Bright Innovations

Scaling inclusive distribution channels in Nigeria and Bangladesh

Testing innovations to unlock the social impact of last-mile distribution.

Partners

Unilever
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Partnerships Resource Centre

Expertise

Marketing and distribution
Business model innovation

Sectors

Water, sanitation and hygiene
Nutrition and agriculture

Markets

Nigeria
Bangladesh

Timeline

2019 - 2021

Economic opportunities for rural women

Despite high GDP growth rates in Nigeria and Bangladesh, economic growth is not equally distributed across the population. Women, particularly those in rural areas, are disproportionately impacted by protracted unemployment, with limited access to training and economic opportunities.

Unilever, through its inclusive distribution programmes, has empowered thousands of micro-entrepreneurs in Nigeria and Bangladesh with income-generating opportunities. To scale this impact even further, Bopinc is working with Unilever to test innovative approaches that will improve the commercial viability and social impact of these models.

Impact

Supporting access to beneficial products

4

Companies supported in the design and implementation of product and business model innovations

222

entrepreneurs trained

335.000

low-income consumers reached with new or improved products and services

Testing innovations to improve the scalability of last-mile distribution

Last-mile distribution can be costly, due to households limited purchasing power and distances from each other. However, innovations in business models can help reduce the costs to serve rural areas and also improve the incomes of micro-entrepreneurs .

Bright Innovations is testing three innovations that, if successful, can unlock scale and increase the social impact of last-mile distribution. The innovations include:

  • Innovation 1: Partnerships with new suppliers
  • Innovation 2: Digital skills development
  • Innovation 3: Behavior Change Campaigns
Talk to us

Curious about this project?

Trisha and Akoji are happy to tell you more about it.

Trisha Clauson
John Akoji
Timeline

Project milestones

Discover

Insights gathering to understand current context, challenges and opportunities

Define

Develop and test pilot models

Develop

Learn from pilot, iterate and test new model

Deliver

Validate business model and scale