The role of private sector actors in peace processes is a growing field of research...it is clear that private sector actors may play important roles when it comes to fostering peace and development in conflictaffected countries...The development from violent conflict to sustainable peace is conceptualized as a three-phase process...The first phase is mainly concerned with the termination of violence; the second phase with the prevention of a relapse into violence; and the third phase with the transition of society, governance functions and the economy from a state of conflict to a state of sustainable peace...The study that follows examines five cases involving different private sector actors active in a conflict-affected country: Bombardier Aerospace in Northern Ireland; Heineken in Rwanda; ABB in South Africa; the Palestine International Business Forum in Israel/Palestine and Ericsson in Sudan...For private sector actors active, or considering becoming active, in the markets of conflict-affected countries, it is hoped that the framework developed in this study will serve as a road map...