the Program Booklet - IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology ...

2012 GHTC Page 64
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
4:00pm – 6:00pm
East Room, 3 rd Floor
Panel:
Business for the Bottom of the Pyramid:
Dream or Reality?
Abstract:
A short presentation on (ICT) Business models for the Base of the Pyramid will
be given by Pieter Verhagen, business consultant at TNO. Following this short
presentation, a panel of high level experts in the field of business for the BoP
will exchange their opinions and insights. Panelists will be challenged to discuss
and debate the following assertions:
�� Companies do not understand the local demand at the BoP and do not know
how to do market research for the BoP
�� The number of success stories of projects at the BoP is limited, the risks are
high and the payback period is long; therefore, the BoP is not interesting for
regular investors.
�� In order to set up a successful BoP project, development institutions will have
to accept that profits will be made; companies have to accept that more of
their ROI have to go into development/social impact.
This will be followed with an exchange of views with the audience and a
conclusion by the moderator.
Moderator:
Marc Van Den Homberg is the co-founder and leader of
the ICT4D market team at TNO. Marc initiates and sets up
projects in two domains: ICT in post-conflict reconstruction
and disaster recovery, and inclusive innovation using ICT.
In both domains Marc aims at market- and communitybased
pro-poor innovations to reach social (poverty
reduction) and economic impact (enhanced
entrepreneurship). Marc presents regularly for example on
inclusive innovation using ICT in Vietnam, innovative
business models for mobile services addressing the BoP or voice-based
community-centric mobile services for social development.
In relation to his duties at TNO, Marc is a reserve officer of the Integrated
Development of Entrepreneurial Activities network in the civil-military battalion
that executes economic reconstruction tasks in fragile states, for example by the
UN/ILO Start and Improve Your Business program. Here his focus is on how
entrepreneurship in (post)-conflict areas can be stimulated in close cooperation
with NGOs and IOs.