CARE: Why working with the private sector is better than going it alone 

CARE Senior Corporate Partnerships Executive Priyanka Gouthaman talks about why the global humanitarian nonprofit group works with the private sector to improve rural development and global food security ahead of a session to discuss CARE’s partnership with Cargill at EU Development Days in Brussels.

Gouthaman: "We can achieve greater change by working with the private sector rather than against them in trying to influence the way they do business. We take a more liberal view when it comes to working with the private sector because we believe that we can create a lot more impact and influence when we work with companies to create more strategic programs, more inclusive business models that look at placing communities at the heart of their own business operations.

“And this is where we play the role of "critical friend". When we talk about critical friend it means working in collaboration with companies but also having the opportunity to challenge them on difficult issues, to challenge them to take a different direction if that needs to be done and to course correct, keeping in mind that communities are at the heart of both our objectives here. And we believe that this approach is far more effective as well."