When global income distribution is plotted on a graph it looks like a pyramid. Some 32m individuals (just 0.7% of the world’s population) sit at the top representing 41% of global wealth, while at the very base of the pyramid are 3.2bn individuals representing just 3% of global riches.
Inclusive, or base of the pyramid businesses serve this significant cohort, and many have met with success. Examples include Vodafone’s mobile phone based money service Mpesa or L’Occitane, which works in Burkina Faso to support traditionally produced shea butter. But where these inclusive business models have managed to scale up, many others have not been so successful.
Scaling inclusive business initiatives means driving profitable commercial growth as well as reaching a greater number of people at the base of the pyramid. Businesses need to see a return on investment in order to repay initial costs, turn a profit and move a proven model to scale.
Several factors feed into the scalability of base of the pyramid initiatives. A company’s ability to find and work with the right partners is key, as is its success in developing or tapping into demand for a product or service, and its understanding of the local context. Businesses must have an understanding of how to use technology effectively and, importantly, how to access and mobilise finance. It’s also vital they can identify and deal with internal barriers such as capability gaps.
How do companies go about ensuring they have this understanding and what can be learned from the successes and failures of others?
Join the experts for a live chat
Join us on Wednesday 5 November at 3pm GMT for a live chat with a panel of experts to discuss questions such as:
- How can companies forge valuable partnerships that help embed their business model?
- What is the best way to work with governments and local authorities to get support?
- Are there lessons when it comes to attracting the finance needed to develop successful and scalable BoP business models?
- How do companies scale up their BoP models while retaining the local context necessary for their original success?
- How do businesses replicate their business models in a way that makes sense geographically? Which parts of their business model can be replicated and how far do they need to start again?
- Can technology help companies reach scale?
- What lessons can be learned from the successes and failures of companies that have attempted to scale their BoP business models?
Panel
Ting Shih, CEO and founder of ClickMedix
Subathirai Sivakumaran, team lead for impact measurement, knowledge and capacity building at the Business Call to Action
Jacob Paul, vice president finance, strategy, emerging markets at Medtronic
Ezequiel Reficco, professor at Universidad de los Andes and editor of Socially Inclusive Business: Engaging the Poor through Market Initiatives in Iberoamerica
Jennifer Staple-Clark, founder and CEO of Unite for Sight
Get involved
The live chat is completely text based and will take place on this page in the comments section below, kicking off on Wednesday 5 November at 3pm GMT. You can submit questions in advance by tweeting them to @GuardianSustBiz using #askGSB or submitting them beforehand using the form below.
The role of business in development hub is funded by Business Call to Action. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here.
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