Thanks Jane! Sharing the results of retention rate will convince a lot of skeptics about the use of MOOCs.
Jane Nelson said:
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.
Technological platform (Web based) that allows organizing stores in its accounting, financial, inventory and human resources among others would allow the sustainability of these businesses and the option of associativity to have greater purchasing power and compete in the market. It is important to have a group of advisers to enable face tracking and training meetings with owners of small retailers
Hi all, this is Cecilia Zevallos, Enterprise Development Manager from SABMiller plc. I agree with Humberto's point on the need to keep an ongoing relationship with the tenderos and I know that 4E is working closely with SABMiller's Commercial function to integrate the programme into the value proposition for our clients so that our sales representatives, who have a permanent relationship with the clients, can monitor and continue to develop the contents of the programme in an ongoing basis.
Camilo Sánchez said:
Tha's great - will be interesting to compare findings in this area...
Jane Nelson said: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.
Jane Nelson said:
Justin - please tell our audience a bit more about the Social Progress Index.
Justin Bakule said: The Social Progress Index (http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi) measures across dozens of social, environmental and economic dimensions well-being at a country and even local level. It aggregates data in a way that helps hone in on the key social challenges in a particular place to establish a common way for policy makers to evaluate what is needed. What the folks who run the SPI have started to see is that companies who want to invest in a particular country or region can use the Index in objective way to talk about investment priorities with the government. It helps remove the conversation from I want this-you want that to what do the conditions on the ground tell us about what's needed to advance social progress.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.
From Andrés Peñate. SABMiller. In response to Flora Braco. Flora, 70% of the mom & pop shops at the base of the pyramid in Latam, the sort of shops targeted by of 4e, are actually owned by women. The program has been designed to empower female owners of these shops, the IDB-FOMIN has involment is focused on this.
Hello, looking forward
Agree here as well. Moreover, rather than isolated training on this or that subject, businesses may learn better when new techniques are introduced in the context of actual projects related to the business's goals. In this sense, we need less 'capacity building' workshops, and more objective-oriented learning of new skills. This allows for applied learning and the adaptation of general skills to specific contexts.
Sarah McMillan said:
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.
As evidenced by a study by OMJ-IDB on bandwidth for the base of the pyramid, this access to technology is a proven factor in developing poor communities around the world. A key issue involves costs as Telcos do not use differentiated tarifs for this popultaion.
Hi all, sorry to jump in so late. I am Arnaldo del Valle from TM CELL, a worldwide company that provides technology solutions.
Technology wise all of your inputs can be possible, I think working together we can develop a great program that keep stores updated and organized thru technology.
We are very happy to be part of this great platform.
Final planned question and then we can have some more questions from the audience. What is the scope for broader alliances of companies, donors, governments, and civil society organizations to work together to strengthen small businesses?
Including a gender focus was one of the areas that we thought was important to strengthen. The content of the training and how this training is delivered are being revised to incorporate a gender perspective, given that around 70% of the shopkeepers are women.
Hi Jane, this is Brett Bivans from the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD, formally ICAP). The achievement of Beer, Wine and Spirits Producers' Commitments (www.producerscommitments.org) will also require the engagement of small retailers to achieve their goals and the social benefit of reducing harmful drinking, including reducing under age drinking. Including this in the value chain and the relationship with small retailers, where as Andres says 60% of sales can occur depending on the market in Latin America, can be a powerful social norms changer.
Thanks BFP for arranging this discussion. I enjoyed participating in it. Please continue this discussion and join us at #GPW2015 for more partnership related events.
On the final planned question. Today’s societal and environmental problems are just too big for the public sector to tackle them alone. Confronting them instead requires increasing private sector involvement, as the scale and complexity of development issues puts their resolution beyond the power of any single institution. These issues require collaboration not just across sectors, but also across competitive industries, where the strengths of top, even rival, brands can be applied to identify innovative, effective development solutions. And herein lies the problem. Collaboration among traditionally competing brands means these means rivals must sign up for shared image and branding, something that doesn’t come quite naturally to ultracompetitive entities. Large corporations almost universally recognize the need to work in public-private partnerships. But to collaborate within their very industry??? The good news, however, is that change is coming. A new era of industry collaboration is emerging, and multilateral institutions like the IDB, feel very proud for facilitating it. Though the competition between brands is a given, companies are now more than ever willing to set aside the battle of the brands to achieve a larger socioeconomic and environmental impact. The process is not easy or fast, and the IDB’s neutrality and convening power is playing a key role in it, but programs like “4e Path to progress” have to potential to effectively prove that where there is goodwill, there is always a way.
Flora Bracco said:
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!
From Andres Peñate. Flora, you raise an extrenmely important topic. 70% of the survival tiendas in Latam, the target of 4e, are actaullay owned by women. But we are working on how to include the issue of gender also for the 30% of shopkeepers that are not female. We need to include the issue of gender equality also in the training for males.
Thank you BFP for arranging this discussion! I’ve enjoyed participating in it. Please join us at #GPW2015 for more partnership related events and conversation.
As we’ve discussed here, small business engagement can present similar challenges to the ‘last mile’ issues which bedevil development initiatives. It all makes sense but you have a massive distributed challenge of how to get information and assistance to hundreds of thousands of individual store owners. Obviously, a MNC company like SAB Miller has the organization and resources to engage its biggest customers with tailored service…but when it comes to servicing hundreds of thousands of the smallest customers, they need help. With the organizational commitment and resources, it becomes a smart play to engage NGOs, implementers like FUNDES, etc. both because the company can’t reach the small retailers but also because the NGO has local knowledge and relationships important to making this work. Importantly, governments and NGOs also have more specialized measurement capabilities particularly on the social impact side which companies tend to be lacking.
Due to the ET time change on Saturday, many of European participants are joining us now, so I will stay on for a further 30 minutes. Fellow panelists, you are welcome to stay on with me if you are able to!