The objective of the dialogue was to deepen the understanding between business and development and engage the stakeholders including researchers, practitioners, policy makers and the media on responsible business practices.
It is evident that in spite of all the efforts by governments, the level of poverty in Southern Africa remains high and is exacerbated by new challenges such as external shocks, natural disasters, recurring problems such as food insecurity and youth violence. This is because the model of development has not taken the social dimension of growth into consideration and has failed to tap the potential at the base of the pyramid. There is need, therefore, to re-engineer the development plans and policies at national and regional levels to ensure that there is an effective and inclusive approach to economic growth and development.This can only be done in a comprehensive manner involving all stakeholders, especially the private sector as there is now widespread recognition that government alone cannot deal with the problem of poverty.
