The newly formed Inclusive Business (IB) Accelerator is encouraging entrepreneurs from Africa, Asia and Latin America to apply for an online bootcamp on setting up businesses in Base of the Pyramid (BoP) markets.
The IB Accelerator, formed through a partnership between the BoP Innovation Center, international development organisation SNV, Venture Capital for Africa (VC4Africa) and Nyenrode Business School, aims to support entrepreneurs setting up companies in such markets.
It aims to create jobs and income, and provide access to quality basic products and services for low-income communities, connecting entrepreneurs to different players in the ecosystem through a matchmaking platform for founders, coaches, impact investors, NGOs, governments and other stakeholders.
Applications now now open until February 15 for the bootcamp, which begins in March and will focus on ‘marketing and distribution to the BoP’. The partners said this was relevant as “behavioural change and last mile distribution are key to setting up a successful business with low-income groups”.
The target group of the bootcamp is entrepreneurs working on innovative products in rapidly expanding sectors such as sustainable energy, food, agriculture, and water and sanitation.
“The participants will learn from the best inclusive business cases, have the chance to strengthen their capabilities and use a variety of tools to develop a marketing and distribution strategy,” the partners said.
“The powerful model of inclusive business is creating jobs and income, as well as access to quality basic products and services for low-income communities. The IB Accelerator is designed to both consolidate and scale-up private sector engagement in low-income markets, with the ultimate ambition to establish inclusive business as a standard way of doing business in emerging economies.”
