Value chain partnerships for inclusive development – The perspective of the large firm

Value chain partnerships (VCP) are increasingly promoted as a tool to create inclusiveness in the value chain by including the poor as supply chain partners. A growing number of large firms are adopting this VCP approach to counteract the barriers to create inclusive development within the value chain. Recent studies though emphasize that the link between these VCP practices and inclusive business remains vague, as it is rather difficult to assess it in an objective and consistent way. This study takes the corporate firm perspective to study the links within the logic process framework of the VCP. It will focus on the input of the firm, the strategic intent and resources mobilized for VCPs, and will link this to the development of the VCP. It is aimed to explore the capacity of VCPs to change the inclusive business model on the level of the firm and the value chain. The research will be based on data from two large cross sector partnerships projects with inclusive business objectives in at least nine African countries.

Keywords

Inclusive business model, Partnership, Value chain, Base of the Pyramid, Multinational Enterprise, Lead firm, Impact, Scaling