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Objectives l What sets the MENA-OECD Business Council apart? l Membership advantages and criteria l Task Forces and deliverables l Related meetings l Key references l MENA Business Council Workspace l Contact

Bookmark this page: www.oecd.org/mena/investment/businesscouncil

Launched in the context of the 2009 MENA-OECD Ministerial Conference, the MENA-OECD Business Council is an initiative started by the MENA-OECD Investment Programme to encourage an active and joint voice of MENA and OECD business communities in ongoing business climate reform projects on both a national and regional level.

The overall objectives of the Business Council are to:

• provide high-level recommendations to policy makers on business climate reform priorities
• support reform implementation by sponsoring high-impact projects on innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness
• foster exchange and learning based on OECD experience and good practice
• strengthen the public-private dialogue through a series of high-profile debates
• generate new and sector-specific business opportunities

Key differentiating factors of the MENA-OECD Business Council are:

• Membership: business leaders from both OECD and MENA countries work together for investment climate reform in the MENA region
• Scope: the MENA-OECD Business Council will be generating a series of concrete, measurable and time-bound outputs on both regional and country-specific issues, structured by subject. For example, differentiated solutions could be proposed for oil-producing vs. non-oil-producing countries
• Content: the MENA-OECD Business Council work and outputs will be supported by the analystical and statistical expertise of the OECD and its staff
• Implementation: Existing networks facilitated by the OECD through the MENA-OECD Investment Programme ensure that recommendations put forth by the MENA-OECD Business Council reach government representatives at the highest level

Membership advantages include:

• privileged dialogue with country leaders and business peers to prioritise reforms and generate business opportunities
• impact on reform through a consolidated voice of business representatives from both MENA and OECD countries
• greater international visibility of obstacles affecting the MENA business climate
• participation in key OECD events

Members of the MENA-OECD Business Council should be senior business representatives (CEO, partner, director or vice president) of a company with operations in either a MENA or OECD country, maintaining substantive business activities or strong interests in the MENA region, and with an active interest in engaging in the MENA-OECD Business Council activities.

The MENA-OECD Business Council proposes five Task Forces dedicated to

• the The Enterprise Financing Network
• responsible business conduct (with reporting channels to the the MENA-OECD Responsible Business Forum)
• women's entrepreneurship
• country competitiveness
• Renewable Energy and Infrastructure 

MENA-OECD Business Council Platform How to access

Outputs would include

• holding the MENA 100 Business Plan Competition
• extending the OECD National Contact Point model to MENA countries
• producing a comparative studies on leval and institutional obstacles to women's access to finance
• diffusing good practices from the best multi-national enterprises in the MENA region
• producing annual surveys of the pulse of business
• identifying, prioritising and removing policy barriers to infrastructure and renewable energy development

Middle East Day: Danish Industries International Business Network, 7 December 2011

First Meeting of the MENA-OECD Business Council, Paris, 26 May 2010 

Preparatory meeting of the MENA-OECD Business Council, Paris, 1 October 2009

MENA-OECD Business Council proposal [The MENA-OECD Business Council Proposal  l French]

The MENA Business Council workspace aims to provide a forum for discussion on key topics in business climate development in the MENA region, inviting its members to dialogue and network beyond meeting and conference rooms in a secure and virtual space.

To access the MENA-OECD Business Council Workspace, copy and paste the following URL in your internet browser: https://community.oecd.org/community/menabc 

Please be aware that this Workspace is accessible only to registered members of the Council. If you are a member of the MENA-OECD Business Council and you wish to receive an invitation to the MENA Business Council Workspace, please contact Mr. Jorge Gálvez Méndez or Ms. Ania Thiemann.

To get instructions on how to access the MENA-OECD Business Council Platform, please refer to this document.

For further information on the MENA-OECD Business Council, please contact Ms. Ania Thiemann, Project Manager, at ania.thiemann@oecd.org.