This year’s B20 summit set a new standard for participation and inclusivity across a variety of fields, says Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Chair, B20, and President, Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Since 2010, the Business 20 – or B20 for short – has operated as the G20’s most prominent and influential outreach group. In this capacity, it has convened business executives, association leaders and policy experts from across the world every year to develop new recommendations relevant to the global business community and economy. Between 2010 and 2014, more than 400 recommendations from a wide variety of fields were developed through this process, in areas as diverse as trade, infrastructure and anti-corruption.

When Turkey was formally awarded the presidency of the G20 and its constituent outreach groups for 2015, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu introduced a new kind of leadership for the process. Instead of operating under the status quo, the Prime Minister encouraged a strategic vision for the G20 and B20 that would place an emphasis on the three ‘I’s of inclusiveness, implementation and investment. After all, at its core the G20 is about global leadership, not just about the members themselves. And, by many accounts, in recent years the G20 had fallen short in driving real, discernible change in the world.

We at the B20 took this directive seriously, and worked to create an inclusive conference that prioritised action over mere talk. In this spirit, the B20 held regional consultations in nine countries on four continents during the year. These forums – spread out among both G20 and non-G20 countries – brought previously uninvolved business leaders into the fold, and allowed them to vote on the proposed topics they saw as most important. This feedback helped shape the direction the B20 took in crafting the prioritised recommendation list that was handed to the G20 leaders in September.

In the spirit of inclusiveness, B20 Turkey also introduced the new SMEs and Entrepreneurship Taskforce this year. Given that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now account for two thirds of all private-sector jobs and 80% of net job growth globally, the time was ripe for the B20 to represent smaller businesses more formally in its process of developing recommendations, and to give more focus to the challenges they face. Such challenges include financial regulations, which have choked SME lending since 2008, as well as skills and managerial gaps that have increasingly worsened for smaller businesses in recent years.

B20 Turkey outlines its recommendations for solving such issues in the B20 Policy Summary. It furthermore endorses the mandate of the newly formed World SME Forum (WSF) to scale up the potential of SMEs globally. The WSF is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that can advocate for SME interests among regional and international standard setters (such as the G20 or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) and have a say when potentially impactful or harmful legislation is being pushed. The WSF can also coordinate with global organisations to deliver better services to SMEs and integrate them more fully into international value chains, which are quickly becoming central to the global economy.

In addition to the SMEs and Entrepreneurship Taskforce, B20 Turkey features five other taskforces, all with their own sets of recommendations: Trade; Infrastructure and Investment; Anti-Corruption; Employment; and Financing Growth.

The Trade Taskforce recommends that governments avoid tariffs and localisation barriers that strangle trade, as well as policies that insulate firms from competition and kill innovation. The taskforce continues to implore governments to ratify the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.

The Infrastructure and Investment Taskforce calls for the resolution of the global gap in infrastructure funding – a problem that has become more pressing in recent years. To do so, it recommends that governments implement regulations and standards that invite both foreign and domestic investment, as well as develop project marketplaces that can increase liquidity.

The Employment Taskforce urges governments to recognise that skills education and business mobility must be improved. Governments are encouraged to implement sensible strategies for their citizens, and to allow more open access to innovators and entrepreneurs. To do so, member countries should implement G20-wide entrepreneur visa programmes as soon as possible. Educational reforms that stress managerial and entrepreneurial skills, as well as computer literacy, should be implemented.

The Financing Growth Taskforce recommends that governments finalise the financial reform agenda and enable regulatory consistency across markets. It furthermore advocates policies that would broaden and deepen SME access to financing, a necessary feature of any plan to grow smaller enterprises in the future.

Achieving greater transparency

The B20 also maintains that systemic corruption can no longer be downplayed and ignored. Its Anti-Corruption Taskforce calls for concrete measures to expedite the elimination of corruption. The taskforce proposes the introduction of digital customs and procurement systems across all G20 nations. Such systems – based on previously successful trials in Turkey and elsewhere – would greatly reduce corruption, save money and engender new trust in public institutions.

On 3-5 September 2015, these recommendations were formally unveiled for G20 leaders at the B20 conference in Ankara. After nearly a year’s worth of work developing these recommendations, this moment was both meaningful and rewarding for all of us involved in the process. These recommendations, after all, have the potential not only to spur economic growth, but also to create millions of jobs for individuals throughout the world. There is thus a definite pride in seeing them advance to the international stage.

Moreover, we at the B20 Secretariat were proud of the conference itself. With attendance from more than 1,200 individuals from 68 countries (449 from outside Turkey), the 2015 B20 conference was the most international yet. Better still, it was inclusive, from the months leading up to it, all the way to the sessions themselves. The panels were kept diverse, all attendees were able to participate in the exchanges, and the conference itself maintained an open and friendly air that encouraged discussion before and after sessions.

Given the importance of the topics and recommendations at hand, as well as the goals set out at the beginning of the year, such openness and inclusiveness are huge successes for the B20 in 2015.

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B20 Turkey Antalya Summit Statement

A delegation of leading CEOs met with heads of government on 15 November 2015 at the outset 2015 G20 leaders’ summit. The CEO group, drawn from across the G20 economies, appealed for new commitments to kick-start the global economy for the benefit of all – against a backdrop of sluggish GDP growth and falling trade flows.

The business leaders called for action to support trade, investment, and employment and SME growth – drawing on a series of recommendations developed by the global business community under the 2015 Turkish B20 presidency.

Among the B20 priorities conveyed during the meeting were calls to:

• Ratify and implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) – which new research suggests could boost global trade flows by an unprecedented US$3 trillion;

• Roll back protectionist trade policies, especially non-tariff barriers starting with localization barriers to trade;

• Take concrete action to increase youth and women participation in the labour force – including by developing national skills strategies, ramping up counseling programmes, on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and placement-service programmes;

• Establish country-specific infrastructure strategies to boost investment in much-needed infrastructure projects worldwide;

• Improve SME access to finance to unlock the potential of the world’s small businesses to contribute to global growth and employment. There is, for example, and estimated US$1.4 trillion shortfall of trade finance for SMEs according to the Asian Development Bank;

• Strengthen institutional mechanisms for financial regulatory cooperation between regulators and all key public and private-sector stakeholders.

Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, B20 Turkey Chair and President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey said: “We were pleased with the G20 leaders’ responsiveness to the business recommendations. The B20 is an important complement to the G20 mission for sustainable global growth, and our CEOs provide valuable day-to-day practical experience on key areas where the G20 can make meaningful progress.”

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company and Chair of the International Business Advisory Council to the Turkish G20/B20 Presidency said: “Global economic growth and job creation has to be priority No. 1 for businesses, governments and civil society institutions, and this can only be accomplished through rigorous cooperation and accountability among these three prongs of the Golden Triangle.”

Mr. Kent added: “To this end, in 2015, we have provided robust recommendations to G20 governments that will jump start growth through policy reforms in trade, employment, SMEs and infrastructure.  We’ve also increased the dialogue among G20 governments and business representatives so that policy reforms unlock new investment and allow us to rise above the status quo and deliver increased economic opportunity for women, young people and families around the world.”

This year, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) established the World SME Forum to advocate the interests of global SMEs under the inclusivity scope of B20 Turkey. The Forum, in line with the recommendations of the newly established SMEs and Entrepreneurship Taskforce will take advocacy efforts up to a whole new level.

Since 2010 the B20 has put forward recommendations to the G20 annually, many of which have translated into important G20 commitments to support private-sector led growth following the financial crisis.

To that end, “Regulations must focus on growth and not just financial stability,” said the Chairman& CEO of BBVA, Francisco González. “We recommend the G20 leaders to pause in order to assess the whole picture and the cumulative impact of the reforms as well as to recalibrate accordingly if necessary to better allow the financial industry to support growth.”

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises and First Vice Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce said: “Today marked the sixth consecutive meeting of international CEOs and G20 heads of government. The objective of our direct dialogue is to provide substantive commercial guidance to G20 leaders in the laudable efforts to support growth, jobs and opportunity for all.”

A key year for global policymaking

This year’s G20 is one of a series of major international summits aimed at forging a more sustainable and prosperous future for the global community. In addition to G20-specific policy recommendations, the B20 CEOs called on the G20 to provide the leadership necessary to further progress in ongoing negotiations in key intergovernmental forums.

Commenting on the recently launched UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), John Danilovich, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce said: “It is clear that effective implementation of the SDGs will require widespread business engagement. Many businesses are already playing a leading role in promoting sustainable development, but with the right support and incentives from government we can do much more. It’s vital that the G20 shows leadership in engaging the private sector to deliver on the promise of the SDGs.”

In just two weeks’ time world leaders will gather in Paris for the start of the landmark Paris Climate Conference (COP21). Gerard Mestrallet, Chairman and CEO of Engie and moderator of the Business Dialogue for COP21 said: “Organizations working with more than 6 million companies have made it clear that the business community wants to see an ambitious climate deal at COP21 in Paris this December. More leading companies and investors are taking climate action than ever before. The G20 must build on this momentum by sending a clear and unequivocal signal of their ambition for a successful outcome at COP21.”

In mid-December trade ministers will convene in Nairobi for the WTO’s 10 Ministerial Conference. Güler Sabancı, Coordinating Chair of B20 Turkey Trade Taskforce and Sabancı Holding said: “The world trade agenda is at a critically important juncture. Global trade flows dropped by an estimated six percent in the first half of 2015. Governments must commit to ambitious outcomes within the WTO to revitalize trade as a driver of growth and jobs. Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement must be a starting point for this agenda.”

The G20 in 2016

We have high expectations that tomorrows G20 deliberations will reflect our recommendations to spur the macro-economic recovery, increase women and youth employment, reform financial regulation, expand trade, and intensify the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises said Yu Ping, who will serve as the Sherpa of B20 China. We will closely review the G20 communiqué and structure B20 Chinas work plan he said.