BCtA

BCtA Annual Forum 2018

28 September 2018 | 9am - 2pm  
Japan Society | 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY, United States

The 8th BCtA Annual Forum will take place in the margin of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 28 September 2018. The BCtA Annual Forum provides a unique multi-stakeholder platform to support Inclusive Business action and partnerships to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – fostering public-private dialogues, catalysing new partnerships and alliances, and exploring innovative business solutions to accelerate sustainable development.

 


The 8th BCtA Annual Forum will be held during the Global Goals Week. 

Agenda
 
  • 8:30 am
    Breakfast & Registration 
  • 9:00 am
    Chair's Opening Remarks Paula Pelaez, Head of the Business Call to Action
  • 9:05 am
    Opening Keynote Yao Huang, Founder of The Hatchery
    Q&A with Mohamed Abdelmeguid, Lead Analyst, the Economist Intelligence Unit
  • 9:30 am
    Digitalisation, the Future of Work and Tech Solutions for an Inclusive Economy: Automation, Digital Platforms and Other Innovations

    Automation, digital platforms, and other innovations are changing the fundamental nature of work around the world. They present both threats and opportunities for the employment agenda for IB in developing countries. This can happen for the better — such as when digital jobs create new opportunities for independent workers — or for the worse, such as when popular roles become automated. What are some of the opportunities IB already grasped to create good jobs, how can they make the most of it, how should we shape the broader ecosystem to respond to the risks and opportunities presented by these disruptive technologies? 

    Stuart Hart, Program Director, the Sustainable Innovation MBA Program at University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business 
    Teresa Mbagaya, Principal Investments and Education, Omidyar Network
    Gabriela Rocha, Partner & Growth VP, Laboratoria
    Moderated by Mohamed Abdelmeguid, Lead Analyst, the Economist Intelligence Unit 
  • 10:15 am
    Market Place Presenters Pitch I

    Dr Agbor Ashumanyi Ako, GiftedMom
    Ting Shih, ClickMedix
    Nash Barrett, SafeMotos

  • 10:25 am
    Keynote

    Jack Sim, Founder of World Toilet Organisation and BoP HUB

  • 10:50 am
    Networking Break
  • 11:10 am
    Disruptive Technologies, Economic Inclusion and Supply Chains: Blockchain, AI and the Internet-of-Things
    Blockchain, AI and other disruptive technologies offers an enormous opportunity for the 4 billion people at the bottom of the global income pyramid (BoP) to attain more prosperity. Blockchain, for instance, through its decentralized, secure and transparent system of storing and making transactions, supports a range of services for the BoP. It can provide the “unbanked” with access to financial services through cryptocurrencies; it can be used to execute record and verify contracts without the need for a third-party; and it can reduce transaction fees and improve supply chain management for entrepreneurs. What are some of the innovative models developed by IB around these disruptive technologies? How do they navigate the lack of regulations? Will it lead to economic inclusion? 

    Simon Zadek, Principal, Project Catalyst, Executive Office of the Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
    Ruchika Singhal, Vice President - Global Health & Medtronic Labs, Medtronic
    John Corbett, CEO, aWhere
    Moderated by Mohamed Abdelmeguid, Lead Analyst, the Economist Intelligence Unit 
  • 11:55 am
    Market Place Presenters Pitch II

    Shelley Saxena, Sevamob
    Andy Beard, Vanu
    Jessica Alderman, Envirofit

  • 12:00 am
    Parallel session I - Driving Green Growth: Inclusive Business Innovation, Clean Energy and Climate Technologies

    The need for innovative solutions in climate change mitigation and adaptation is an opportunity for companies to develop new products and services and serve new markets. Business leaders have an important role to play in addressing climate change by pursuing business opportunities, advocating for effective public policies, and designing their own approaches. Inclusive businesses are increasingly mobilising green investment, promoting green private sector development, and harnessing skills and knowledge for addressing climate change across the world. Efforts include developing clean infrastructure, reducing energy and water use, improving the climate resilience of cities and communities, and supporting natural capital and ecosystems. Challenges for private sector engagement on the environment include a lack of evidence on environmental outcomes, moving beyond demonstration projects to scale up successful approaches and the need to strengthen links with partner country priorities. Emerging good practice spans ways to communicate the business benefits of addressing environmental issues, understand and address the barriers to private sector engagement on environmental issues, promote sound business models and adopt a holistic approach that includes support for an enabling policy environment for investment and business.
    Andreas Ahrens, Head of Climate, Project Manager – Climate Positive Strategic Initiative, Sustainability Range & Supply, IKEA 
    Christoffer Falsen, Founder and CFO, TRINE
    Jessica Alderman, Director of Communications and Public Relations, Envirofit International
    Moderated by Charles O'Malley, Green Commodities Programme Senior Partnerships Advisor, UNDP

  • 12:00 am
    Parallel session II - Data’s big moment? Embracing Disruptive Technologies and Engaging with the SDGs for Greater Impact.

    Digital technologies offer the potential to fundamentally change lives around the world. While much progress has been made in measuring the use of new technologies adopted or developed by IB, how to leverage these technologies to better assess ones’ impact can be further analysed and understood.  

    This one-hour dialogue will feature organizations on the cutting-edge of use of technology and data-driven approaches to manage their impact and drive their commitment to the sustainable development goals.  The panellists will offer a candid perspective on the opportunities and challenges in developing and implementing these approaches.  They will also share their views on how their innovative approaches can contribute to more inclusive and sustainable business decisions and informing conducive policies at national level.
    Melissa Menke, Founder and CEO, Access Afya
    Ariel da Silva, Head of Environment, Itaipu Binacional, Brazil
    Mounir Sada, Innovation Business Services, SAP
    Gemma Corrigan, Practice Lead, Inclusive Growth, Future of Economic Progress, World Economic Forum
    Moderated by Paula Pelaez, Head of the Business Call to Action

  • 12:00 am
    Parallel session III (Hosted by iBAN) - The X-factor - transforming Inclusive Businesses into Unicorns: Financing disruptive technology innovation in the world of inclusive business

    This session explores the financing aspect of the unique opportunities of scale that digital technology innovations for the 4.5 billion at the base of the pyramid offer in terms of financial returns and positive social impact, and how collaboration of the tech, impact investment and development community could lead to inclusive business unicorns. The session will consist of a highly interactive discussion by esteemed panellists representing the impact, tech and inclusive business worlds and offer the opportunity to discussing partnerships afterwards leading to lunch. The results of the discussion will be incorporated in iBAN’s 2019 work stream on partnership facilitation and matchmaking.

    Eriko Ishikawa, Global Head Inclusive Business, IFC – World Bank Group
    Brad Swanson, Partner, Developing World Markets
    Alberto Gomez-Obregon, Global Director of Portfolio, Acumen Fund
    Ndidi Nwuneli, Founder LEAP Africa, Co-founder of AACE Food and Co-founder & Managing Partner Sahel Consulting
    Zissmos Vergos, Team Leader Private Sector Development, Unit C 4 at DEVCO, European Commission 
    Moderated by Royston Braganza, CEO, Grameen Capital India and Markus Dietrich, Director Asia and Policy, Inclusive Business Action Network (iBAN)
  • 1:00 pm
    Marketplace and Lunch
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