The Technology Enablers Initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) provides a platform for different industry sectors to explore opportunities for leveraging the power of technology, in particular information and communication technologies (ICTs), to enable and scale the business contribution to development. This presentation provides a brief overview on the initiative.

1. Technology
Enablers Initiative
Brief overview – December 2011

2. Context: major increase in access & connectivity to ICTs…
Mobile cellular subscriptions, by level of development
* Estimate, source: ITU 2

3. … potentially leading to new opportunities
Benefits for
Low-income communities Large (investing) companies
Better and easier access to information
Faster & improved communication (incl. emergencies)
Greater access to products and Increased reach and size of markets
services, incl. basic ones
Lower prices & transaction costs Improved productivity (time, cost
savings) and efficiency of supply chains
Improved quality of life Improved business environment and
investment climate, reduced risks
Capacity building Local knowledge and capabilities
Job creation and new opportunities New markets and offerings, potential
transfer of innovations to existing
markets
3

4. Goals of the initiative
• Analyze opportunities created by ICTs to enable and
scale the business contribution to development
• Leverage cross-sector experience to catalyze
successful partnerships or collaborative action
between member companies and other partners

5. Timeline of the initiative
MONTREUX MUNICH
Mar May Jul Sep Nov
Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec
Issue brief Collaboration events Issue brief +
Draft for internal Aimed at catalyzing cross-sector key lessons
workstream collaboration between member companies For public
dissemination
1 - Mobile address services to unlock inclusive business Introducing role of
opportunities in slums ICTs to enable &
• Led by TNT Express and Vodafone
scale business
• Develop mobile address service to enable people in
informal areas without addresses to send and receive contribution to
goods development, sho
• 13 “speed dates” between July & September 2011 wcasing best
2 - Role of mobile communications in food and agriculture practice
industry cases, and
• Led by Vodafone and Accenture highlighting
• Looking at how ICT is being leveraged to improve activities catalyzed
productivity & quality of agribusiness value chains
• Webinar in October 2011
through the
Initiative
5

6. 1. TNT Express & Vodafone: "WeAre" project
6

7. 2. Vodafone & Accenture: "Connected Agriculture"
report
Research aimed at
quantifying the
transformational impact
mobile services could
have for the industry…
…and at
prioritizing the
most important
services to
farmers, enterprise
customers and
governments.
Click here to access the report

8. More opportunities to explore
• Ideas:
Health
Asset efficiency
Supply chain management
Collaborative market research
8

9. Filippo Veglio
veglio@wbcsd.org
+41 22 839 3108
www.wbcsd.org