THE G20 RECOGNIZES the 15 WINNERS OF THE G20 CHALLENGE ON INCLUSIVE BUSINESS INNOVATION

The G20 gave awards today to the 15 winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation. The awards were presented by Ambassador Rogelio Granguillhome, Executive Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) and Chair of the G20 Development Working Group; Dr. Lars-Hendrik Roller, Economic and Financial Policy Advisor of the German Foreign Ministry; and Lars Thunell, Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group. 

Businesses around the world are finding innovative ways to work with low-income people living at the base of the pyramid, working with them as suppliers, distributors, retailers or customers. These firms are called inclusive businesses. They are important for donors and governments because they represent new production models that seek to have an impact on long-term, sustained economic and social development. Through this type of initiative, the private sector makes a significant contribution to solving social problems and reducing poverty by creating innovative business solutions in developing countries. 

The winning inclusive business models were recognized for their commercial viability, social impact, scalability and ability to be replicated in developing countries. The purpose of this initiative is to strengthen South-South cooperation in inclusive and commercially viable businesses by finding, presenting and supporting innovative business models that can be replicated.

More than 290 companies began the application process. The candidates were evaluated by a jury of 12 prominent experts from the private sector, academia and international organizations in the G20 countries regarding their ability to innovate, be financially viable, promote development, strengthen growth, replicate the model in other countries and be socially and environmentally sustainable.

The 15 winners are from 10 countries. Together, they reach more than 40 million of the poorest individuals at the base of the pyramid. The winning companies are:

• Agrofinanzas (Mexico): Improves the living conditions of Mexican farmers by providing funding. 
• Apollo Hospitals Group (India): Provides specialized medical services in rural areas and small towns. 
• Bakhresa Grain Milling (Malawi): Helps local entrepreneurs develop businesses selling baked goods.
• Brilla, a program launched by Promigas (Colombia): Helps people to finance home improvements, microbusinesses, education and the purchase of small appliances. 
• Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios (Colombia): Affordable education and student loans.
• Ecofiltro (Guatemala): Makes low-cost water filters with local labor and materials.
• Engro Foods Limited (Pakistan): Helps small farmers to enter the formal economy. 
•Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd (India): Irrigation systems
• Manila Water Company (Philippines): Affordable drinking water
• Millicom (Luxembourg), accessible financial services in Latin America and Africa. 
•Reybanpac Unidad de Lácteos (Ecuador): Fights malnutrition by making drinks enriched with milk bought from small farmers. 
• Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers (US): Supports small coffee producers in Central and East Africa by buying their coffee at fair prices and thus improving their quality of life.
• Tenda Atacado Ltda (Brazil): Helps small businesses obtain loans
• VINTE Viviendas Integrales (Mexico): Affordable, environmentally-friendly housing for low- and middle-income families.
• Waterlife India Private Limited (India): Builds and runs water purification plant to provide safe and affordable drinking water.

The program is one of the commitments adopted by the G20 in 2010 to support "private investment and job creation" in developing countries, based on the Seoul Multi-Year Action Plan on Development. The G20 challenge on inclusive business innovation, headed by Germany and Saudi Arabia with support from the IFC, is a component of the private investment and job creation pillar of the Action Plan. Susanne Dorasil, Head of Economic Policy, Financial Sector Division, German Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ), said "We hope that the winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation act as catalysts in provoking an intense debate about inclusive business models and the willingness to increase awareness throughout the public and private sectors, both locally and globally." 

During the ceremony, Ambassador Granguillhome said to the winners, "You are all an example of how to be creative and tenacious while managing profitable businesses that, at the same time, helping underserved populations, that is, those at the base of the pyramid, to become market players with access to goods and services. I'm sure you will all be excellent models that will be followed and replicated in many other countries." 

The winners will be invited to regional seminars and workshops on inclusive business, to learn from one another and exchange ideas and experiences with experts and investors. The first workshop will be held in Berlin in September 2012. 

For more information, please contact: 
Sabine Hertveldt, IFC Operations Manager: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

About the IFC

The IFC is part of the World Bank Group. It is the largest institution for global development, and focuses exclusively on the private sector. It contributes to sustainable growth in developing countries by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid global economic uncertainty, it helped its clients to create jobs, strengthen environmental performance and contribute to their communities, reaching record investments of almost 19 billion dollars. For more information, please visit www.ifc.org.

The evaluation panel is composed of the following individuals:  

• Aigboje I. Aig-Imoukhuede, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc 
• Ibraham M. I. Alturki, Alternate Executive Director for Saudi Arabia, The World Bank, and co-facilitator of the G20 Development Pillar on Private Investment and Job Creation 
• Georgina Baker, Director, Trade and Supply Chain, IFC. 
• Armin Bauer, Principal Economist, Asian Development Bank. 
• Michael Chu, Senior Lecturer, Initiative on Social Enterprise, Harvard Business School. 
• Susanne Dorasil, Head of Economic Policy & Financial Sector Division, German Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Co-facilitator of the G20 Development Pillar on Private Investment and Job Creation 
• Bernard Giraud, Co-founder and President, Livelihoods Fund and Livelihoods Venture (Danone). 
• Luiz Ros, Manager, Opportunities for the Majority, Inter-American Development Bank. 
• Victor Manuel Rivera Sandoval, Head of the General Office of Business Information Management, Secretariat for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses, Economy Ministry, and representing Mexico as the current Chair of the G20 and host of the June 2012 Leaders’ Summit
• Yasuyuki Sugiura, President & CEO, Mitsubishi International Corporation 
• Tim Turner, Director, Private Sector and Microfinance Department, African Development Bank. 
• Bharat Wakhlu, Resident Director, Tata Group.