Innovation Against Poverty 2020

Innovations Against Poverty challenges the private sector to develop products, services and business models that can contribute to the fight against poverty, and climate protection.

Through our financial and non-financial services, we support innovative Inclusive Business models that deliver commercial benefits for the private sector and developmental benefits for the low-income population, while paying specific attention to gender equality and environmental sustainability.

TARGET SECTOR & COUNTRIES

The program is designed for companies which are operational or plan to enter the market (with a local partner in case of foreign companies) in the following sectors:

And the following countries:

APPLICATION PROCESS

The IAP application process is organized around three phases: submission of a concept note and if shortlisted, face-to-face pitch, followed by submission of a full business plan. Each concept note will be reviewed to ensure that it complies with the minimum eligibility criteria and will then be evaluated against the basic assessment criteria, including company’s profile, project viability, inclusiveness, innovation, social impact, gender and environmental integration, cost-effectiveness, and additionality. Shortlisted candidates will subsequently be invited to do a face-to-face pitch and if successful, will proceed to submit a full business plan, which will be evaluated against the full list of assessment criteria, which includes in addition to the basic assessment criteria: sustainability and scaling, and risk analysis and mitigation. The applicant will be invited to attend a workshop for technical guidance on how to develop a full business plan prior to the submission. The application process consists of the following steps:

HOW TO APPLY?

The application process runs through innovationsagainstpoverty.org. Start the process by registering yourself in the online application portal. By registering yourself, your draft application will be automatically saved in order to finalize your application at a time that suits you best. Secondly, fill out the concept note application form and follow the instructions through to submission. If you are short-listed, you will be invited to do a face-to-face pitch.

Guidelines

Before filling out the application form, make sure to read carefully the guidelines that explain in detail all the aspects of the application process and the selection criteria. Click here to download

FAQ

In case you have additional queries that are not covered in the guidelines, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions. If your question remains unanswered, a chat room will be available for all applicants in the application portal. Click here to download

TRANSPARENCY

IAP secures a transparent evaluation and selection process by working with a multi-player independent appraisal process, so that no-single person can influence the process and/or the final outcome in any way. The selection process steps and assessment criteria are well-defined and shared with all parties. In order to guarantee fairness and best results, all companies in the application process will have equal access to information. IAP management will not enter into any individual communications during the call. Any inquires should be posted on the online application centre through our chat functions which is open for all, or by reading the FAQ. Final selection of awarded companies will be done by an independent panel of experts. Applicants can contact directly the IAP Executive Manager at cvanderjagt@snv.org to denounce any corruption practice or case.

ABOUT IAP

Private sector development has proven to be a real catalyst of change when it comes to creating the opportunity for low income people to lift themselves out of poverty. Additionally, low income markets represent a large business opportunity: the four billion people living on less than $8 USD a day constitute a global consumer market with a shared purchasing power valued at 5 trillion USD. The low income population provides the potential to increase labour, supplier and distribution channels that can support expanded production and market supply.