Inclusive business beyond borders: the role of innovation intermediaries in market integration for the Base-of-the-Pyramid

This dissertation examines how business models aimed at improving food security in Base-of-the-Pyramid (BOP) markets can be effectively developed and socially embedded to generate mutual economic and social value. Addressing a central dilemma in international development, the study examines how multinational enterprises (MNEs) pursue commercial objectives while contributing to social outcomes in contexts characterized by poverty, institutional voids, and fragmented value chains. The research focuses in particular on the role of innovation intermediaries in cross-border, cross-sector development partnerships (CSDPs) and their contribution to collaboration, institutional bridging, local embeddedness, and long-term social value creation in low-income markets.Positioned within the evolution of the BOP paradigm, the dissertation builds on critiques of early BOP approaches that emphasized affordability and market access while insufficiently addressing structural development outcomes. It aligns with the BOP 3.0 perspective, which foregrounds systemic change, environmental sustainability, and local ownership. Within this perspective, the study addresses four interrelated research questions: how MNEs select international markets for inclusive innovation; which business strategies are deployed to address food and nutrition security; what roles and functions innovation intermediaries perform in cross-border CSDPs; and how these intermediaries enable social value creation in BOP markets.Methodologically, the research adopts a mixed-methods design combining literature review, international database analysis, surveys, and in-depth qualitative case studies. The empirical core consists of four cross-border CSDPs in Kenya and Nigeria, supported by 55 semi-structured interviews with MNE managers, innovation intermediaries, local partners, farmers, and public-sector actors. Additional data include a survey of 25 innovation intermediaries and participatory validation workshops conducted in both Africa and the Netherlands, enabling triangulation across data sources and stakeholder perspectives.The findings yield several key insights. First, private sector representatives often apply cognitive criteria based on relations and familiarity during early-stage country screening. While existing databases enable more refined assessments of BOP market attractiveness, particularly regarding institutional and infrastructural conditions, such data are typically consulted only once firms engage in CSDPs and collaborate with locally embedded intermediaries. Second, inclusive business success depends not only on affordability but on product and service quality and on embedding business models within local ecosystems. Innovation intermediaries play a key role in this process by linking value chain actors through coordinated marketing and distribution strategies and by supporting training and coalition-building to bridge institutional and cultural gaps and strengthen nutrition and food security outcomes. Third, the study develops a typology of innovation intermediary roles, identifying intermediaries as conveners, mediators, co-creators, and learning catalysts. These roles are dynamic rather than static, shifting in response to contextual volatility, donor pressures, and local needs. Finally, the research shows that social outcomes remain contingent on the extent to which cross-border CSDPs embed local ownership, shared risk management, and long-term financial sustainability beyond initial grant funding, highlighting the need to align inclusive business model design with adaptive intermediation practices.The dissertation contributes theoretically to international business, inclusive business model, and innovation intermediation literatures, and offers practical guidance for policymakers and donors seeking to strengthen governance mechanisms that safeguard social value creation over time.