Publication database

Over the past decade, a new wave of pioneer healthcare initiatives has emerged that aims to improve the quality of care and access to healthcare of vulnerable populations in LMICs by building commercially viable and scalable enterprises. These pioneers are developing novel delivery models – inclusive clinics and hospitals, pharmacy-based, community-based, and risk-prevention models – and are innovating to solve patient pain points by making use of mobile and digital technologies, offering financing and insurance solutions, and improving access to preventative and primary care. This report reviews the preliminary findings of a study performed by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, together with Hystra – a consultancy specialized in inclusive business solutions – to learn from pioneer organizations what underlies their early successes and what is limiting them from reaching further scale or impact. It reviews the landscape of global inclusive initiatives and identifies innovations that can strengthen the impact of businesses.

Since 2013, the G4AW programme has been supporting 25 partnerships in 15 countries in Africa and South-East Asia that have taken up the challenge to develop digital solutions, using satellite and geodata to improve food and income security at smallholder food producer level. The major lessons learned from the programme (about 8 years) are summarized in this new lessons learned publication. It focuses on the business-related decisions and the steps taken to move towards a sustainable business model and scale to other services and regions.

The Frontiers of Inclusive Innovation Policy Forum was organized by ESCAP in collaboration with Digital Pathways at Oxford, the Inclusive Business Action Network (iBAN), the Honey Bee Network, and the Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network (GIAN). It gathered policy makers, experts and practitioners in digital transformation, inclusive innovation, and governance to explore best practices, remaining challenges, and further opportunities to promote inclusive technology and innovation policies.

Between November 2018 and November 2019, Gates Foundation and Mars Edge discussed collaboration opportunities to accelerate the urban go-to-market strategy of Mars Edge’s nutritious savory snack GoMo™, specifically designed to help address nutritional deficiencies of 6-18 year olds in India, with a focus on reaching low-income consumers. The Growth for Growth (G4G) network of service providers set up by the Foundation’s PSP program co-designed this strategy to reach lower-income urban areas. In December 2019, the PSP approved a grant to assess and adapt the model during a market test. As part of the grant, the collaboration between G4G and Mars then continued until December 2020. This case study aims to share the lessons learned throughout this journey, in terms of public-private collaboration and innovation process.

Consumer intelligence refers to the insights and recommendations generated by research teams about target demographics of consumers. In the Growth for Growth network, ThinkPlace used a range of research methods to develop consumer intelligence. Regardless of method, this research focused on spending time with people in their context, learning about how consumers experience the world, not how we see their world externally. 

This toolkit introduced design-led prototyping for companies serving low-income customers. Design-led prototyping is an iterative process, meaning that critique and refinement comes through a series of validation exercises wherein consumers provide feedback to the prototype. Testing does not entail asking users what they think about the prototype as much as it anchors a broader conversation with consumers about how the central idea of the prototype might add value in their lives. 

This snapshot report details how prioritising green and social enterprises delivers triple returns - economic, social and environmental – in both short and long terms. It analyses the status quo, gaps and potentials of green and social enterprises as well as the SME support landscape in different areas and locations. Building on in-depth SEED-conducted interviews with enterprises and enterprise support providers, green recovery contributions and support opportunities were identified to improve the existing support offers for green and social enterprises in a green recovery context.