When companies invest in fragile communities, everyone stands to gain

In Nigeria, identification documents are indispensable to get access to credit or to launch a business – yet many people don’t have them. The solution to the problem came from a business, not public institutions: one multinational company provided women with ID cards, easing access to critical public and private services, and enabling them to start their own businesses.

In South Sudan, decades of war have all but wiped out the modest development gains of the young country. Farmers lack basic infrastructure and technical support in a country almost entirely dependent on oil and foreign aid. South Sudan faces monumental hurdles for business activity, yet one multinational company worked with hundreds of smallholder farmers, to improve their harvests. This way, the farmers could export overseas, with a transformational impact on their revenues and their communities.

These are just two of many examples highlighted in a report launched this week by the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fragility, Violence and Conflict. They demonstrate the huge potential for businesses to make a profit and simultaneously strengthen local communities through responsible investment.

The report features case studies of companies operating in challenging environments and the lessons that can be learned from their experiences. An estimated 1.5 billion people live in an environment of continuous fragility, violence and conflict.

For businesses to work efficiently and profitably in such environments, they must understand the complexities and dynamics surrounding them.

Otherwise, they risk inflaming the situation, causing more harm than good – for their companies and the communities around them. The case studies profiled in the report demonstrate the private sector’s significant potential to contribute specific skills, resources and networks that can be highly useful in building resilience.

Understanding fragility

Fragility, violence and conflict are complex. Fragility is influenced by a wide set of factors, many of which are deeply entrenched, such as high social and income inequality. The lines between criminal, inter-communal and politically motivated violence are often blurred.

Conflicts are increasingly causing devastation in densely populated urban centres rather than open battlefields, creating a host of new problems through the cumulative impact from the destruction of vital services like water and electricity.

We must understand the factors that cause fragility, violence and conflict in order to develop solutions that will meaningfully reduce instability at its roots, rather than merely addressing the symptoms.

This responsibility is not borne solely by governments and civil society, but, just as importantly, by businesses that are operating in complex and fragile environments. Mitigating fragility and building resilience is not just a humanitarian imperative – instability and violence are bad for business.

The private sector must harness its vast potential to mitigate fragility by investing, stimulating economic growth and job creation, paying taxes, building capacity and empowering local populations. For example, unemployment undermines society’s ability to manage shocks, so creating job opportunities will strengthen resilience in the face of heightened destabilization.

Lessons from businesses operating in fragile communities

The report provides a number of clear steps needed to improve and increase responsible investment in fragile contexts:

This report is a step in the right direction, but we must now deepen the conversation about the challenges in fragile, conflict and violence-affected regions – businesses, governments, civil society and local communities together.

It is our joint responsibility to harness the immense potential of public-private partnerships to build resilience in the world’s most complex and fragile environments.

Responsible investment can generate profits for businesses, benefits for local communities, and progress for governments.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fragility, Violence and Conflict was established in 2014 to improve understanding and raise awareness of the connections between chronic violence, conflict and fragility. A key priority of the council involves exploring the positive contribution that responsible investment by businesses can have when working in collaboration with public institutions and civil society.