (@a_ragoussis) is an Economist at Thought Leadership, IFC, and Fellow of the German Development Institute (DIE). Over the last years he has written extensively in the field of international economics and policy, held positions at the OECD and the German Development Institute, and taught Economics at the University of Sydney and at Sciences-Po, Paris. A Greek national, Alexandros studied engineering and geography in Athens and Brussels, and holds a PhD in economics from the University of Sydney.
The International Growth Centre (@The_IGC) aims to promote sustainable growth in developing countries by providing demand-led policy advice based on frontier research. The IGC directs a global network of world-leading researchers and in-country teams in Africa and South Asia and works closely with partner governments to generate high quality research and policy advice on key growth challenges. Based at LSE and in partnership with the University of Oxford, the IGC is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Dr Jonathan Leape is the Executive Director of the IGC and an Associate Professor of Economics at the LSE.
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