Inclusive Business

The chapter focuses on inclusive business where firms proactively engage the poor in the value chain. Despite increased interest in inclusive business, scholarly attention focused on understanding and developing the concept is lacking. We draw on Amartya Sen’s view of poverty as capability deprivation to develop the inclusive business concept. When poverty is conceptualized in this way, inclusive business involves providing decent work opportunities and products and services that improve the capabilities of the poor. We also discuss some of the challenges of inclusive business and what we know, and need to know, about how to overcome these challenges.