Business Call to Action’s Inclusive Business Features has been highlighted by the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) as a resource material for inclusive businesses on their website. In addition, two other BCtA works on inclusive business have been cited in Debates on Inclusive Business, a short synthesis note published by the DCED in 2021.

Inclusive Business Features was published by BCtA with iBAN in 2021 as a guiding document for the adoption of inclusive business through clear and practically-defined features for businesses, investors, and governments, and had been developed specifically for them. The 10-page report can now be accessed from the DCED page on resource materials about inclusive business along with publications from DCED and other institutions. The DCED is comprised of member agencies enhancing the efforts of donors and multilateral agencies to “increasingly place private sector development at the heart of their work” by facilitating exchange and sharing information about what works based on practical experience and evidence. It is DCED’s mission to be an independent and respected inter-agency point of reference for knowledge, data and agreed standards on the role of the private sector in development.

On the other hand, DCED’s four-part synthesis article comprehensively tackles the current debates that envelop the concept of inclusive business, particularly, (1) what is an inclusive business, (2) what are business opportunities and how can the poorest populations be reached, (3) what suitable means or ways of support can work best for inclusive businesses, and (4) how can the effects of inclusive business models to the poor can be measured (DCED, 2021).  

The synthesis note’s third section, the discussion on the types of support work best to promote inclusive business, brings into the spotlight BCtA’s report, What Does it Take to Go Big: Management Practices to Bring Inclusive Business to Scale, by pointing the report’s findings that internal constraints may limit the uptake and growth of inclusive business models in large companies, and that these companies could therefore benefit from stronger attention by support providers (2019). The synthesis note also cites BCtA’s conclusion that there exists a strong correlation between specific management practices (e.g., related to employee incentives and rewards, and evaluation criteria for new market opportunities) and the continuity and growth of IB initiatives (2019).

The synthesis notes’ fourth section focused on measuring the effects or the impact of inclusive business models on underserved populations. In this section, DCED mentions BCtA’s Maturity Diagnostic, developed in 2017, a tool to help businesses understand their current performance and identify the next steps to achieve a sustainable, SDG-relevant inclusive business. Aligned with its efforts to lead the impact movement globally, impact measurement and management is currently one of BCtA’s key service offers, targeting to foster the culture and capacity within the private sector to measure and manage impact on the SDGs, and in the process, improve business performance and make better decisions.

According to the DCED website, their members are governmental and philanthropic agencies, as well as multilateral agencies (UN, development banks) that fund private sector development in developing countries, and share the vision of making the projects more effective (DCED).