Working closely with companies and foundations, UNIDO builds partnerships that advance inclusive and sustainable industrial development while simultaneously driving business value.

A growing number of industry leaders are recognizing that aligning business strategies, operations and supply chains with sustainable development outcomes is not only a social responsibility, but also increasingly a business imperative. Adopting more socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable business operations helps to mitigate risk, develop new markets, and cultivate sustainable relationships with suppliers, customers and investors.

UNIDO’s Business Partnership Programme harnesses the expertise, know-how and resources of the private sector to tackle important global industrial development issues. There are several strategic areas UNIDO engages with business to build local productive capacity, enhance social inclusion and promote environmental sustainability, including:

• Providing goods and services: developing innovative goods and services tailored to meet the needs of low-income populations and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
• Supporting local business development: promoting entrepreneurship and SME development through capacity building, technology transfer and advisory services;
• Building inclusive and sustainable value chains: upgrading and strengthening the competitiveness of local producers for their successful inclusion in local, regional and global value chains;
• Enhancing compliance with international norms and standards: capacitating SMEs in developing countries to comply with international trading standards, so as to improve their access to global markets;
• Promoting Green Industry: enhancing the creation of new green industries as well as promoting the more efficient use of energy and raw materials in industrial manufacturing processes and services;
• Expanding access to energy: catalyzing private sector know-how and investment in renewable sources of energy to promote access of affordable, clean energy for productive use.

To find out more about UNIDO's business partnerships in action, click here.

UNIDO and the private sector are natural partners for prosperity. As a United Nations specialized agency, we offer profound know-how in industrial development for developing countries and transition economies. With a field presence in more than 50 countries and a worldwide pool of experts and trainers we can leverage our global resources, and those of our partners, to achieve significant and sustainable scale and impact.