Delivering development outcomes through business partnerships

Today I announce 10 new partnerships between business and the Australian Government to address some of the most complex aid challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

A flagship initiative of the Coalition Government, the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP) partners government with the private sector to help deliver Australia's aid program. Under Round Two of the BPP, the Government is investing $4.4 million which will leverage $6 million in funding from private sector partners.

The private sector is an essential partner to achieving sustainable poverty reduction as the largest source of employment and economic growth in developing countries. These new private sector partnerships will support work the Government is undertaking in nine countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.

The partnerships will provide new market opportunities for vegetable farmers, increase access to payments and savings through ATMs for rural communities, strengthen affordable off-grid energy for dairy farmers, extend coconut growers' participation in global markets, and open up employment opportunities for women in low-income households.

These projects will build on the impressive results of the first round of the BPP, including the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) which is training 290,000 cotton farmers in Pakistan in world class agricultural processes that make their livelihoods more sustainable and profitable. With Pakistan being the world's fourth largest exporter of cotton, this Australian partnership has the potential to provide significant benefits to farmers and their communities.

More information on the new partnerships and progress of BPP Round One activities can be found at the Business Partnerships Platform website.