Innovations for the Base of the Pyramid

At a side event to the Global Compact Leaders’ Summit in New York, the topic for discussion at this side event was the potential for companies to build on their innovative capabilities to develop products and services that provide solutions to the worlds most urgent social and environmental challenges. There was a special emphasis on the needs of the poor (the Base of the Pyramid) and innovations that can contribute to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The meeting was organized by the Confederation of Danish Industry and the Danish Ministry for Economic and Business Affairs and had an attendance of more than one hundred Summit participants. There were a number of companies from the Nordic countries – including representatives from Grundfos, Vestas, A.P. Moeller Maersk, Toms Group, LEGO System, Statoil, Det Norske Veritas, Getek Energy Solutions and Tetrapak – as well as Japan – including representatives from Sumitomo Chemical, Mitsui & Co., MS & AD Insurance Group Holdings, and Fuji Xerox. In addition, companies from other regions also participated, including from SAB Miller and Unilever.

Mr. Hans Skov Christensen, Director General and CEO, Confederation of Danish Industry, opened the meeting by reflecting on the opportunities at the base of the pyramid as a growth strategy for Nordic companies by leveraging their know-how and technological capability to develop products and services that meet the needs of the poor.

Mr. Brian Mikkelsen, The Danish Minister of Economy and Business Affairs – the co-host of the meeting - took over and gave a couple of concrete examples of Danish companies that have build a solid business model by developing products to meet current social and environmental challenges.

Following the Danish Minister, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General, made some very interesting observations on the current state of the global economy and made it very clear that businesses have a crucial role to play in alleviating poverty and improving the lives of poor people in developing countries. One of the ways in which companies can contribute positively – while at the same time building a sound business – is through the development of new products and services. Prof. Sachs in particular stressed the need for the private sector to take part in developing solutions to the water scarcity and lack of stable electricity supply that many poor people face.

Mr. Toshio Arima, Director and Executive Advisor to the Board, Fuji Xerox as well as member of the Global Compact Board gave a Japanese perspective on the discussion. He made it clear that companies from Japan at a general level share many characteristics with companies from the Nordic countries – both typically have high levels of innovative capacity and develop high-end products – and he confirmed that also among Japanese businesses is there a keen interest in exploring the opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid.

Finally, Sonilla Cook, Partner, Dalberg Development Advisors, introduced a new publication made jointly by Dalberg and the Global Compact Office. She highlighted a number of interesting trends and case studies that illustrated some of the ways in which companies can contribute to development through their core business.

Following these speakers, the floor was open for all participants for approximately half an hour, moderated by Mr. Hans Skov Christensen, and many representatives of both companies and other types of organizations contributed to a vivid discussion.

For example Grundfos - an international pump manufacturer based in Denmark - gave an example of how they are developing an integrated solution to provide affordable drinking water to poor villages in Africa and elsewhere. Similarly, the CEO of Vaisala – a Finnish manufacturer of electronic measurement systems – gave an illustrative example of how technology can be employed and further developed to solve important challenges in the developing world.