How Can We Achieve Greater Scale and Impact Supporting Small Businesses?

What is important for large companies is to sustain small businesses providing tools for these businesses endure over time. Tools technologies where these businesses can be grouped and remain profitable as well as chains or association of several entrepreneurs to achieve greater buying power and can generate higher profits

Apologies for the confusion on time! We switched to Daylight Savings Time in the US over the weekend and didn't catch the change in time difference. Thanks for logging in!

Sarah McMillan said:

Hello Jane, this is Sarah McMillan from Youth Business International - just logged in (apologies the website had two start times for the chat - 2.30 and 3.30 GMT) - just reading the inputs and comments so far.

On the policy drivers. Policy makers – to be successful in their task - need inspiration, advice and feedback from their stakeholders. Large companies are very well positioned to be very influential stakeholders that can share ideas and models as they have exposure to multiple countries and can help to transfer best practices and successful innovations; their management teams are highly skilled and very able of performing detailed analysis; while thanks to their permanent contact with clients they soon can evaluate and inform on the impact that policies are having on the ground. None of this will of course work if not done properly (i.e. advice cannot be lobbying; potential conflict of interest must be disclosed to promote transparency, etc.).

Policy drivers need to guarantee access to affordable credit (small businesses will struggle to survive in a country where the interbank interest rate is >10% like Nigeria) , they must deliver a simple and uniform tax regime and use import tariffs to protect small businesses

Great to see that we have 200 people online in this discussion! Please do post your thoughts on the questions above!

The challenge is to ensure webcam communication in places where internet is not good enough or inexistent

Jane Nelson said:

We have heard that in-person, hands-on support is greatly valued by the retailers. The personal relationships matter. But it is more expensive. Just recently heard of one example where a company is providing the personal touch via webcam.

Carlos L. Smith said:

The challenge is how to educate the independent owners of small retailers (Off or On-Premise) with limited education and a distrust for technology! Any suggestions

From Andres Peñate SABMiller: The most important policy change in may view is to simplify regulations so that it is easier for people working in the informal sector to move to formality. Often in Latam regulations are designed for realities that have little to do with the context where most people live and work. We need regulations in tune with the reality of the people and not the other way around.

Miguel, do you have good examples of large businesses sharing their experiences with smaller businesses?

I think the most important initial mindset shift needed is for national governments to see and embrace the private sector as an engine for helping solving social and economic issues. The development community has philosophically accepted this concept, but the change process is not complete. National governments also are the natural overseers of corporate commitments. New tools, like the Social Progress Index, help form the basis for country or even regional conversations about setting investment priorities that companies and governments can agree on. In particular, I think it's important that governments can help set the ground rules for defining success - in other words, you want to insure that social value and business value are being created not just incremental business value otherwise we would be back to business-as-usual.

A lot of our members are also using online training in combination with face to face training, so blended learning approaches, which increases reach without necessarily compromising quality. Naturally, other forms of technology (social media etc) also critical for increasing outreach and awareness.

Policymakers can create a variety of incentives and supports for large companies to support small businesses. Challenge funds, public procurement requirements, and demand-led training that is funded by government are three examples.

I have been keenly interested in platforms or forums for public-private dialogue and action for some time. I would look even outside the small business space for models that might be relevant, like the Business Trust in South Africa, which operated from 1999-2011, and the newer South African Strategic Water Partners Network. Philippines Business for Social Progress used to do quite a bit of work on small business and may still do.

The main objective should be focused on the holistic development of the clients, not just educating them. With programs three months this is not so easy. It is necessary to implement solutions that accompany a longer development process, maybe 18-24 months. Technology facilitates this approach.

From Andres Peñate SABMiller: The best way to trigger a policy change is by empowering the people currently affected by this policy. 4e ultimate purpose is to empower tenderos so that they can better articulate their needs in the democratic fora.

Hi there! Trying to catching up!

I would say that the most important policy drivers are on education, infrastructure and public security. All those items really affect the competitiveness of all business (besides their size). And even affect the possibility to support them. As we have seen in the previos answers technology could be a driver to scale up, but it needs a basic education level and connectivity. On the other side non of these is possible if the areas where tenders are placed, are so dangerous in terms of personal security that any help or support is hard to reach them



Jane Nelson said:

OK! Let's move on to the third of the planned question.

Where do policy drivers most need to change to enable small businesses to succeed, and how can companies and their development partners influence these drivers?

Justin - please tell our audience a bit more about the Social Progress Index.



Justin Bakule said:

I think the most important initial mindset shift needed is for national governments to see and embrace the private sector as an engine for helping solving social and economic issues. The development community has philosophically accepted this concept, but the change process is not complete. National governments also are the natural overseers of corporate commitments. New tools, like the Social Progress Index, help form the basis for country or even regional conversations about setting investment priorities that companies and governments can agree on. In particular, I think it's important that governments can help set the ground rules for defining success - in other words, you want to insure that social value and business value are being created not just incremental business value otherwise we would be back to business-as-usual.

Sarah, I remain intrigued by online training but my experience as a user is somewhat limited to what government makes available to us. Generally it is horrible! My question is have you seen good MOOCs and are there any studies that show the retention rate for the participants?

Yes - SABMiller, FUNDES, and MIF are using blended training. Classroom, in-store, and now (piloting) online. They will be measuring the effectiveness of different approaches.

Sarah McMillan said:

A lot of our members are also using online training in combination with face to face training, so blended learning approaches, which increases reach without necessarily compromising quality. Naturally, other forms of technology (social media etc) also critical for increasing outreach and awareness.

Many. My personal favorite is our Regional Initiative for Inclusive Recycling where Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are working together, hand in hand, in facilitating "waste pickers" organize and access the value chain of the sector.

Jim Thompson said:

Miguel, do you have good examples of large businesses sharing their experiences with smaller businesses?


Fully agree with this. Business mentoring that is longer term and developmental can be very valuable here.
Humberto Cardenas said:

The main objective should be focused on the holistic development of the clients, not just educating them. With programs three months this is not so easy. It is necessary to implement solutions that accompany a longer development process, maybe 18-24 months. Technology facilitates this approach.

What is the significance of spousal relationships in the context of small-business development, particularly in terms of project design? I would be interested in learning more about how SABMiller creates an inclusive environment for women and if Latin America and Africa may present different challenges due to unique gender power dynamics. In the context of 4e, it seems that the project is framed and measured by number of retails (as opposed to individuals), so how do we make sure that women are included in the decision-making process? Many thanks!