What will it take to realise a US$5 trillion inclusive business opportunity

Some businesses have cracked the code. Engaging closely with low-income communities as customers, suppliers, distributors or employees whilst maintaining commercial viability, has enabled them to create what is known as truly inclusive business models.  

When this works, smallholder farmers shift from subsistence survival to reliable income, with agricultural enterprises providing seeds, training, and guaranteed markets at fair prices. Rural communities that relied on unsafe water sources now access clean water through locally-managed treatment systems.  

The unbanked leap from cash-only transactions to full financial inclusion through mobile money platforms. These inclusive businesses prove that the $5 trillion market opportunity represented by 4 billion people living on less than $8 per day represents a win-win for business and society.  

Yet across emerging economies, a fundamental disconnect persists between the potential of inclusive business and the support systems needed to realise it. 

The concept of inclusive business remains relatively novel across developing economies. While some governments have begun developing formal recognition systems, most lack dedicated frameworks to support enterprises serving low-income markets. This recognition gap creates unnecessary complexity for both businesses and policymakers.  

With formal categorisation, governments could design targeted support mechanisms, including affordable loans and financing, preferential procurement systems, tax incentives for businesses serving low-income communities, or even streamlined regulatory processes that reduce bureaucratic barriers. Currently, enterprises that aspire towards inclusive models must navigate complex business registration and support systems that do not acknowledge their dual mandate or unique operational challenges. 

Without formal recognition, governments cannot design the targeted policy support mechanisms these enterprises need to accelerate their growth.  

Simultaneously, many inclusive businesses operate as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), making them subject to the same financing obstacles that constrain SMEs across emerging economies. Many inclusive businesses seek loan capital, but banks demand substantial collateral—often several times the loan amount—alongside prohibitive interest rates and complex documentation requirements. 

The investment landscape presents further challenges, with limited investor pools making financing even more difficult. Impact investors—who should be natural partners—typically favour larger deals to justify transaction costs, whilst most of these enterprises need smaller amounts during growth phases. Even investors interested in social impact struggle to accommodate the smaller ticket sizes that such business models typically require. This creates a fundamental mismatch between available capital and business needs. 

Beyond recognition and funding challenges, these inclusive businesses face a critical third barrier: the shortage of appropriate business development support. While SMEs generally need technical assistance to develop robust financial systems and business plans, companies serving low-income markets require additional specialised services that are even scarcer. 

Few providers offer expertise in impact measurement, base-of-pyramid market analysis, or inclusive supply chain development—capabilities that such businesses need to demonstrate their social value and operate effectively in underserved markets. Without this technical assistance, these enterprises struggle to present the compelling case that investors require. They lack the tools to articulate their social impact through robust metrics, demonstrate market viability in underserved segments, or develop professional business plans that attract capital. 

This creates a double bind: businesses cannot access finance without proper impact data, documentation and business plans, yet cannot afford the technical assistance needed to develop these essentials.  

These three barriers—lack of recognition, financing constraints, and technical assistance gaps—reinforce each other, creating a system that keeps promising inclusive businesses trapped at small scale. 

What’s at stake then is that proven solutions to development challenges are being held back. Businesses with viable models for transforming communities cannot expand their operations—not for lack of demand, but because the enabling environment does not exist. The impact is tangible: agricultural enterprises that have developed successful approaches to supporting smallholder farmers cannot extend their credit and training programmes. Water treatment companies that know how to serve rural markets cannot establish purification systems in more communities. Energy providers with working solar mini-grid models cannot reach additional off-grid villages. 

 Breaking this cycle requires building comprehensive support ecosystems that treat recognition, financing, and technical assistance as interconnected challenges rather than separate interventions. 

This means governments developing formal frameworks that unlock targeted support mechanisms. It means financial institutions creating packages that combine patient capital with business development services. It means coordinating fragmented technical assistance providers to offer specialised expertise in impact measurement and base-of-pyramid market development. 

Most importantly, it means recognising that investment readiness for these enterprises develops over time and requires integrated support throughout the journey—from initial recognition to final scaling. 

The urgency for integrated approaches is growing. As traditional development financing faces pressure and climate challenges demand scalable solutions, inclusive business models become increasingly relevant. Some inclusive businesses have already demonstrated what is possible, achieving significant scale whilst creating substantial development impact. These success stories prove the model works. They generate revenue while deliberately integrating low-income populations into profitable value chains, creating local employment and building economic resilience. Better yet, once scaled, they can sustain their impact without ongoing donor dependence.  

Programmes like the Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) initiative are exploring how integrated approaches work in practice, bringing together financing, technical assistance, and ecosystem strengthening. A challenge fund that supports innovative, inclusive businesses in Africa and Asia, IAP combines grant funding with customised technical assistance and investment readiness support to invest in businesses that empower low-income communities as customers, suppliers, employees, and partners. These efforts focus on helping inclusive businesses grow their operations and expand their reach, enabling them to create larger-scale development impact. 

The question facing policymakers, investors, and development practitioners is whether we will create the enabling environment these enterprises need to reach their potential. The businesses exist. The market demand is real. What is missing is the support system that links promising inclusive businesses with the recognition, capital, and specialised technical assistance they need.