In a blog post in late 2009, we highlighted how the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is promoting market-based approaches to reaching and serving Latin America's poor through its Opportunities for the Majority initiative (OMJ - see embedded video below). Last week, OMJ organized its second strategic partners’ dialogue in Washington, D.C., which mixed strategic stock-taking with practical discussion that touched different topics, ranging from strategy and innovation to the role of multilateral institutions in this space.
The meeting was attended by a large number of OMJ’s partners, most notably Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, CEMEX, Dalberg, Empresas Públicas de Medellin, GAIN, Grameen Foundation, IGNIA, International Finance Corporation, Mi Tienda, Microsoft, PepsiCo, SEVEN Fund, VisionSpring, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
In his opening remarks, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno underlined that “across the globe, proponents of sustainable development are pioneering new products and services that can offer low income populations tools for reducing vulnerability and/or enhancing socio-economic well-being. Targeting this market gives the international development community a framework for concerted action.”
Mr. Moreno also mentioned the need for innovation support and assistance to help pioneering inclusive business ventures “make the leap from interesting pilot to commercial, replicable and scalable” models.
In view of delivering the next generation of commercially scalable and replicable activities that benefit low income-markets, Mr. Moreno emphasized the need to take advantage of what the IDB calls “platforms” by establishing “agreements with those existing networks with great capillarity in low-income populations” in view of multiplying the impact of inclusive business investments. “For instance, we may think about how to exploit the development role of millions of low-income families in Brazil, Mexico and other countries who receive cash transfers as incentives for school attendance and preventive health. Rather than consider these recipients as victims, they can be viewed as enablers. Why? Because they are developing positive track records as citizens that can help them gain access to bank accounts, micro-cards, credit cards and debit cards. Obtaining this kind of financial identity has been proven to result in higher incomes and living standards.”
After Moreno’s speech, the IDB Vice President for Private Sector and Non-Sovereign Guarantee Operations, Steven Puig, highlighted OMJ’s portfolio, which has now approved over US$100 million in innovative, market-based business models for the base of the pyramid. Thereafter, SEVEN Fund’s Michael Fairbanks led a discussion on the different ways various entities understand poverty and prosperity, and the importance of fostering dialogue and cooperation to effectively engage the base of the pyramid. Michael Chu founder of the IGNIA Fund, talked about how innovation and risk-taking have led to the growth of microfinance and are the key to success for inclusive business models. And Jordan Kassalow of VisionSpring explained how his organization is creating new distribution channels through partnerships, helping them reach scale in making eyeglasses available in low-income communities around the world. Furthermore, the meeting addressed topics such as competitiveness, communication, measuring impact, as well as the role of multilateral institutions.
Download this document (pdf, 3 pages) for a comprehensive summary of the day's discussions.
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