FRONTIER 100

IGD's Programs for Enterprise Growth launches with the Frontier 100 program. Frontier 100 identifies successful CEOs in frontier markets and creates opportunities for these leaders and U.S. CEOs to exchange knowledge, develop business and collaborate in global leadership. The program offers value for accomplished business leaders in frontier markets ready to grow their success and for U.S. business leaders who want to engage in emerging markets.

The first class of 20 frontier CEOs has been selected from a group of highly qualified finalists from Africa. Drawn from 11 countries on the continent and from sectors with strong linkages to economic development, the members of the first class lead successful companies and have shown a personal commitment to reducing poverty through enterprise growth. The frontier CEOs will be invited to participate in a series of events in Washington, D.C. the first week of May, including the IGD National Summit. IGD is currently reaching out to U.S. CEOs and companies interested in engaging with Frontier 100 by joining an Enterprise Team, becoming a mentor or participating in a site visit or staff exchange.

POLICY CHANGE

Addressing the needs of the world's poorest people should be a central priority for U.S. foreign policy. Over the next few months IGD will be developing a series of educational briefs on U.S. policies that will produce stronger aid outcomes, trade expansion and economic development in poor countries. IGD’s ongoing advocacy supports the implementation of policies that are focused firmly on improving long-term economic growth and raising productivity in developing countries.

In February, IGD partners in Portland met with Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley’s State Director, Jon Isaacs, to introduce the Senator and his staff to IGD and to provide an overview of our policy goals. This meeting was part of IGD's ongoing work to find opportunities and cultivate relationships between IGD partners and congressional representatives in their cities.

Modernizing foreign assistance
IGD continues working to lay the foundation for modernizing foreign assistance. On March 17, 2009 the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) published an open letter urging the President and congressional leaders to make global development a co-equal pillar of U.S. foreign policy alongside defense and diplomacy. IGD signed as an MFAN member organization and 28 Board and Leadership Council members added their individual signatures.
View the letter and add your name

In addition, 30 members of IGD’s Board and Leadership Council signed a letter to the entire Senate urging support for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the new Congress. The letter was featured on the MCC website. Support for the MCC is especially critical now as the Senate, which passed a very low MCC appropriation for 2009, starts work on its budget resolution.

Business leaders throughout the Seattle area convened for a conversation with Dr. Jenks and Dr. Badshah about the importance of a private sector focus on opportunities in poor markets. Dr. Jenks cautioned that many developing countries lack the capacity to generate a stimulus for their sagging economies and are becoming increasingly dependent on the private sector. He referenced a new publication by UNDP’s Growing Inclusive Markets initiative, Creating Value for All: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor, which presents case studies of businesses who are successfully incorporating emerging markets in their core strategies. Dr. Jenks emphasized the importance of capitalists to strategize and actively seek out new markets.

Dr. Badshah recommended differentiating new markets for the poor to promote entrepreneurship in developing nations. Rather than just teaching a man to fish, he advocated educating fishers on how to take their fish to market and helping them migrate from sustenance to sustainability. Dr. Badshah explained that Microsoft is expanding its potential consumer base by approaching poor markets differently, by designing programs for a different type of entrepreneur. He described a Microsoft project to design a secure, low-cost, multiple-user computer as an example of business enabling increased growth by tailoring its products to the needs of people in developing markets.

Considering the current economic crisis, Dr. Jenks said that it is even more important today for companies to explore the business opportunity provided by those who make less than eight U.S. dollars a day: the bottom 4 billion consumers. Catering to this new market is challenging and requires creativity, he noted, but incorporating this huge untapped market into a company’s fundamental business strategy can be a significant part of the solution to global poverty. IGD will continue working to increase private sector participation in the economic development of poor countries through policy advocacy and its Programs for Enterprise Growth.

Learn more about Creating Value for All at the Growing Inclusive Markets website.