A story of daring to state ambitions, next one up: AidInnov at GES2019.

Humanitarian aid worker is, since a poster for a charity run for Ethiopia in first grade, my dream job. I was aged five or six when the great famine in Ethiopia was at its heights. On one of the walls in our classroom there was a poster; a charity run at our primary school. A poster with two little boys, distinctive round bellies, hand in hand, dusty background. I came home enthusiastically that day, “Mum, Dad, I gotta run, and you have to pay me. With this money Ethy and Jopy can buy food, and hence they will not be hungry any longer”.

That day, my dedication towards the humanitarian principles started, not knowing anything yet about its complexity and all the challenges ahead. I did not even know Ethiopia was actually a country… Today, with over 15 years in the humanitarian sector, I am still as dedicated, it is my passion, dream and feel it as my moral obligation.

Innovation became itchy

But during those years, I bumped into innovation, time and again, it triggered, became a no-brainer, but however it itched… Something somehow needed to change. I have seen so many that fail to address a field based perspective and insights into on-the-ground realities. (Seriously: Velcro isn’t a brilliant solution for closing mechanism (your door) in a temporary family shelter. Imagine if you live with a 6+ or 8+ family, each walking in-and-out 20+ times a day, in a very sandy environment. Velcro isn’t so sticky after a little while.). Nonetheless millions are spend on innovative ideas without considering field realities, local buy-in or any valuable needs based thinking. At the same time I have seen amazing solutions, developed locally or abroad, which fail to scale and/or were unable to access the aid market. Simultaneously, we see containers being shipped in with new hand pumps in an area suffering from major natural disasters, where there are local suppliers with warehouses packed with pumps… Just simply because nobody knew, had insight or even asked. We could do so much more with investing this in the local supplier.

The story of AidInnov

The miss-match, the duplication and waste of resources let me to start a movement for more responsible innovation in aid, initially called AidMetrics. This movement grew. Today, three years later, I have two great co-founders and a team of advisers from so many sectors in aid. I am honors to have learned so much working with AidInnov, the aid agencies, companies and all the great people I have met over the last three years. Based on all of their insights, concerns, questions and our research AidInnov transitioned towards the social enterprise, providing a service. Providing a free open-access catalog, allowing anyone to start searching for a solution based on your needs and specifics. AidInnov combines this with a tender workflow. These two interrelated platforms enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of procurement and aid. Importantly: AidInnov can save millions to billions of valuable aid money.

The Generator example

If I have to explain the uniqueness of AidInnov, I often use the generator example. Since it is way more than the two inter-related platforms. Many of us working in the sector are used to order generators. Imagine opening up an out patient clinic in Uganda, a field hospital. The clinic needs lighting, you order: a generator. Within AidInnov you could type and search: “generator”. However AidInnov’s search return will be: “1. Do you need the generator (as a product)”, or 2. “Do you need a power -supply”. The second one is the identified need for the requested search. In case you select “I need a power supply”, AidInnov guides the user through questions and requirements and offer a list of solutions. These are packages of products, services and design, with their pre-requirements. They will be listed with their available (local and global) suppliers and it is up to the user if they wish to launch the tender. With one click based on their identified requirements for the solution stated, a tender can be launched. Enabling innovative solutions to enter the market, enable insight in local suppliers, provide transparent and responsible procurement.

So what about this story: daring to state ambitions?

Yesterday I dared to make my ambitions public. After three years of hard work, all the ground work done, the research, the tests, the case studies, preliminary (upon funding) NGO partnerships, several major re-iterations, a new business model developed, as well as an innovative methodologies developed. A long and necessary road. AidInnov is ready to roll. Earlier this year I knew this day would come, hence I transformed my ambitions for 2019 into my resolutions, two of them. First of all, this year we are to secure our funding to enable AidInnov; to start saving valuable resources and provide responsible solutions in aid. Secondly a personal one, I wanted to present AidInnov, our background, our vision and mission to Sigrid Kaag, our Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.

I unexpectedly got this chance, yesterday, May 28th 2019. I was selected (they informed me two days in advance) to be present at the press conference of the GES2019 (or GES2019 LinkedIn page), by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation, Sigrid Kaag and US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra. Little did I know I was to talk for minutes with both of them. At the end of the press conference I could only smile. I had a great conversation and given the time to explain the story, the ambition, the impact and our mission with AidInnov to Minister Sigrid Kaag. When it was my time to thank her for her time, I decided to make my ambitions public. Later that evening I send out my tweet (although in my excitement later in the evening I made a bad typo in my tweet…)

https://twitter.com/ClaireBarnhoorn/status/1133424743095439361

Next week it’s the GES, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, in The Hague, The Netherlands, where deal-making is set as its priority. A kind of ‘turned round trade mission’ as Sigrid Kaag mentioned at the press conference; with over 2000 participants, entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers. To copy from GES2019 documentation: “The primary aim of GES is to promote entrepreneurship worldwide. In support of this, GES offers a unique and international platform where the innovations of entrepreneurs from across the globe can be showcased to an audience of foreign investors, presenting their tech solutions to global challenges.”

My ambition for the GES2019 and the time following GES2019

So now it’s time to publicly dare to state my other ambition. My ambition to secure AidInnov’s funding: to open up and go global, during (or with the help of) the GES2019. To open up global markets, enable responsible innovation and procurement, transparently, efficiently and effectively. To reach, within five years, our ambition for a yearly saving of over a billion in aid spending.

Dear LinkedIn network. if you happen to be an enabler for this, interested to learn more and around at the GES2019 (June 3/4/5 The Hague), I would relish to hear from you and set up a meeting during these days or following the GES2019. If you happen to know someone around, or interested: help me connect to that enabler. The enabler, the interested individual, agency, donor, fund or investor, or better a combination of them. Thanks for making AidInnov available for all, soon.