INSEAD Case-study “Max Foundation: Reducing Child Mortality through Business Model Innovation”
Case Synopsis
Imagine you have just lost your first child, and are determined to do something that spares other parents a similar loss. Imagine you then decide to set up a new social venture, because no existing NGO shares your ideas on impact and business model innovation. Imagine you do this in your spare time, as you also have a successful business career.
Now imagine creating a social venture that a few years later will have delivered clean water and sanitation to 200,000 people in rural Bangladesh, saving the lives of thousands of children.
Case A highlights how Steven and Joke le Poole, founders of the Max Foundation, used business model innovation to create a social venture to maximise the (health) return per-euro-spent. The potential for business model innovation is often overlooked, both in the humanitarian and in the business sector. Many of the innovative elements in Max Foundation’s business model can be adopted by other (humanitarian) organisations.
On March 17th 2011, HRH Prince Willem-Alexander, Crown Prince of the Netherlands and Chair of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, recognised the accomplishments of the Max Foundation, and went on to express the hope that many more people in the developing world will be given access to clean water and sanitation through its efforts.
Can the Max Foundation make this happen? Case B outlines three important decisions facing the foundation going forward: What is the best scaling-up strategy and its implications for the Max Foundation’s business model? What is the best way to measure its impact? What is the most appropriate marketing strategy?
The case can be used with different audiences. It includes strategic, organisational and marketing topics and is well-suited for use as an integrative and inter-disciplinary exercise. A wealth of supporting material is available to support the instructor, including videos and background information.
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My role in the creation of this case-study has mainly been focused on literature research, proofreading and advising the authors Martijn Thierry and Luk van Wassenhove on structure and content of the case-study, while I was working at the Humanitarian Research Group at INSEAD.