What is Inclusive Business?
SNV in Latin America focuses its efforts on advancing Inclusive Business, an entrepreneurial initiative which contributes towards poverty reduction by including low-income communities within the value chain – as consumers, providers, or distributors – while creating mutual value for both business and the low-income segment.

From early 2006, SNV and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have engaged in a strategic partnership to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction, through job creation and the delivery of products and services through the involvement of the private sector in Inclusive Business activities.

How do we approach Inclusive Business?
As the market leader in Inclusive Business development, SNV has worked with more than 70 industry leaders to make Inclusive Business a viable business strategy to create growth in new markets, lower supply-chain related transaction costs, manage stakeholder and shareholder risks, and leverage blended financial mechanisms. Equally important is our commitment to the Base of the Pyramid – the largest, poorest socio-economic population group in society with a per capita income of less than USD 2 per day – to boost their income and help them realise their massive potential as producers, service providers and consumers.

Who are our clients?
Clients who benefit from working with SNV using the Inclusive Business model include the following:

• Businesses
• Social sector and Non-Governmental Organisations
• Organisations providing services in the business development, financial, and vocational education sectors.

Example of an Inclusive Business:
In early 2007, the SNV-WBCSD Alliance for Inclusive Business approached PRONACA, a leading Ecuadorian food producer, with a proposal for developing an Inclusive Business model for maize production and decreasing the dependence on costly maize imports from outside the country.

The initial pilot began with 80 small maize producers, and has now grown to 200, with plans to increase to 650 producers in the coming year. The initiative includes a training programme for the small producers, coupled with facilitated access to credit and new technology, the combination of which has seen their productivity double and their monthly household income increase from USD 72 to USD 385.

What activities are undertaken?
Helping a client to launch an Inclusive Business includes, but is not limited to, the following lines of work:

• Developing an inclusive strategy and business model
• Encourage and establish dialogue between companies and small producers so that they can develop their supply chain and forge a mutually beneficial, win-win relationship.
• Facilitate new market entry strategies, for instance utilising the findings of ethnographic Base of the Pyramid studies.
• Financial brokering services to guarantee the necessary investment for the Inclusive Business, including finding sources of funding, screening, deal generation and establishing links between social investment funds, companies, and producers.
• Guarantee capacity development activities in the low-income sector, to improve the quality of products and find sources of funding.