Hello,
I wanted to take advantage of the discussion forum to briefly comment on the competition assessment criteria and the rationale behind them for the ones who are considering applying - or who already did and would like to complement their entry (everybody has the chance to submit one revision to their application). In a nutshell, we are looking for innovative business models to provide critical products/ services to low-income people, based on profits and social impact.
The competition is open to initiatives from different sectors/industries and different regions of the world as long as they adopt market-based approaches and provide needed products and services to low-income communities. Many of the strategies used to effectively serve the poor have potential applications in other sectors and we hope to be able to encourage ?cross-fertilization?. In order to identify realistic strategies, we are only considering initiatives beyond the stage of idea or concept that have at least been tested in one location. As often, the devil is in the details and most challenges related to providing products and services to low-income populations are faced in the implementation stage when distribution channels are needed to reach remote rural populations or slum dwellers or the price points need to be adjusted.
The winners of this Changemakers Innovation Award will be those entries that best address the criteria: ? Market-based approach: the initiative is based on a sound business model and has the potential to be profitable or financially self- sustainable beyond the start-up phase. Low-income communities contribute by paying for the products/services they receive in part or in full. This is very important to ensure the sustainability and the scale of the initiative as many good development projects are limited by the lack of government subsidies or foundation funding. Here, we want to focus our discussion on initiatives from both businesses and social organizations that are demand and market driven. ? Social impact: the benefit(s) of the products or services provided to low-income individuals can be clearly explained and demonstrated (access to healthcare, affordable housing or technology, income-generating opportunities, etc.). ? Innovation: in order to provide products/services that are appropriate, affordable and locally accessible in spite of challenging conditions from a typical business standpoint (customers have low and irregular incomes, traditional products do not meet their needs, there is a need for a strong educational component to fully convey the benefits of your products or services to the end customers, etc), the initiative uses creative approaches and partnerships. ? Sustainability: the initiative has already been implemented or tested. There is a well-developed strategy to sustain and replicate/ scale up the initiative beyond its current location in order to benefit a large number of low-income citizens. We encourage you to take a look at the full competition guidelines: www.changemakers.net/journal/300508/competition.cfm
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Xiaowen
Return to Home Page