Impact in the Social Sector

Making an Impact 

Approximately 2.7 billion people exist on less than $2 a day, with about 1 billion of them living on less than $1 a day. And while the nations of the world collectively produce enough food to feed every person on Earth, the latest estimates reveal that more than 850 million people (roughly one in eight) do not get enough food to lead healthy, active lives.

Meanwhile, diseases of the developing world continue to exact a terrible toll: malaria, for example, is estimated to kill one African child every 30 seconds.

BCG's involvement in social-impact work is motivated by eye-opening facts such as these. Because we possess expertise that is capable of making a difference, we are compelled to work with humanitarian organizations to impact local communities and the world at large.

In a rapidly developing nation like India, these disparities get exaggerated along the rural-urban and rich-poor divide. While working with top companies, BCG India also partners with leading humanitarian organizations to help tackle the fundamental issues facing these organizations and eventually make a difference to the common man.

Apart from allowing us to make a real difference to the lives of our underprivileged countrymen, these initiatives also offer a unique opportunity to our staff to interact with and advise non-corporate bodies in their work. It allows them to see the other India – the one untouched by India’s economic progress. On a more personal front, it helps them discover new perspectives to the value of work and provides immense satisfaction because of the significant impact of their work.

BCG has globally partnered with the World Food Programme and Save the Children and BCG India is privileged to work with these organizations to help them achieve their objectives. Learn more about BCG’s other social impact initiatives.

World Food Programme  

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 2005, India was the second largest global producer of wheat, rice, and pulses.

In spite of having the largest food Public Distribution System (PDS) in the world, more than 300 million Indians still live below the poverty line. India has been unable to provide full food security to many of its poorest citizens. This is primarily because of multiple leakages all along the food supply chain—food being diverted to black marketers, employees accepting bribes.

The Indian government asked The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to determine what needed to be done to strengthen the PDS. The WFP in turn requested the assistance of BCG India.

Previous studies of the PDS have focused largely on how the leakages in the distribution system occur without completely understanding the reasons for these leakages. BCG undertook a detailed analysis of the system in two Indian states. This study focused on the conditions that allowed illegal siphoning of food to flourish.

In collaboration with various stakeholders, (Government of India, state governments, technology providers, NGOs and other system participants) BCG and the WFP devised a comprehensive set of recommendations designed to curb leakages. These measures will double the amount of food grain available to each needy family and will also allow for a significant expansion of the PDS safety net.

In addition to the excitement of solving a large and highly complex problem, the satisfaction of helping to strengthen one of India’s largest development programs and impacting the lives of millions of Indians has been an experience without comparison. The project is in its final stages of planning and financing and is expected to be completed by end of 2007.

Save the Children

Save the Children is a coalition of 27 independent member countries that operate independently of each other around the world.  Each member raises its own funds and fights for change in one or more countries.

In India, Save the Children efforts had been funneled through seven independent member country organizations. BCG was asked to help design and implement the structure for a cohesive Indian organization that merged the operations of seven disparate groups in India. The idea was to create an entity to address the specific conditions and issues children face in India. This effort was aimed not only at unifying the operations but also gaining a larger share of voice with the Government of India.

This provided BCG with a unique opportunity to leverage our expertise in corporate development and postmerger integration. We worked closely with the CEO of Save the Children in India and helped put the concepts created into practice within the organization.  

In addition to helping with organizational policies, structuring human resources, yearly action plans we found that the biggest impact was achieved because the senior management team for Save the Children was incredibly invested in getting results.  

Today, Save the Children India is already functioning and the final regulatory formalities are expected to be completed by the end of 2007. BCG has gained a significant understanding of the child welfare issues facing India and will continue to provide support to Save the Children.