Business Models that Engage Consumers or Producers at the Base of the Pyramid
Success in inclusive business depends on getting the business model right. Obvious, but not easy. Of course there is no blueprint. But scrutinising 40 inclusive businesses in the portfolio supported by the Business Innovation Facility pilot from 2010-2013, we discern some common features. As the BIF pilot draws to a close, we have five assertions […]
Is there Any Evidence of Inclusive Business Results? Findings from the BIF Portfolio
There is a dearth of hard data on the commercial and social results of inclusive business. So we have been scrutinising thousands of pieces of data from 40 inclusive businesses, to see if findings from the Business Innovation Facility portfolio can help address that gap. On the down side, the businesses are still early stage, […]
From Bean to Bar, Putting Farmers First
Charley Wheelock founded Woodblock Chocolate with a commitment to trading fairly with cacao growers in the Caribbean Islands and South America. That direct trade relationship–a deeply personal approach to business in which Woodblock builds relationships with the first rung on the value chain–is imbedded in the company’s DNA. “The good you can do with cacao […]
Local Banks and Success in Smallholder Finance
Current local bank lending to smallholder farmers meets only 3% of the global demand, but the sector presents enormous opportunities for growth, innovation, and investment. Expansion of this lending market would support the livelihoods of two billion of the world’s rural poor. In the first briefing document in this series, the Initiative for Smallholder Finance […]
A Road to Market for Haitian Mangoes
I arrived in Haiti one year after the devastating earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010. Life in Port-au-Prince was still chaotic, evidence of not only the natural disaster, but generations of economic distress. But I quickly discovered something else about Haiti – its proud, defiant people, refusing to give up. Throughout that first year, my Haitian […]
Twin Tracks and Unusual Allies in Tackling Inequality
The first two days of this year’s Davos gathering have centred on one major issue: income inequality. Right at the start of the meeting a letter from Pope Francis raised the issue, challenging the gathered leaders to make sure wealth served humanity, not the other way around. Oxfam upped the tempo with a widely-covered report […]
Job Creation in South Africa
Unemployment in South Africa, especially amongst young people, remains one of our country’s most pressing challenges. It is estimated that three million young people are currently unemployed, representing nearly three quarters of overall unemployment in the country. For some, starting a business offers an alternative to finding a job, although for many a weak culture […]
Helping Small Enterprises to Grow
In Latin America, small-scale shopkeepers – Tenderos – are a critical sales channel for SABMiller, accounting for 40% of sales volume in the region. We estimate that 400,000 Tenderos in our value chain in Latin America fall in to the “survival” or “necessity entrepreneur” category, meaning that they run their stores to generate income to […]
Inclusive Business Priorities for the New Year
The close of 2013 brings with it the inevitable series of lists of the best and worst of the year. It’s good to reflect on deeds past, but this list takes a different approach: it describes what these lists should say a year from now. Six business specialists from across CARE International answered the question: […]
How to Build Enterprise Development Programmes
Companies have a critical role to play in driving more inclusive and sustainable models of development and, in certain cases, solving specific development challenges. At the same time, there are significant opportunities to discover profitable new business models. Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which large companies can have a mutually beneficial impact […]
Sustaining and Scaling the Impact of Enterprise Development Programmes
Companies have a critical role to play in driving more inclusive and sustainable models of development and, in certain cases, solving specific development challenges. At the same time, there are significant opportunities to discover profitable new business models. Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which large companies can have a mutually beneficial impact […]
M-PESA: Innovating New Business Models at the BoP
M-Pesa is one of the biggest success stories in the history of serving customers at the economic bottom of the pyramid–the world’s poorest. Launched in 2007 by Safaricom, it quickly dominated the cash transfer market, and grew at an astounding rate, capturing more than two-thirds of Kenya’s adult population as customers. Users who subscribe to […]
Enterprise: Focusing on the Next Generation
UNICEF refers to early childhood (pre-natal to eight years old) as the “years of wonder.” In no other period in human life is the brain so responsive to changes in the environment and so able to learn, grow, and develop. Billions of highly integrated neural circuits in the brain are established through the interaction of […]
How M-PESA Innovates New Business Models for its Base of the Pyramid Customers
M-Pesa is one of the biggest success stories in the history of serving customers at the economic bottom of the pyramid–the world’s poorest. Launched in 2007 by Safaricom, it quickly dominated the cash transfer market, and grew at an astounding rate, capturing more than two-thirds of Kenya’s adult population as customers. Users who subscribe to […]
Innovations Against Poverty: Systemic Impacts
Systemic impacts are the ultimate goal of almost any donor-funded initiative that supports business in development. In the case of Sida’s Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) programme, that means that Sida’s money not only supports the individual inclusive businesses that receive grant funding (helping them to reach the poor with their products, services and business models), […]
The National Initiative for Human Development in Morocco
The National Initiative for Human Development (NIHD)[1] in Morocco promotes inclusive business as an important tool for development. Four factors seem to be especially crucial for the NIHD’s success as an inclusive business policy: Its high visibility as an overarching policy framework, its participatory approach, its collaborative governance and its clear implementation responsibilities. The National […]
Top 10 Blogs of 2013
The core strength of Business Fights Poverty is its vibrant community. In other words, you. 95% of our daily stories come from members. The sheer volume of amazing content led us to completely redesign the site earlier this year (read all about the changes here). The energy and enthusiasm of the community to share authentic […]
Top 10 Discussions of 2013
In January 2013 we launched our new discussion forum, with regular live panel chats. We also co-hosted Google Hangouts with Ashoka and webinars with the Business Call to Action and others. Most recently, we were excited to host a Google Hangout with Paul Polak, one of the true gurus in this field (click here to […]
Systemic Impacts: Early signs from the Innovations Against Poverty programme
Systemic impacts are the ultimate goal of almost any donor-funded initiative that supports business in development. In the case of Sida’s Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) programme, that means that Sida’s money not only supports the individual inclusive businesses that receive grant funding (helping them to reach the poor with their products, services and business models), […]
Inclusive Business as a Tool for Development in Morocco
The National Initiative for Human Development (NIHD)[1] in Morocco promotes inclusive business as an important tool for development. Four factors seem to be especially crucial for the NIHD’s success as an inclusive business policy: Its high visibility as an overarching policy framework, its participatory approach, its collaborative governance and its clear implementation responsibilities. The National […]