Public-private dialogue: Some entrepreneurial success stories

Growth of business and investment is a reflection of good policies a state pursues. Bangladesh embraced free-market economic policy in the early eighties and the country has been passing through several painful policy reforms ever since. The country has been able to prove its resilience to the policy reforms and progressing with reasonable growth targets.
The present government has announced its Vision 2021, geared towards helping Bangladesh graduate to a middle-income country. The government has already fixed several targeted indicators to that end and the private sector is ready to extend all-out cooperation.  
In the meantime, several global investment companies have termed Bangladesh a country with a lot of potential and can emerge as a powerful economic actor if appropriate policies are initiated.
Structured public-private collaboration is one of the important pre-requisites for bridging the gaps in understanding policy-induced constraints.
Thus public-private dialogue (PPD) has become an important tool for policy reforms suggested by the private sector to enable them to be competitive in this age of globalization. Consequently, there are many different forms of how best to run a PPD.
Dialogue is also the first step in forming partnerships between public and private actors to attain development aims in a more efficient and sustainable way.  Dialogue between the public and private sectors is not a new concept, but there are some guiding principles which can help PPD actors avoid common pitfalls in order to maximize the payoffs from such business-promotion consultation.
In some countries there are parallel PPDs going on, driven by both public and private sectors. While private sector-driven PPD efforts discontinued at one stage, public sector-driven PPDs have proved more sustainable.
A number of examples of trial and error and successes of such evolving business paradigms are cited below.
Lao Business Forum (LBF) discontinued after six years of operation (2005-2011) with the withdrawal of foreign funding. Private-Public Provincial Dialogue supported by the public sector started similarly in 2005 and was still running well. They have prepared a customized PPD Handbook for the provincial people. It is supporting people at regional levels to reap the benefits of PPDs.
Competitive Regional Economic Development (CREDO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, popularly called CREDO Krajina project, has been working since March 2013 in some priority sectors. These are metal processing, food and drinks, wood-processing industry and footwear.
There has been systemic intervention at four levels, such as Micro Level: SMES and their interventions Meso: specific policies and instruments targeting competitiveness; Macro: relevant policies; Meta: building trust, social capital and cooperation.
This is a unique example   of how sectoral PPDs can work successfully together. A collaborative platform working though out the country is a good example of PPD success stories.
For business reforms in tax, investment and trade policies, Liberia Better Business Forum (LBBF) was launched in July 2007 and officially endorsed by the government of the African country.  LBBF has had significant impact on the business climate.
It contributed to private sector's time and cost savings totaling $4.7million, a 20 % increase in business registration, creation of 20,400 new jobs, and a $13 million increase in private-sector investment.  
They have been successful in passing new investment law, commercial code and court, and simplification of business-registration law and process.
LBBF has a transition plan to transfer ownership to the local stakeholders, which is being implemented. IFC supports officially ended in June 2014.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum in Egypt is working successfully. It was established in 2013.  So far, 312 commercial cases have been resolved.  IFC MENA PPD Specialist worked with the project team.  Training and accrediting mediators to international standards, training the trainers to ensure sustainability of the training are one of the objectives.
PPD Platform can help in settling commercial arbitration to support SMEs to get out of costly court solution.
A similar project has been in operation by ICC Bangladesh.  They should work for accredited and standard trainers to support SMEs in the country.
Business Development and Investment Council under the Government of Kyrgyz Republic was established in 2007. It was funded by the European Bank for Reconstructions and Development and the Government of Kyrgyz Republic.  The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Council while 36 business associations representing 25,000 companies are its members.
The Council has initiated more than 50 laws and decrees on more than 70 different issues. Government funding is available. The Council's sectoral investment forum, called Kyrgyz Agricultural Investment Forum, is working strongly for planning a sustainability programme for which they have expanded their outreach.
Sub-national Doing Business Project in Egypt is a project which will benchmark performances of 15 cities across 5 relevant doing-business indicators. These are: Starting a Business; Dealing with Construction Permit; Registering Property; Enforcing Contracts; and Trading across borders.
Objectives of the PPD platform have been very much pinpointed. This is a good example to integrate sub-national regions with the purview of the main PPD platform.
In Bangladesh, BOI and BUILD can initiate such a project on sub-national doing business in order for benchmarking doing-business indicators among regions.  Main objectives could be to enforce implementation of the reforms.
The National Committee of Business Environment in Morocco has been able to move up the ranking in doing business by 41 notches--from the 128th place in 2009 to the 87th in 2013. Adoption of a legal framework on public- private partnership is one of their successes.
Implementation of Log-Common Companies operates to harmonize the reform initiatives. Joint efforts of all partners can help a country to move ahead with a great achievement.
Bangladesh should emulate such best practices and concentrate its full effort on improving upon doing-business indicators.
Government-Private Sector Meeting in Burkina Faso was established in 2007.  Four bodies were established in maintaining the procedures. They are: the joint technical committee, oversights committee, the secretariat of the joint technical committee and the Focal Points designated in all ministries involved in the dialogue process.
These are the best elements, and can ensure the appropriation of the decision made. Implementation of those involves their respective ministerial department committees.  
The typical measures dealt with the PPD is  reduction of costs and procedures for the creation of a business, the reduction of tariffs and taxes, the regulations of public markets, the fight against fraud, and the improvement of the structures of aid to small businesses.
Kenya Health Initiatives is working to improve basic patient-safety standards in private and public health-sector facilities. Weaknesses identified in these sectors were uncoordinated institutions and, overdependence on the private sector on health services.  Kenya has been successful in implementing a uniform inspection-reform system supported by the IFC.
Bangladesh may follow that case for uniform practice of inspection procedures in case of maintaining standard of health services.
Framework and Finance for Private Sector Development (FPSD)/GREAT programme in Tazakistan interacts with partner organizations at the national and sub-national levels. EBRD in 2007 initiated technical support to establishment of Dialogue Platform on national level.  Support to national level only was insufficient, as that largely excluded or underrepresented regional and local governments and regional specifics.
To ensure bottom-up approach, in 2010, GIZ initiated technical support to establishment of Consultative Councils on Improvement of Investment Climate and Business Environment under the Governor (CC) and its secretariat in Sughd Region. Currently GIZ and IFC are supporting the national CC Secretariat.  
It is apparent when the national-level PPD could not work well, regional- level PPDs are doing better. F&V (Fruit and Vegetable) PPDs are working well. TOT for the moderators for working for PPD platforms is a unique example. Special training for the public sector for enhancing their market- economic interrelations is also important.
In Albania, the National Economic Council (NEC) has been working since 2006, chaired by the Prime Minister. The committee was too big. The technical secretariat is represented by three people nominated by the Chairman of NEC. Advisory Commissions are internal structures of NEC and are focused on specific areas or sectors. Business Advisory Councils (BAC) played an active role in representing interests of the business community.
There were some difficulties in improving consultation process in BAC. The time required for consultation in BAC of the legal acts coming from the government was very limited--maximum 10 working days. There was lack of so-called bottom-up initiative. The functioning of BAC was considered as a top-bottom initiative. The BAC Secretariat was also weak.  
The present structure was replaced by parliament in September 2013.  The parliament is yet to finalize any appropriate way to create legal framework. There are expectations that a good system will prevail, but to no avail yet.
Ethiopian Public-Private Consultation Forum (EPPCF) was established in 2010. They have formulated National Business Agenda. They usually outsourced studies even though they have a small but nimble team that steers dialogue process. The EPPCF also supports regional dialogues.
Their efforts have seen some successes. Discontinuation of dividend tax and rejection of a draft customs procedure law by the Council of Ministers in 2013 due to a concern that enough consultation have not been made with the private sector played a pivotal role in this regard.
Private Sector Development Centre (PSDC) was established in Iraq and had worked under the funding support of DFID since September 1, 2009 till December 2011.  In the 2010, SIDA started supporting PSD of Iraq with an intention to work till 2013.  The establishment of PSDC had taken almost one year due to fragmentation of the private sector, a constraining regulatory framework for establishing NGOs and the research capacity of the PSDC.  
PSDC represents nearly 50,000 businesses across several provinces. It has been successful in lobbying with the parliament to amend the Labour Law. This is for the first time in Iraq that a business group lobbied parliament for amending a law.
National Dialogue Partnership Programme (NEDP III) was established in Palestine in 1999, but it failed. NEDP was led by Palestine Trade Centre-Paltrade, on behalf of the private sector. The follow-up mechanism to ensure recommendations of the conferences did not take place.
The private sector started re-gathering its strength and focus on the formation of PPP partially through the execution of the private-sector agenda prepared in 2007 and 2008. It identified 4 pivotal issues. The platform was still struggling to deliver some fruitful result for the private- sector development.
Rwanda Public-Private Dialogue (RPPD)  was established in October 2012. The motto of RPPD is By Business for Business. RPPD reports directly to Joint Advisory Board (JAB) in the government.  They term champions those who are facilitators of the RPPD mechanism. Its secretariat has four members--two from private sector and two from public sector governed by the JAB.
Presidential Summit is the highest level of dialogue between the President and the private sector. Rwanda follows sub-national, sector- specific dialogue. They organize Champions Training in Moderation and stakeholders' dialogue. They organize training at every level.
National Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness Council (NECC) in Macedonia is working for private-sector development. For the private sector it was very difficult to communicate with public sector as these were so diverse in nature which needed quality and commitment.  
The NECC has been working as a national platform. It is a partnership of 17 chambers, business institutions, clusters and academic institutions. A partnership agreement is accepted between NECC and the government through the cabinet of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs.
Senegal organizes public-private dialogue for SMEs and established high-level groups constituted by CEOs, Presidents and Directors of private sector in partnership with public institutions to resolve too critical issues.
A PPD Task Force has also been established for validating the PPD mechanism and major thematic working groups. The taskforce is also constituted by public and private-sector institutions. The platform is working for implementation of national policies for SME promotion. They work both for national and regional levels.
Ghana is working for promoting partnership through Corporate Social Responsibility, established in February 2013. The Ministry had a discussion with GIZ for promoting on-going initiatives of promoting strategic CSR with companies in Ghana.
The forum organizes dialogue sessions in the regional levels. So far, 1600 representatives have participated. The forum is working for a nationally acceptable CSR policy in Ghana.
Structures of PPD Forum and Platform are diverse in nature. The structures of Nepal Business Form (NBF) and Cambodia G-PSF are unique in nature.
Hello Nepal has been able to be a bit successful in bringing in citizens' engagement. Community-specific PPD in the Philippines has also unique characteristics. In the Philippines they have formed multi-stakeholders dialogues to bring changes in the land use patterns and  have benefited by using PPDs.
Regulations add some business costs where businesspeople must follow these burdensome laws and regulations. JETRO in its 19th survey released in 2009 mentioned the "hidden costs, arrogant attitudes" of the quarter concerned, lack in business realities and non-existence of comprehensive One-Stop-Service as a matter of deep frustration among the investors.
  Japan is one of our reliable business partner and willing to invest in Bangladesh. But, because of several reasons, Bangladesh could not be included in the targeted Investment Map of Japan while most of the ASEAN and SAARC countries have been able to qualify.
The recent exchange of visits of Japanese delegation reflects that their investors have identified Bangladesh as one of the potential countries. But if the policies cannot work for the investors, they will not be attracted and eventually Bangladesh will lose out on the investment maps.
Overregulation is also not good and  can give birth to a tendency among entrepreneurs to produce legitimate products at lower than business costs by operating informally without proper permits and legal status. Hence, dropouts in the SMEs sector are higher than in other sectors.
An IMF study reveals that about nine trillion dollars - roughly a third of GDP of emerging markets-were produced informally. Similarly in 1999, ILO figures indicated that 17 to 84% of the urban labour force in developing countries works informally. In order to make informal business formal, policy simplification is one of the crucial measures.
New laws or amendments to existing laws are usually proposed by the respective line ministries. The rules for rule-making in Bangladesh are set out in the "Rules of Business of Government (RBG)". The relevant ministry drafts the law or requests the Ministry of Law to prepare a draft.  The Law then has to pass through a lengthy process as per government rule. There is no formal requirement for public consultation or setting up of committees of experts to propose or review legislative drafts, although public consultation is a more accepted part of the regulatory process.
We feel the need for a policy-formulation strategy where the role of both private and public sectors will be defined clearly. Things have changed--  government is now very keen to get private-sector opinion of the concerned sections before formalization of policies. We believe we need to establish a Policy Reforms Research Centre to get supportive information to suggest and revise as per need of the private sector.
Simplification of Business Start-up Process and Procedures provides best- practice references to provinces in establishing and operating a one- stop-shop (OSS) office to handle business start-up registration process and procedures in Vietnam. Its tasks include information disclosure, form renovation, information technology application, customer service and monitoring and evaluation of models in practice. The handbook also recommends a reference OSS model based on current legal framework and experiences from reforms of business start-up procedures in certain provinces in Vietnam as well as examples from other countries around the world.
A summary of business-registration reforms in the Doing Business 2008-2014 has shown that different countries have taken numerous procedures for making business start-up simple. Some of the examples are very common and some are unique.
Some of the common requirements are minimum capital requirement, or capital adequacy. Some countries have abolished the requirement while some have reduced the amounts.
Interestingly, some countries have increased capital-requirement rates. Indonesia made starting a business more complex by increasing the minimum paid-in capital.
Most of the countries opted for reducing cost and the number of paper works, unifying some processes. For an example, Afghanistan   made starting a business easier by reducing the time and cost of obtaining a business licence and by eliminating the inspection of the premises of newly- registered companies.
Haiti eased business start-up by eliminating the review by the President or the Prime Minister's office of the incorporation act submitted for publication.
Probably Malaysia and Singapore are the pioneers. Malaysia made starting a business less costly by reducing the company-registration fees. It was also done by merging companies, tax, social security and employment fund registrations at one-stop shop and providing same-day registration.
Malaysia eased business start-up by introducing more online services and eased business start-up with a new one stop-shop service that helps in streamlining the registration process. Companies act amendments simplified business-registration processes through the introduction of e-lodgment, resulting in time reduction.
The ASEAN country sped up the process of starting a business by implementing internal reforms at the CCM.
The above-mentioned examples show that developing and less- developed countries have been continuing their efforts to reduce cost of doing business initially by making business-licensing process simpler.
Bangladesh also has joined the league and by this time initiated a series of reforms. Some of these are automation of the registration process, reducing the time required to obtain a trading licence and complete tax-and value-added tax registration.
What businesses can do is raise a unified voice and strengthen advocacy strategy. And BUILD has been working from more than three years as a unified voice of the private-sector representatives of Bangladesh.
BUILD can provide access to the premier private-sector development- thought leaders, with access to the most recent and relevant data, information and analysis on the private sector. It can help establish strong and effective partnerships with think-tanks, academics, chambers and private-sector development experts.
One of BUILD successes is to prepare Business Start-up Licences-A Regulatory Guide Books. Steps involved in either obtaining a new licence or renewing an old one are difficult for an entrepreneur. A collection of systematic information along with visual representation on business start-up licences is rarely found.
Considering the importance of the issue, BUILD came up with the gigantic task of preparing the 'Business Start-up Licenses: Regulatory Guide Book' in 2012. The 2nd edition was prepared in 2013 and the latest 3rd prepared in 2014 and launched by the Prime Minister in September 2014.
This guide is intended for the aspiring, new, as well as veteran entrepreneurs looking to obtain a licence/permit/approval/certificate etc. for their businesses. This book contains 100 licences along with 100 renewals. 'Fish and Fisheries: Business Start-up Licenses: A Regulatory Guide'  and the 'Pharmaceutical Industries: Business Start-up Licenses: A Regulatory Guide' are two other guidebooks comprising basic business information, processes to obtain licence and their renewal procedures  to provide  potential investors a heads-up on regulatory requirements of doing business in these sectors.  
BUILD's involvement in policy-process reengineering   is at the initial stage. This   workable mechanism for the benefits of the private sector needs full supports from both public and private sectors.
Ferdaus Ara Begum is CEO at Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD). She can be reached at: ceo@buildbd.org