Dialog delivers on inclusivity

IFC honours clients for leadership role in developing business models that expand opportunity

Dialog Telekom PLC is among 12 clients recognised by IFC for their outstanding work to develop inclusive business models that expand opportunity for people who make up the base of the pyramid.

The IFC’s Inclusive Business Solutions conference in Washington this month provided a forum for IFC clients, staff, donors, and partners to exchange experiences and insights on commercially viable, scalable business models that reach the poor.

IFC client selection was possible by close cooperation between investment and advisory staff. Approximately 37 representatives of client companies, 22 donor representatives and the Gates Foundation were in attendance. Several members of IFC’s management team addressed over 120 participants during the conference.

“Businesses that serve the base of the economic pyramid are the companies with the greatest potential for growth in the future,” said EVP and CEO Lars Thunell. “IFC applauds these pioneering clients, whose work demonstrates that inclusive businesses models can be profitable and create opportunities for people who need them most.”

Collectively, these clients reach more than 30 million of the world’s suppliers, distributors, retailers, and consumers at the base of the pyramid. The clients honoured were:

Anhanguera Educacional Participações S.A. – tertiary education, Brazil.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited – health, India.

CEMAR – private electric utility provision, Brazil.

Coca-Cola Sabco – beverage distribution, Eastern and Southern Africa.

Dialog Telekom PLC – mobile telecommunications, Sri Lanka.

ECOM Agroindustrial Corporation – global commodity trading (coffee, cocoa, and cotton), Switzerland.

Financial Information Network & Operations Ltd (FINO) – financial services, India.

Jain Irrigation Systems – agribusiness, India.

Manila Water Company – public utility provision, Philippines.

MiTienda – rural retail distribution, Mexico.

Tribanco – financial services for retailers and consumers, Brazil.

Uniminuto – tertiary education, Colombia.