The Group of 20 (G20) launched a contest to identify innovative business models that succeeded in working with low-income people in developing countries, as part of efforts to support inclusive business innovation that is scalable and replicable.
Selected businesses will showcase their models at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Mexico, in June 2012.
January 2012: The Group of 20 (G20), along with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), launched the Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation, a global search for businesses with innovative, scalable, and commercially viable ways of working with low-income people in developing countries. The Challenge was launched at the G20 Summit in Cannes on 3-4 November 2011. According to the Challenge website, “inclusive businesses” are those that find innovative ways to work with low-income people living at the “base of the pyramid,” whether as suppliers, distributors, retailers, or customers. (As defined by IFC, the base of the pyramid (BOP) is the portion of the global population that lives on less than US$8 per day in purchasing power parity (PPP) or lacks access to basic goods, services, and income generation opportunities.)
The Challenge aims to promote the inclusive business model – and the businesses that already employ it – so it can be replicated in new markets. The G20 Challenge provides a global platform to learn from successful leaders in inclusive business, and enables these leaders to come together and develop linkages with other inclusive businesses.
Applications from developing countries are invited until 29 February 2012. Up to 15 winners will be selected, and their innovative business models showcased and recognized at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Mexico, in June 2012, as well as at workshops on inclusive business. [G20 Challenge]