2017 CONFERENCE: FRIDAY, APRIL 28
2016 MIT Scaling Development Ventures Sessions
This year's conference, on Friday, April 1, 2016, will feature workshops, speakers, and networking opportunities. All events will take place on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plenary sessions will take place in the Bartos Theater of the Wiesner Building (MIT E15), 20 Ames Street, Cambridge, Mass.
Program schedule overview here.
Keynote
Hannes Van Rensburg
Founder, Fundamo
9:30-10:15
Bartos Theater
Hannes is best known as the founder of Fundamo, the leading supplier of mobile banking and payment solutions – acquired by Visa Inc in June 2011. At the time of acquisition, Fundamo was the global leader in the provision of mobile banking solutions in emerging markets. Full bio.
Student Showcase Lightning Pitches
Friday, April 1, 11:30-12:00
Bartos Theater
20 current MIT students including Legatum Fellows, D-Lab students, IDEAS Global Challenge applicants, and others will deliver lightning pitches on their products and ventures. Each will be featured in the lunchtime deom showcase!
When to Co-Design
Over the last decade many organizations large and small have embraced human centered design to develop products, services, business models and other initiatives in BoP markets. Some have gone further to adopt co-creation by engaging stakeholders as integral members of their design teams. While it is apparent that stakeholder engagement yields improved outcomes, the process can be resource intensive and its return on investment has been contested. This panel will examine when it is beneficial to invest in varied degrees of co-creation; examples of effective co-creation; precursors necessary for effective co-creation; and tools to consider when engaging stakeholders in design in BoP markets. Panelists: Jean Capili, World Vision; Scot Frank, One Earth Designs; Kenfield Griffith, mSurvey; Moderator: Winthrop Carty, Melton Foundation.
Curated Conversation
11-11:30
Bartos Theater
Featuring MIT Sloan MBA and Legatum Fellowship alumnus Javier Lozano, founder and CEO of Clinicas del Azucar that is reinventing how diabetes care is delivered in emerging markets. Javier will discuss how Clincas del Azucar’s cutting-edge technology, innovative patient payment plan, and one-stop-shop model have reduced the annual cost of diabetes care in Mexico by 70% and prevented more than 60% of diabetes-related complications. Moderated by Anjali Sastry.
Vision Talks
10:15-10:45
Bartos Theater
Featuring three entrepreneurial leaders working to scale their ventures and accelerate social and economic progress in the developing world. The speakers will share the personal and professional circumstances that led them to become entrepreneurs, as well as the future trajectory that they envision for themselves, their companies, and entrepreneurship as a driver of international development. Kenfield Griffith, CEO & Founder, MSurvey, Kenya; Michael Wilkerson, CEO and Founder, Tugende, Uganda; Angela Nzioki, Founder and Country Manager, PlusPeople Kenya.
The Right Path to Last-Mile Distribution
Choosing the right distribution model can make or break an enterprise bringing new products to last mile markets. This workshop will explore what to consider when choosing between door-to-door sales and last-mile retail and when hybrid models are necessary. We will discuss the trade-offs between these different strategies and between proprietary channels and shared channels. You will hear about a new decision-making tool in development at MIT D-Lab to help social enterprises navigate the distribution challenge. Panelist: Huda Jaffer, Selco; Ben Mathew, Greenlight Plant; Moderator: Eric Verploegen, MIT D-Lab.
Scaling Financial Inclusion
From lease-to-own motorcycle financing in Uganda, to branchless banking and mobile money platforms in Ethiopia, to cloud-based accounting solutions for SMEs in Kenya, financial inclusion entrepreneurs are providing integrated, scalable solutions for people who previously had limited access to formal financial services. This panel, comprised of founders or co-founders of financial inclusion ventures, will focus on the challenges and benefits of scaling proven products into new geographies or segments. Panelists: Munir Duri, Founder & CEO Kifiya; Julio Lavalle, Co-Foudner PoupaCerto; Angela Nzioki, Pluspeople; Michael Wilkerson, Tugende. Moderator: David Porteous. Bankable Frontiers, Tufts Fletcher School.
Closing Conversation: Looking Forward
5:15-6:00
Bartos Theater
Closing keynote panel of participants from conference workshops, panels, and round-tables to discuss lessons and key take-aways. With Donna Levin, Care.com; Sorin Grama, Promethean Power Systems; Munir Duri, Kifiya. Moderated by Joost Bonsen, MIT Media Lab.
The Marketing Roadmap in the BoP
Most marketing techniques used in wealthy industrialized countries just don’t work in the context of Base of the Pyramid (BoP) markets. Generating awareness and fostering adoption of new products is a much harder endeavor in markets where consumers are more risk averse and cash constrained, and where access to traditional media is very limited. What techniques are most effective in the BoP context? How to best leverage mobile technology for building awareness and incentivizing adoption? This workshop will present the ATEAR model developed by the BoP Innovation Center, a step by step process to help social enterprises design an appropriate marketing plan for their specific context. Panelists: Elliot Avila, D-Lab Scale-Ups Fellow; Nicolas Chevrollier, BoP Innovation Center; Carl Jensen, Zasaka.
Knowing Your Market: From There - Lived There - Been there
What are the advantages of establishing a social enterprise in your country of origin? Are there disadvantages? What do you need to consider to establish a credible, appropriate, and successful social venture in a market with which you have comparatively limited experience? Are there advantages? The panelists, all social entrepreneurs with who are from their markets, have moved to their markets, or who have returned to their markets after considerable time away will discuss their experiences. Bring your own to share! Panelists: Carl Jensen, Zasaka; Bijal Shah, LALLITARA; Sunday Silungwe, Zasaka; Sidhant Pai, Protoprint; Moderator: Becca Smith.
Pre-conference Panel
The Politics of Invention
Thursday, March 31, 5-6:30 PM
MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Ave.
Amy Smith (MIT D-Lab), Pagan Kennedy (author, Inventology), Sasha Costanza-Chock (MIT Civic Media), Sunday Silungwe (Zasaka, IDIN network member.
Post-conference Event
MIT IDEAS Global Challenge Innovation Showcase
Saturday, April 2, 12-3 PM
Come join the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge for a celebration of the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and public service and the program’s 15th anniversary! For the first time ever, we’ll be combining our Innovation Showcase and Awards Ceremony into one exciting event! Showcase website.
From Problem Framing to Mass Production: Best Practices in DIY Product Evaluation
When a person lives on less than $2 a day — as some 2.7 billion people around the world do — there isn’t room for a product to fail. Investing in a product that fails undermines future innovation by reducing consumer confidence and depleting scarce resources. How can you design your product or venture using evaluation practices and principles from the very first prototype through mass production? Panelists: Dan Frey, MIT Mechanical Engineering, SUTD-MIT International Design Center; Chintan Vaishnav, MIT Sloan School of Management, Tata Center for Technology & Design; Maria Yang. MIT Mechanical Engineering. Moderated by Joanne Mathias, CITE.
Scaling Innovation-Driven Ecosystems
Have you ever asked what makes Kendall Square and Silicon Valley special places for entrepreneurial firms and what other regions might learn from their experience? Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (IDE Ecosystems) have served as the foundation of many successful regions since the first industrial revolution, and now characterize places such as Silicon Valley, Boston/Cambridge, London, Israel and Singapore. Join us for a discussion around the frameworks for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of IDEs, the programs and policies that can be designed and implemented to accelerate progress, and how we might apply (or not!) these ideas in the developing world. Panelists: Fiona Murray, MIT; Ann Mei Chang, US Global Development Lab; Adetayo Bamiduro, Metro Africa Xpress (MAX); Susie Kitchens, British Consulate, Boston.
Scaling Knowledge, Team, & Networks
We want to help inspire and guide you to where more MIT companies need to go – scaling to maximum impact. It is not just how you get started but rather how you scale your business to move beyond a startup at the Cambridge Innovation Center and become a big company. How will you tackle personal, institutional and operational challenges to make this happen? How will you leverage your knowledge, team and networks to maximize impact? Panelists: Bill Aulet, Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship;
Anisha Singh (mydala.com); Ricardo Lodono (Clínicas del Azúcar). Moderator: Donna Levin, Care.com.
MIT Student Demo-Showcase
12-1:30
Wiesener Building, Lower Lobby
Featuring social ventures, products, and services from current Legatum Center fellows, IDEAS Global Challange contenders, D-Lab students and more!
Special Guest Speaker
Ann Mei Chang
Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director, U.S. Global Development Lab
Friday, April 1, 1:30-2:00
Bartos Theater
Prior to her role at the USAID Global Development Lab, Chang held positions at Mercy Corps, Google, and the US State Department where she became a public voice on leveraging technology to improve the lives of women and girls in developing countries. Full bio here.
Morning Sessions
9:30 am - 12 pm
Wiesner Building
Entrepreneurship, Science, & Technology as Bridge-Building and Solution-Making Tools for Cultures in Conflict
The MIT mission states that the "Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges*.” Some of the solutions to today’s most critical challenges are rooted in the capacity of groups in conflict to work together and develop region-specific solutions. Science, technology, and entrepreneurship can be key elements in building these bridges and developing solutions to these challenges. In this session we will hear from some current initiatives at MIT and beyond to explore how MIT can leverage science, technology, and entrepreneurship to reduce conflict and develop bridge-building solutions and frameworks around the world. Panelists: Azra Aksamija, MIT Program in Art, Culture & Technology; Pamella Goncalves, MIT Sloan School of Management; Amin Manna, MIT Media Lab; Tim Receveur, PeaceTech Exchanges, PeaceTech Lab; Moderated by David Dolev, Assistant Director, MISTI.
Lunch and Post-Lunch Sessions
12 - 2 pm
Wiesner Building
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Session I 2:15-3:30
Lunch