Inclusive business (IB) is a private sector approach to providing goods, services, and
livelihoods on a commercially viable basis, either at scale or scalable, to people at the base of
the pyramid by making them part of the value chain of companies’ core business as suppliers,
distributors, retailers, or customers. There is keen interest in IBs, both in the public and
private spheres, as a strategy for inclusive growth. The Department of Trade and Industry is
setting up an accreditation system to certify business models as IB, based on an evaluation
tool, initially for three priority sectors: agribusiness, housing, and tourism. This paper
anlayzes the economic and development potential of IBs, and describes existing programs
and policies of the government in terms of openness to IB. It then makes several
recommendations for short-term IB promotion, as well as long-term measures to support IB
in the Philippines.