Multi-year Expert Meeting on Investment, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Productive Capacity-building and Sustainable Development, third session

Entrepreneurship for productive capacity-building

The Multi-year Expert Meeting on Investment, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Productive Capacity-Building and Sustainable Development will address the various technical dimensions of the UNCTAD Entrepreneurship Policy Framework and analyse the nexus between entrepreneurship and productive capacity.

Building on an assessment of existing developing countries’ capacity strengths, the meeting will examine implementation in each area of the framework, including national entrepreneurship strategies, entrepreneurship policy road maps, their monitoring and evaluation, and the regional dimensions of the Framework (Doha Mandate, para. 65 (a), (g) and (m)).

To facilitate the discussion, the UNCTAD secretariat has prepared an issues note entitled “Entrepreneurship for productive capacity-building”.

It explores the interplay between entrepreneurship and productive capacity-building in developing countries, highlighting the role of entrepreneurship in creating job opportunities and engendering inclusive outcomes for disadvantaged groups, including the poor, women and youth. To maximize the positive impact of entrepreneurship promotion on productive capacity-building, key entrepreneurial stakeholders from government, the private sector, and civil society need to work together, as shown from the implementation of the Entrepreneurship Policy Framework in several countries.

The note also explores how to enhance local productive capacities by promoting entrepreneurship in inclusive and sustainable value chains. It argues that to integrate micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in regional and global value chains, it is necessary to develop programmes and initiatives aimed at upgrading skills, and to implement policies in key areas such as women’s, youth, green and social entrepreneurship.

While policies and practice from developed countries will provide some examples, the expert meeting will focus on strategies and programmes for developing countries and economies in transition. The aim of the meeting is to promote entrepreneurship for productive capacity-building and sustainable development. The meeting will present an overview and share good practices of approaches on entrepreneurship and productive capacity-building that can assist policymakers in developing and implementing national policies addressing these issues.

Experts will discuss practical and implementation-level challenges that development institutions face in developing countries concerning their role as stakeholders in entrepreneurship and productive capacities-led development. In this respect, the expert meeting will benefit from lessons learned from UNCTAD technical assistance projects and research and analysis in these areas.

Inputs from experts

Experts nominated by member States are encouraged to submit brief papers (approximately five pages) as contributions to the work of the meeting. The papers, which will draw on public and private sector experience, will be made available at the meeting in the form and language in which they are received.