About CBI | Connecting Business

About CBI | Connecting Business:

Connecting Business Initiative

The Connecting Business Initiative (CBI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that provides a mechanism for the private sector to engage with the United Nations system, national governments and civil society in a coordinated manner on crisis risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery.  

With the scale of need fast outpacing the ability of traditional actors to respond, the necessity for coordinated and more holistic approaches to engage the private sector in disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery is increasing. The potential for the business sector to collaborate with the international community to increase community resilience and local capacity is vast. While businesses are already making significant contributions, there are still many opportunities to expand the impact.

The initiative will coordinate and facilitate access to the tools, resources and mechanisms that will enable businesses to undertake effective disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery through networks that are connected via a global coordination architecture to each other and to other actors.

The initiative rests on the notion that while Governments maintain overall responsibility for responding to humanitarian emergencies, local communities and private sector networks also play a critical role in ensuring preparedness for, response to and recovery after emergencies. Strong networks play a vital role in ensuring that individuals and communities are resilient enough to return to normalcy as soon as possible and regain access to goods and services. 

The Connecting Business initiative is meeting the demand of the private sector for engagement in a more strategic and permanent way both globally and locally. The World Humanitarian Summit Synthesis Report, drawing on consultations with over 900 businesses, recommended:

• networks be established and supported to facilitate coordinated and effective engagement by businesses;
• a mechanism be created to coordinate private sector engagement globally; and
• businesses be engaged holistically across resilience, response and recovery.

The Report of the High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing appointed by the UN Secretary-General also called for the establishment of local, regional and industry-specific business networks focused on scaling business engagement.

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