20 17

NNOVATION
MARKETPLACE

ABOUT THE
COMPETITION
Modeled after the World Banks Innovation Marketplace (1998), the 2017
Innovation Marketplace is organized by the GeorgetownDevelopment Initiative
and will be held in April 2017 at Georgetown University (Washington D.C.).
Innovation Marketplace is an international development case competition that
seeks to generate deeper conversations about the development challenges facing
our global community, but more importantly to encourage the ideation of
solutions to address such challenges.
The Georgetown Development Initiative (GDI) is a student organization on
campus with a mission to create a network of development-oriented academics
and professionals. In the past, GDI members have attended development events in
the city to learn about the various international challenges facing our communities.
In 2014, GDI started Innovation Marketplace as a platform to provide realistic
simulations and hands-on experience for undergraduates along the east coast to
world problems. Through Innovation Marketplace, participants have a better
appreciation of development challenges, have the opportunity to interact and
engage in constructive dialogues with like-minded individuals from across the
country, and are also presented with a unique networking experience with
thought leaders, experts, and scholars in the field of international development.
Participants will compete in teams of 2-5 people and submit proposals
outlining their solutions to one of three real case studies in the field of
international development. The finalists will be invited to 2017 Innovation
Marketplace to share their proposals before a panel of development practitioners
and community stakeholders. Winners will be given the opportunity to design and
implement their solutions through GDI and renowned NGOs.

Objectives of the Innovation Marketplace

(a) Provide a forum for the ideation and exchange of knowledge to solve global
development challenges
(b) Connect aspiring change-makers with development practitioners
(c) Provide students with a better appreciation of the challenges in the field of
development, and the complexities of solving these challenges

PARTICIPATION
CRITERIA & ELIGIBILITY

In order to compete, interested participants must:

(a)

Be enrolled as an undergraduate at a University during the

Spring 2017 semester.

(b)

Be able to present to a panel of judges at Georgetown

University in Washington D.C. in April 2017, if shortlisted.

Registering as a Team
(a)

Each team must submit a Team Registration Form* and write

the teams name in the Team Name field by February 13.

(b)

Each team can have 2-5 members.

(c)

Members can be added to the registered team at any time till

the end of the proposal submission date, March 06.

(d)

Each team member must fill out a Individual Registration

Form* and clearly indicate the teams name in the Team
Name field

*All forms cam be found on our website: gudev.org

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CASE INFORMATION
Participants are provided with 3 development case studies to choose from.
Alternatively, participants may also submit proposals under the open category by
selecting a development challenge of their choice. However, teams that choose to
apply via the open category are advised to email their choice of development
challenge to devinitiative@georgetown.edu early for approval.

Case I) Water Security in Rural Communities

Case II) Addressing Challenges in Microfinance Institutes and Microfinance Vehicles
Case III) Female Empowerment through Family Planning Services
Case IV) Open Category: Propose a development challenge of your choice!

Teams are tasked with developing an innovative solution that will address one or
more aspects of the case. Your pitch is encouraged to be original, but should also
draw from best practices in the field and be backed with sufficient evidence of
sustainability and scalability, given budget constraints.
Imagine that your team has been provided with a grant by the Georgetown
Development Initiative to launch a pilot. Develop a proposal for the pilot, including
the budget, and describe how and where the project will be scaled.

Case #1: Water Security in Rural Communities

The Problem
Worldwide 2.4 billion people do not have access to basic clean water. In Asia, 78% of
urban and only 31% of rural residents have access to clean water and sanitation (WHO,
2000). Much of the thinking about the concept of environmental security has moved
beyond a presumed causal relationship between environmental stress and violent
conflict to a broader notion of human security. Within this framework, water
resourcestheir scarcity, distribution and qualityhave been named as the factor most
likely to lead to intense political pressures. Water ignores political boundaries, evades
institutional classification and eludes legal generalizations. Worldwide, water demands
are increasing, groundwater levels are dropping, water bodies are increasingly
contaminated and delivery and treatment infrastructure is aging. As water quality
degradesor quantity diminishes over time, the effect on the stability of a region can
be unsettling. (Wolf et al 1). A lack of clean water gives rise to chronic illnesses, which
affect the educational and employment capacity of individuals. The lack of water and its
misuse itself also brings about a huge reduction in agricultural capabilities which can
hugely hamper economic and rural development.

The Task
To effectively come up with innovative ways to 1.create a greater flow of clean water into remote rural communities
2.increase the amount of sanitation of already present water in the developing world
3. increase the conservation and productivity of the use of water in agriculture and
everyday life in order to promote economic development in developing countries and
regions.
Pick one or more than one of the above in the context of any region or rural community
of your choice.

Wolf, Yoffe, Giordano. International waters: identifying basins at risk

IWA publishing, Febuary 2003, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark_Giordano/
publication/200041880_International_Waters_Identifying_Basins_at_Risk/links/
0fcfd50aeea70ceb0b000000.pdf

Case #2:Addressing Challenges in MFIs & MIVs**

In the last few decades, the microfinance landscape has experienced dramatic changes,
from microcredit to complex systems operated by microfinance institutions (MFIs) and
microfinance vehicles (MFVs). One of primary purposes of their products and services is
to help low-income populations attain their financial objectives. However, microfinance
only reaches less than 20% of worlds three billion or more poor, according to an
estimate by IFC.
The Problem
Financial services such as microfinance could be a strong instrument to empower close
to three billion people in developing countries, acquiring and increasing their assets
through economic stress. However, the majority of the populations in developing
nations encounter difficulties taking full advantage of microfinance services, as an
estimated 500 million micro-entrepreneurs are still excluded due to challenges faced by
MFIs and MFVs.
The Task
To identify areas where MFIs and MFVs are facing challenges within the microfinance
landscape and to develop an action plan for providing the low-income population with
the necessary tools to persevere and flourish during periods of economic distress. One
of the critical components in solving the issue could be correlated to the management
of risks through appropriate investment valuations, as well as following ever-changing
regulations and requirements. The challenges call for actions by the microfinance,
government, and private sectors, creating synergies to foster continual growth in the
fight against poverty.

**Case submitted by the George Washington Undergraduate International Business

Association, a student organization that promotes and educates GW students about
academic, cultural, and employment applications of International Business.

Case #3: Female Empowerment through Family Planning Services

The Problem
Nigeria is home to about 170 million people and currently the worlds sixth largest country
in terms of population. If it were to maintain its current population growth rate of almost
three percent per year, its population would reach 400 million by 2050 and surpass that of
China by 2100. Population growth may well be beneficial to economic growth, but
overpopulation is undesirable for the various adverse effects that it can have on a countrys
development. Nigeria has already suffered many of them: overcrowding cities, high
unemployment rate, increasing social unrests, only to name a few. To address this issue,
the Nigerian government has made several attempts at promoting smaller family sizes by
distributing free contraceptive, but their effects were minimal, and the average fertility
level remains high (5.5 of children per woman). Many factors contributed to the lackluster
performance of the governments family planning programs, and one of them is
associated with the low status of women in Nigerian society. On top of their lack of access
to modern contraception, many Nigerian women do not have decision-making power in
their households and therefore cannot use contraception against their husbands will.

The Task
Empirical studies have shown that that more empowered women are more likely to use
modern contraception. Design a policy or a plan of action that can increase female status
in Nigeria and remove the cultural barriers to their accessing family planning services (keep
in mind of the difference in religious affiliations in different parts of Nigeria)

SUBMISSION
DELIVERABLES
The submission deliverables include a concept note/proposal due on March 06,
2017, and presentation materials for finalists, which must be submitted at the start of the
Innovation Marketplace on April 8, 2017.
Concept Note/ Proposal
Please prepare a concept note/ proposal that is roughly 4 pages (max) single-spaced.
Concept notes/ proposals may include the following:
What is your venture idea? What is the specific problem or issue that you are trying to
address? How will you execute the idea?
What investments will be required? (Staff, Technology, Facilities, etc)
What milestones do you intend to achieve? Provide a rough time-line of your project
implementation.
How is your idea effective? How do you intend to measure your success?
What are the risks and how can they be mitigated?
Include a budget approximation for your pilot.
Refer to Annex A for the Concept Note template used by Georgetown Development
Initiative in its projects, as a reference for your proposal.
The concept note/proposal must be submitted by March 6, 2016 via the submission
link on our site.
Presentation Materials
Teams that have been shortlisted as finalists should create a 13-15 minute oral
presentation with supporting presentation material (of any kind) articulating your
solution. One or more team member may deliver the presentation, but all members
must be available to respond to questions. 5 minutes will be allocated immediately after
your presentation to field questions from the judges.
Finalists must also submit a one page executive summary of their proposals for the
reference of judges. The executive summary must be submitted by March 31, 2016 via
email to devinitiative@georgetown.edu.
Presentation materials must be submitted before the day of the competition for approval.

JUDGING
CRITERIA
Selection of Winning Proposals
Each proposal will be evaluated carefully by a committee made up of representatives
from the Georgetown Development Initiative and faculty advisors who are experienced
development practitioners. The evaluation committee will select 8 finalists from across
the 3 development cases and the open category.
The finalists will be informed by March 11, 2016.
The panel of judges at the Innovation Marketplace will feature expert development
practitioners and thought leaders in the field of development. The panel will then
select the champion, runner-up and second runner-up, as well as special mention
awards, for the innovative solutions amongst all teams.
In evaluating proposals, judges will consider the following:
Strategy & Justification
Clarity & Organization
Feasibility
Innovation
Delivery
Tips for Proposal
Scope & Succinct.
Successful proposals are objective, well focused, and clear. Proposals should avoid having too
wide a scope.
Cost-effectiveness, Scale, Sustainability.
Successful proposals should clearly demonstrate cost-effectiveness, scalability, and
sustainability.
Impact.
It is recommended (but not necessary) that proposals include the means by which the team
will evaluate the impact of the pilot.

Project Proposal Example

Executive Summary

Project Title
Date:

Prepared by:

Project
Description

Describe in two/three lines about what the project is about

Primary
Objective

State in three lines the projects primary objective

Target Region

Insert target region in the following format: Continent/Country/District/

City or Village

Beneficiaries

Specifically state beneficiaries of the project

Key Facts

Potential
Partners

State if any local agencies, businesses, NGOs or grassroots organizations

exist for partnership

Potential
Funding Agency

List names of funding resources (e.g. Sponsors/Fundraising/Grant)

State issue:
State impact of issue:
State statistics related to issue (global):
State statistics related to issue (specific to target region):

Project Description
Describe (1) background to the issue, (2) impact of the issue, (3) purpose of project, (4) why
the project is necessary,and (5) what benefits can be expected (include spillover effects along
with direct effects).

Resource Analysis
What investments will be required? (Staff/Technology/Facilities/service Support)
Is the project revenue generating?
Provide a market analysis: (1) does a market for the project exist in the region? (2) are there
existent businesses or firms operating on a similar product/project in the region?

Implementation Considerations
What are the major phases of implementation? What major challenges are expected during
implementation? What partnerships are required for the successful implementation of the
project?

Risk Analysis
What are the major risks in undertaking this project? How can these risks be mitigated? What
are the major assumptions that the success of this project depends on?

Program Assessment
How will we know if this project has been successful? What are the indicators of achievement?
How will we eventually scale down our involvement and presence in the project? How will it
be self-sustainable in the long run?

Time Line
Phase

Description

Time Line

Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4

Budget
Description

Price

Total:

Name:

School:

Class Year:

Email Address:

Contact Number: