BIO Development & Sustainability Report 2024
At work for a
better world for all
Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals by financing the private sector
Preface
BIO’s Development & Sustainability Report illustrates how BIO translates its mission and principal mandate into investments and business development support that contribute to the global community’s development aspirations.
Entrepreneurship is the largest source of employment in developing countries. Hence, strengthening the private sector gives BIO an important lever to promote decent work and gender equality, and to fight poverty and climate change – the main barriers to human development.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are our guide in our quest for impact. While we seek to contribute to achieving all 17 SDGs, this fourth edition of BIO’s Development and Sustainability Report has a special focus on SDG8: “Decent work and economic growth.”
BIO aspires to support living wages through its investments, technical assistance, and engagement with investees and supply chains. Acting towards decent work and economic growth is an essential objective in most of our investments. In Peru, for example, BIO supports clients such as T&T Fruits, and Inka’s Berries.
By showing the impact they have had on decent work and economic growth, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) like BIO illustrate that they are key to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals - and its central promise to promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
Everybody concerned with international solidarity can read here how BIO invests its money and seeks to improve people’s lives. This D&S Report provides an opportunity to look more closely at the issue of sustainable development and shows BIO’s commitment to promoting best practices to achieve a better world for all.
Géraldine Georges
Chair of BIO's board of directors
About this report
The goal of this publication is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how investing in the private sector with a clear focus on development effects and sustainability, can address some of the world’s major challenges. This report covers the financial year of 2022 and also includes examples of investments signed in 2023.
In “Development and Sustainability at BIO”, we provide an overview of BIO’s role as a DFI and dig into our strategic approach and Theory of Change (ToC). We describe in detail the operational phases of assessment, monitoring, and evaluation (AME framework), illustrating the processes and methodologies employed. Following this, we take a closer look at BIO’s Environmental and Social (E&S) framework, which ensures the implementation of standards for decent and safe working conditions, the respect of human rights, and environmental sustainability. Finally, we explain how our Business Development Support Fund (BDSF) helps to improve sustainability, and provide an overview of its main tools for technical assistance.
As described in the section “Sustainable Development Goals Highlights” and its subchapters, in this publication, we aim to illustrate how BIO contributes to the six directly targeted SDGs. In particular, we focus on SDG8 (Decent work and economic growth), an essential subject to BIO and object of the latest external case study evaluation (ECSE). We delve into how BIO addresses employment and decent work for all, as well as the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and its four pillars: promoting jobs and enterprise, guaranteeing rights at work, extending social protection, and promoting social dialogue.
In the final chapter, “Challenges and Work in Progress”, we summarise the lessons learnt and look at how we can do better in the future.
Contents
Development and Sustainability at BIO
If we want to achieve a more sustainable and responsible economic growth for all, it is fundamental to invest in and support the private sector in developing countries. BIO, the Belgian DFI, creates a positive impact by actively mitigating poverty and reducing inequalities, as explained in the ToC and implemented through the AME framework and the E&S action plans, all with the support of the BDSF.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. BIO contributes to inclusive and sustainable economic growth by integrating the Goals in its decision-making processes and strategy.
Challenges and work in progress
The journey to a fairer world is far from over. There are still important challenges to overcome, be they specific to BIO or shared with other European DFIs and development actors.
BIO aims to improve on its successes and learn from its mistakes, and promotes an open and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders to ensure continuous improvement.