On the 17th and 18th of September, in the context of the 6th edition of the Forum Mondial Convergences 2013 in Paris, CAD presented the Inclusive business Toolbox, a compilation of key tools and reference documents to help practitioners improve their impact on BOP management.
From 2011 to 2013, CAD, jointly with BoP Innovation Center, CSR Europe, GDF SUEZ, IMS Entreprendre pour la Cité and Business in the Community (BITC), coordinated a collaborative project on “Inclusive Business Models. Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth at the Base of the Pyramid”. This collaborative project was built on the idea that a lot of expertise and resources on inclusive business does exist all over Europe but still lacks visibility. It resulted in the creation of two deliverables:
– Mapping of European donor programs to support inclusive business models.
– The toolkit of key tools and references.
The toolkit is aimed at helping practitioners find their way through the diversity of key resources and tools developed by expert organizations on inclusive business models. It is designed to foster inclusive business models development, help companies build on the lessons learned from the experience acquired to date, and address various challenges such as:
- Identify opportunities that meet social needs
- Work closely with targeted communities
- Build partnerships with the ecosystem of actors
- Find funding streams and models
- Evaluate their economic and social impacts
It is structured under the following areas:
– Understanding: Raise awareness in the company and forge the vision; analyze your market; and get inspiration through open innovation platforms.
– Co-creation: Partner-up: Create a shared vision and language; Co-create innovative business models; and implement inclusive innovations
– Scale and shared value: Promote access to finance; evaluate your impact; upscale and replicate successful business models.
The toolkit provides a simple overview of the tools and resources available, covering the different stages of development: initiation, development and scaling up of inclusive business models. Thus, it is geared towards both beginners and pioneers of inclusive business models.
