Putting the People First: Human-Centered Poverty Alleviation

Emily Smith is a second year MBA student at the Haas School of Business, interested in using social enterprise solutions to address poverty on a global scale. After receiving her degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University, Emily worked as a corporate consultant in New York City. She then spent time consulting with a nonprofit organization in Africa, where she discovered her passion for international development. After her time in Africa, Emily came to Haas to study market based approaches to poverty alleviation. Emily is President of Global Initiatives at Haas and head of Marketing for the Global Social Venture Competition. In addition, Emily has worked for a number of social enterprises in industries including microfinance, international health and fair trade.

Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, and Tim Brown, CEO of renowned innovation and design firm IDEO, are old friends with a world-changing business partnership. Last week at the University of California at Berkeley, they united on stage for the first time to discuss human-centered poverty alleviation.  Another close friend (and Acumen Fund board member), Stuart Davidson of Labrador Ventures, moderated the discussion. The intimate and engaging conversation addressed the intersection between design and development, which has made a partnership between two seemingly different organizations so profoundly impactful.

Jacqueline and Tim’s friendship began at a TED conference, where Jacqueline was discussing water issues in the developing world, and IDEO had just recently been involved in a design project with KickStart aimed at increasing access to water. They immediately realized that they were both working towards a very similar goal: helping people innovate in order to grow. Jacqueline explained that “we were putting ourselves in other people’s shoes to better understand what they want, and that’s design thinking; that was a whole new lexicon for Acumen Fund.”

According to Tim, IDEO’s questioning process is about “drilling down and spending enough time to get beneath the surface. Making people notice things they might not have noticed themselves.” The challenge with bringing this method into development is being aware of cultural context. For that reason, he emphasized the importance of getting design thinking out into the world.

To support this effort, IDEO has developed an incredible guide, called the Human Centered Design Toolkit, to help organizations and entrepreneurs use design thinking in their work with impoverished communities. The aim, as Tim explained, is for people in need to be co-collaborators, for design thinking to be a co-owned process. This approach, in these extreme markets, will lead to innovations never dreamed of in the developed world.

Stuart brought up a common question in discussions about social entrepreneurship and innovation: how does this scale? “It’s not about the insight scaling, it’s about the ideas scaling,” Tim explained. The process is about getting ideas; then you develop the ideas which are truly scalable. Jacqueline noted that many top down approaches are scalable in theory, but they don’t work effectively and lose traction quickly if locals are not involved from the start.

The discussion shifted to how the language of the industry has changed over time. In Jacqueline’s opinion, “language precedes change.” She recalled that eight years ago, when Acumen Fund started, she had to argue with individuals who refused to be called “investors” because they weren’t getting any financial return. Now the concept of social return on investment is becoming widely accepted. The lexicon of the industry is shifting and acknowledging the power of an investment-oriented approach.

At the core of the investment approach is a full respect for all human beings, a sentiment that continually surfaced throughout the conversation. Market-based approaches aim to treat people as consumers, who despite their income level, desire all the things we desire. Jacqueline explained that instead of telling people what they “should” do, it’s about asking what people want as consumers and truly listening. In forcing accountability and investing in growth, we are able to actionably demonstrate a belief that all people are capable of achieving success.

The sessions closing sentiment related to each firms contribution to change in the developing world. Tim explained IDEO is about enabling choice; creating new choices that didn’t exist, so that people can make them if they desire. At the core of what both firms seek to produce, Jacqueline concluded, “real dignity ultimately comes from choice and opportunity.”

The event was hosted by Global Initiatives, a student run organization at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, focused on exploring market-based approaches to international development. The discussion was part of a Haas class called Market Based Approaches to Poverty Alleviation taught by former Acumen Fund Fellows Jocelyn Wyatt and David Lehr. Not your average business school course, this is one of the many opportunities offered by Haas, bringing innovative market-based approaches to students with a passion for social change.

The event was sponsored by The Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership, The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Blum Center for Developing Economies.

Editor’s note: Video of the event can be seen on YouTube.