Stoves, water purifiers, off-grid power, nutritious foods – so many innovative products and services are being developed for Base of Pyramid markets.  But companies developing these products have to be innovative and creative in the face of several challenges: low purchasing power, traditional consumer preferences and logistical problems, such as inadequate infrastructure that hamper market growth.

So what are companies doing?  How are they…

Following our 'Measuring Impact, for Impact' event with Business Fights Poverty, WBCSD and Standard Chartered Bank, the question of how to track social impacts in a way that provides essential data has been at the top of our minds.



So we’ve pulled together a list of all our…

In November last year, the Business Innovation Facility was described as “an example of foreign aid at its best: a gateway to current information, a clearing house for insights on good…

By Ani Vallabhaneni, Co-Founder of Sanergy

How do you build a brand, and a logo, and an ethos that is powerful enough to provoke a movement for social change?…

Malawian fruit processing company, Malawi Mangoes, has today announced that it has completed investment funding which will fully finance its medium term development plan.

In the…

Innovation Against Poverty

Interviews

At the 2012 Innovations Against Poverty Conference and Awards, we interviewed Andreas Renner from elimentaire sarl.'s Moringa-based food additive venture in Madacasgar. Watch the video interview, or read the full transcript below. 

elimentaire…

Better inputs are the foundation on which improved agricultural productivity depends.  For all the innovation and high tech in the world this fact cannot be changed.  Lively discussion amongst 50 participants in Lilongwe on Monday certainly highlighted plenty of innovation, partnership and new technology within Malawian agribusiness; but sadly confirmed the input challenge.

This slide…

BIF interviewed Makarand Sorte, Managing Director of Cropserve Zambia Limited. We found out why Cropserve has chosen to target small-scale farmers as its main market for agro-chemicals, and what strategies they are using to reach them.  You can watch the full video…

We are re-publishing our 'Time with...' interview with Mezuo Nwuneli, Director of AACE Foods Nigeria, now with a full transcript of the interview, for anyone who can't stream the video or would prefer to read it!…

With roughly one year left in the pilot, the Business Innovation Facility team has gathered in Malawi to assess progress so far and kick off the next phase of the project.  Travelling to Lilongwe and Lake Malawi all the way from Bangladesh, India, Zambia, Nigeria and London, the team have come together for the third time since the launch of BIF, to take stock, exchange lessons emerging from over 60 large and small projects and to shape the final year of the pilot.…

Read the latest in our series of interviews with inclusive business entrepreneurs. Karen Smith speaks to Jonathan Jacobs, of Malawi Mangoes as he tells some of the stories about where the business began and how it has grown to where it is now.  Click to read the full interview.

In a new 'Time with...' interview, the Business Innovation Facility speaks to Mezuo Nwuneli, Director of…

Registration is now open for the second meeting in the Business Impact for Good Series on 10th July 2012 in London co-hosted by the Business Innovation Facility.

The meeting will explore the following questions

• What can we learn from current business impact studies on how businesses contribute to global and local development…

2012 Event Series: Understanding and enhancing business impact on development

As part of Business Fights Poverty's 2012 event series, this event - jointly hosted by BIF, Business Fights Poverty, AngloAmerican and Business Action for Africa - will examine how businesses are integrating assessment of their development results into their planning, key performance indicators, decision making and reporting, in ways that enable greater alignment between…

The global climate is changing and businesses - large and small, urban and rural - are having to consider the ways in which they can adapt their practices and policies to meet the impacts of these changes.

All sectors of the economy will encounter new threats and opportunities but agriculture is likely to be one of the sectors that is most impacted by climate change; especially where large smallholder populations, with limited adaptive capacity,…

At the halfway point of the Business Innovation Facility pilot, we have put together a document which clarifies what we do, why we do it, how we do it and, importantly, the results that are beginning to emerge. Those who are familiar with our work will be able to see the progress that has been…

Part of the Business Innovation Facility's 'Spotlight' series, this new case study shares the story of Mrs Phiri and her pupils at the Kalingalinga Basic School in…

Eighteen months into the Business Innovation Facility, the project portflio reflects a rich picture, with a mixture of different companies, sectors and innovative business models emerging in the five project countries.  Our latest Portfoilio Snapshots give three different perspectives on the projects supported by the Facility:…

In our first interview with an inclusive business expert, the Practitioner Hub speaks to Soji…

For many inclusive businesses, consumers at the base of the economic pyramid offer a large, untapped market and a huge opportunity for growth. But reaching these consumers, particularly in rural areas, can be difficult. Low purchasing power, traditional preferences and inadequate infrastructure can create barriers which make the ‘last mile’ of distribution extremely challenging.

In order to reach this unfamiliar market, many…