GDC Innovation Challenge

Q&A Webinar 4 April 2019 - 9am BST (London time)

Facilitators:

Gerwin Jansen (BoP Innovation Center)

Jessica Utichi (Practical Action)

Agenda for this Webinar

About the GDC Challenge

Eligibility criteria

Questions & Answers

An idea to inspire

About the GDC

The Global Distributors Collective (GDC) is a collectiveof over 140 last mile distributors who operate in 43 countries and reach millions of unserved customers with life-changing products.

We believe:● Our members have a vital role to play in achieving the SDGs and

alleviating global poverty● Collaborative, bottom-up and innovative approaches are what is

needed to enable our members to fulfil this role.

Our mission is:● To help GDC members make life-changing products affordable

and available to all

GDC Innovation Challenge

A unique challenge that crowdsources

innovations from GDC members, helps

pilot the best ideas, and supports other

members (and the broader last-mile

distribution community) to replicate and

learn from those innovations

What is the opportunity for you?

With this 1st challenge, up to 4 ideas will receive:

● Up to £30,000 in funding to pilot the innovation

● Expert technical assistance to support implementation

● Connections to key stakeholders to make your idea a success

● Profile and support to disseminate learnings and insights

across the sector following implementation

What ideas are we looking for?Evaluation criteria

● Innovation You have a creative and new idea for the last-mile distribution sector in your region.

● Relevance & Replicability Your idea is useful for the broader sector and can be replicated

by other GDC members (even better: your idea relies on collaboration).

● Impact Your idea helps solve a pressing problem in your business, will help you reach

underserved customers, and is gender inclusive.

● Feasibility Your idea can be realised and validated in a 12-month period.

● Sustainability You have a clear vision of how the GDC funds and advisory support can help you

realise and validate your idea, so that you can sustain and scale it yourself upon completion of our

collaboration.

● Commitment You have the necessary expertise to realise your idea and you are willing to put

some skin in the game.

Eligibility criteria (part 1)

● You are a GDC member. Not a member? Register on our website

● Your organisation worked in the last-mile distribution sector for at least 1 year

● You have operations in one of the eligible countries for this first Innovation

Challenge (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Malawi), and

your proposed idea will be piloted in one of these countries

● You sell products that contribute to improved energy access for underserved

communities, including off-grid lighting, energy efficient appliances, productive

use equipment, and clean cookstoves + fuels (although this can be part of a

wider product portfolio) - UPDATED

Eligibility criteria (part 2)

● Your idea adds value to your core business. We do not fund your business

itself. Instead, we look to fund discrete business innovations that can be

replicated by others

● You require the GDC funds and advisory support to pilot your idea

● You acknowledge that your proposed idea will be made open source within

the GDC community to encourage replication and learning across the sector

(we can discuss confidentiality and data protection)

● Your team has proficient level of English in speaking and writing

● Your idea must be submitted by 22 April 2019 11:59pm BST (London time)

Questions received: Question 1

Q1. We are not a last-mile distributor (and member of the GDC) but our

company has an innovation for GDC members, can we apply?

Yes, but only when you partner with one or more GDC members that is/are

interested to pilot and adopt your innovation.

You will need to submit the application form together.

Questions received: Question 2

Q2. Can last-mile distributor consortia or other types of partnerships apply?

Yes, definitely! We are extremely excited about applications submitted by

collectives since the GDC Challenge is all about collaboration and replication.

In your application form, please specify who is the lead applicant. This can be either

an individual last-mile distributor from your consortium, or - if you have this - the

registered entity for your collective. If your idea is selected, the GDC will contract 1

lead party that will receive the funds and is responsible for implementation of the

pilot.

Questions received: Question 3

Q3. Is there a limit for the number of applications we can be involved in?

Great that you have so many ideas! We accept multiple applications from the

same GDC member but we will only select 1 of your ideas.

If you want to increase your chances of being involved in multiple ideas selected,

we recommend teaming up with other last-mile distributors that can submit an

application form together with you.

Questions received: Question 4

Q4. It's not clear if the GDC Challenge only supports last-mile distributors of

electricity solutions for off-grid populations. Is cookstove distribution eligible as

well? And how about sales in urban territories?

We agree that we were not very clear about this. You are eligible to apply if you

can demonstrate that your idea contributes to SDG 7 and energy access broadly.

This includes the distribution of off-grid lighting, energy efficient appliances,

productive use equipment, clean cookstoves and fuels. We define underserved

communities as those living below 8.44 USD/day, either in rural or urban areas.

Questions received: Question 5

Q5. Is there need for the applicant to co-finance the idea?

We have not set a required amount of co-funding for this Challenge and co-

funding is not a requirement. However, as shown in the list of Evaluation criteria

we find it important that you can demonstrate that your organisation is

committed to delivering a successful pilot for your idea. This may include funding

some of the work yourself, because the funds we provide might not be sufficient.

Questions received: Question 6

Q6. Is an idea still eligible if there has been a pre-pilot?

We will not consider ideas that are very new to you. You will have to be able to

demonstrate that you have already worked on this idea for a while, and - even

better - that you have already tested the idea (on a small scale). So, a pre-pilot is

great. Our funds should be used to prepare and implement a pilot that will help you

collect significant evidence on the impact of the innovation for your business, as

well as for other last-mile distributors that might be interested to replicate the idea.

Please consider this when answering question 6 on the application form.

Questions received: Question 7 (part 1)

Q7. Are there any restrictions on the use of the cash?

Yes the GDC will not fund the following costs as part of the pilot:

I. General (indirect) overheads of your core business; II. Financing or similar costs;III. Maintenance and support costs to the extent that these relate to maintenance

and/or support services beyond the scope of the pilot;IV. Taxation;V. Fines and penalties;VI. Non‐cash items (incl. depreciation, amortisation, impairments, and movements

in provisions);

Questions received: Question 7 (part 2)

In addition to the above restrictions, if your idea passes the first selection phase we will

help you to refine your idea and model using a pre-procurement Skype call. We will assess

the costs included in the pilot budget for value for money using the following criteria:

Criteria Qualifying Definition for a cost Applicable Questions

AppropriateWhat cost lines are included?

In its character and nature, it must represent a cost that is expected to be incurred in the conduct of delivering the innovation and should be able to withstand scrutiny

• Is the inclusion of the cost fair and equitable?• Would it be expected to be incurred as part of the pilot?• Would the inclusion of the cost withstand public scrutiny?

AttributableHow is the line costed?

It is incurred in the fulfilment of the pilot. We will not pay for the cost of business as usual

• Is the cost borne by the firm and consistent with the normal accounting practice of the supplier

• Is the cost identifiable and evidence that the cost has not been incurred elsewhere?

ReasonableWhy is the line costed at that value?

It should not exceed what is likely to be expected to be incurred in the normal delivery of the pilot.

• Is the cost consistent with the pilot and sector/market benchmarks?

Only overheads that are justifiable (using the above criteria) as part of the project will be funded and they must be included as separate line items within your submitted budget.

Questions received: Question 8

Q8. What stage of the business life cycle does the applicant need to be in ?

● We will accept applications from members at any stage of their lifecycle but

your organisation will have worked in the last-mile distribution sector for at

least 1 year

● You will need to be able to demonstrate financial viability as part of the due

diligence process if selected.

An idea to inspire you

An idea to inspire you

The Innovation Challenge we took on in 2018:

How might we increase sales

of latrines to the BoP, using new

and creative marketing tools?

Removing consumer barriers

What do you think?

Removing consumer barriers

With our innovation we aimed to address these 2 barriers

Where new ideas come from

Contextualising the idea

“It feels like I’m really inside the bathroom.

I can see all the materials and how big it is which makes it

easier for me to understand what I will get if I buy.”

Getting relevant actors onboard

VR Production

Marketingagency

Launching customer

Innovation & learning support

Customers interested in replication

Planning the innovation process

1. VR experiments

Test different existing VR experiences with

20 households(1 day)

2.Prototyping

Test concept with 2 sales teams and40 households

(1 month)

3.MVP pilot

Test optimised experience with 10

sales teams and400 households

(3 months)

12-month testing & refining trajectory > > > >

Setting KPIs for pilot to define success

1. Improved lead generation: % more customers showing

interest in product after first interaction with sales agent

2. Increased sales efficiency: % less time spend per customer

3. Improved recognition, trust and appreciation of the

company’s brand and sales agents: % increase in brand

awareness and appreciation scores

4. Improved motivation and loyalty of sales agents: % increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS)

5. Value for money: acceptable VR marketing investment for

Sanitation Enterprises for the benefits above

(incl. reduced customer acquisition costs)

Launching customer

Customers interested in replication

Defined

together with:

and:

Pilot results

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJs0yzBAq1I

And now… replication

?

We look forward to your ideas!

25 March 2019

Submit your Idea Application Form

Get feedback & refine your idea

Join our Q&A webinar

Announcementof selected ideas

Launch ofChallenge

Submit your Refined Idea

4 April 2019

6 May - 7 June2019

1 July 2019

STAGE 27 June 2019

STAGE 122 April

2019