Inclusive Business
WHAT?
Inclusive Business is a market-based approach to providing goods, services and livelihoods on a commercially viable and scalable basis, with the effective participation of people at the base of the pyramid in the value chain of companies as suppliers, distributors, retailers or customers.
WHY?
Base of the Pyramid (BoP) markets present great opportunities for economic development and social impact. However, they require adapted business strategies that address the specific needs of BoP consumers, account for the complexity of market systems, and invest in long-term resilience.
HOW?
The Inclusive Business Canvas is a collection of strategy tools and frameworks to develop effective and scalable strategies for BoP markets. The 5 As canvas enables practitioners to:
- ✓ Develop scalable marketing strategies
- ✓ Select appropriate distribution models
- ✓ Design revenue models to balance profitability and impact
- ✓ Build organizational capacity for Inclusive Buisness
Featured Resources
Video: Scaling Impact in Low-Income Markets
Saida Benhayoune explains the importance for business and development practitioners to embrace Inclusive Business in order to scale impact in BoP markets. Excerpt from an interview conducted by the MIT professional education office in 2021 (2 min)
Webinar: Inclusive Business: Innovation and Resilience for today’s world
Emile Schmitz of Bopinc introduces Inclusive Business and the IB canvas, a step-by-step framework for how you can build or redesign your inclusive business model. Published by the MIT professional education office in 2020 (1 hour 16 min)
Case study: READY, STEADY, SCALE! Is your social business ready for scale?
A checklist to assess social business readiness to scale, and a collection of 10 case studies illustrating best practices to successfully scale inclusive business in BoP markets. Published by MIT D-Lab in 2017
Course: APPLIED INCLUSIVE BUSINESS FOR BOP MARKETS
Discover the IB canvas and practice designing appropriate IB strategies for BoP markets in marketing, distribution, financial planning and organizational development. Developped by MIT D-Lab and Bopinc in 2020