On June 24, 2014, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Inclusive Business Models Group at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, organized a webinar sharing key takeaways about the Global Consumption Database, launched by the IFC a few weeks ago.
- Click through the webinar's slide show below or access it here
- The audio recording of the webinar is available here
- For background documentation, we also refer you to this short brochure compiled by IFC laying out BOP spending in the area of food & beverages, housing, information & communication technology, education, energy, water utility, transport, health, and clothing & footwear and personal care.
The database is the most comprehensive and freely accessible dataset to date on consumer spending patterns in developing countries, compiled from surveys of more than a million households around the world.By making data on spending freely available in a form that is useful to the private sector, IFC aims to lower the up-front cost of exploring inclusive business opportunities, thereby reducing a critical barrier to investment and accelerating the pace of inclusive business development around the world.
slideshare
About the Global Consumption Database
The database is a one-stop source of data on household consumption patterns in developing countries. It is designed to serve a wide range of users – most notably businesses seeking a better understanding of the markets into which they are expanding or those they are already serving through inclusive business strategies. Companies can size up existing demand and willingness to pay in particular product and service categories. Businesses can also identify categories where demand may be latent, requiring greater investment and partnership to unlock.
Via the database, users can access spending numbers, view graphs and tables, and download data for analysis. The data can be broken down in several ways:
- By country - for 92 developing countries and emerging markets
- By location - for rural and urban locations
- By consumption segment - for lowest, low, middle, and higher
- By sector - for 12 sectors including food and beverage, housing, clothing and footwear, energy, transport, health, information and communications technology, education, personal care, water utility, financial services
- By category - for 25 sub-sector level categories, including dairy, grains, meat and fish, and fruits and vegetables within the food and beverage sector
- Specific products and services - for 107 detailed sub-category items, including fresh milk, preserved milk, eggs, butter, and cheese within the dairy category
Read more
- June Editor's Choice of The Practicioner Hub for Inclusive Business, by Caroline Ashley:
About the webinar organizers
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, it uses capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, IFC investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. Since 2005, IFC has committed more than $9.5 billion and worked with over 400 inclusive businesses in more than 85 countries to integrate more than 200 million people, including farmers, students, patients, and utility customers in core business operations. Click here for a fact sheet on IFC’s inclusive business work.
The WBCSD is a CEO-led, global coalition of some 200 companies advocating for progress on sustainable development. Building on its long-standing work on the topic of inclusive business, the Council engages business leaders across industries, in a collaborative effort with international organizations, government agencies and Global Network partners, to scale up action, gain greater insights, and overcome both internal and external barriers to scaling up these ventures around the world.