The IB Action Network could be an important platform in speeding up the connection and support for SMMEs and large corporations in their quest for sustainability in an inclusive business context. Specific recommendations emerged from the SEED-adelphi hosted session.

SEED and its hosting partner Adelpi Research participated in the launch of the Inclusive Business Action Network (IB Action Network) that took place on 18-20 November 2014 in Berlin, Germany. SEED contributed by organising a session on “Accelerating green and inclusive business: partnerships that make a difference” and by sharing insights at a session on “Ecosystems for sustainable inclusive business: different approaches for support on the ground”. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) which implements the network on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), had also partnered with the 2014 SEED Symposium in Nairobi, Kenya as part of the run-up to the launch of the IB Action Network.

Accelerating green and inclusive business: partnerships that make a difference

Two SEED Award Winners and hands-on entrepreneurs Dominikus Collenberg of KAITE: Zimbabwe's bridge to the world, and Lorna Rutto of Ecopost were joined by representatives from 2 organisations, Ryan Little of the BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt and André Dellevoet of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and AECF in a discussion moderated by Helen Marquard, Executive Director of SEED. Having outlined the grassroots and institutional perspectives, the experts joined the audience to identify enablers for successful collaborations and recommendations for networks such as the IB Action Network.

One of key success factors for successful collaborations was the need to share common values. Defining goals and expectations jointly at the start was seen as an important prerequisite to identify common ground and to identify diverging interests that could jeopardise the collaboration. This process is invaluable in building trust, especially in the case of heterogeneous partnerships. Capacity-building in partnership management, in particular for Small, Micro and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMMEs), can help.

Finding the right partners at the right time is where networks can help to provide matchmaking opportunities or offer an easy way to stay in touch. A platform to share knowledge, communicating about emerging partnerships, and providing markers for support on legal issues such as intellectual property or contracts were other ways in which networks could contribute to unlocking the power of inclusive business. Lastly, global networks should not overlook the potential of SMMEs as network members and potential partners: their knowledge of local contexts can be a key to success for inclusive business.

Ecosystems for sustainable inclusive business: different approaches for support on the ground

Rainer Agster, Director of Private Sector Cooperation at SEED’s hosting partner adelphi, was invited to share SEED’s experience in this session. He outlined how by working on the ground with social and environmental enterprises for many years now and by training local business service providers, SEED was able to develop a tailored support approach for innovative enterprises and was contributing in building an ecosystem for green and inclusive business in developing and emerging countries.

Four of the SEED Award Winners from Africa and Asia – Green Organic Watch Cocoa Project (Uganda), Ecopost (Kenya), JITA Bangladesh, and KAITE: Zimbabwe's bridge to the world (Zimbabwe) – also participated in the marketplace that was organised during the launch event where they were invited to present their innovative business solutions and could also network with inclusive businesses and other support organisations. These enterprises present inspiring examples of partnership-based, locally-driven, entrepreneurial approaches to sustainable development challenges in the areas of agriculture, recycling and micro-enterprise development.