Geneva Challenge 2020
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Geneva Challenge 2020 Empowering Modern Mongolian Nomads to contribute to the Sustainable Development of their Country– A Platform Solution to address Social Inequality A b s t r a c t . The following paper proposes a platform solution to the vast problems of Mongolia, which are rooted in the history of the country and manifest themselves in a variety of ways in the peri-urban areas of Ulaanbaatar (Ger areas). The recent urban migration of traditional nomadic herders into these Ger areas has shed a light on the social inequality inherent in the Mongolian society. Local innovators lack the social, as well as human capital to actively contribute to solving these issues. The majority of successful local efforts are headed by Mongolians that studied or worked abroad, tapping into their newly-developed network overseas to receive funding and support. While the Mongolian innovation ecosystem lacks the resources to foster local projects, there is an untapped potential of Mongolian diaspora that is able to fill these gaps. We propose a platform, GerBound, that matches these two complementary parties and allows Mongolians from abroad to contribute to local projects through donations and expertise. The platform provides resourceful Mongolians overseas with a channel to transparently evaluate local initiatives and then fund or support the project with expertise, mitigating brain drain and contributing to the sustainable development of Mongolia. Te a m Description Zelmeg Otgontogoo is a MSc International Thomas Weikert is a MSc Autonomous Business student at the Stockholm School of System student at KTH, Royal Institute of Economics in Sweden. Born and raised in Technology in Sweden. Previously working Germany, with his parents originally coming for the German Federal Ministry for from Mongolia, he is passionate about Economic Cooperation and Development, contributing towards solving the challenges supporting European enterprises to set up a faced by the people living in Mongolia. Before business in Developing and Emerging the start of his Master’s, Zelmeg studied Markets, Thomas has developed a passion for abroad in the US and Finland and worked in development work and empowering local the field of consulting in Germany and Hong communities. Kong. Loucmane Pingdwende Sawadogo is a Julius Tebrügge is a MSc International MSc International Business student at the Business student at the Stockholm School of Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden. Economics in Sweden. Passionate about the He holds a Master’s in Aeronautics and chances of digital learning, Julius previously Astronautics from National Cheng Kung worked for a media company in New York, University in Taiwan. He has participated in where he supported investments in the field several International Model United Nations of education technology. During his conferences. Born and raised in Burkina Faso, bachelor's degree, Julius studied in the he is passionate about innovation and Netherlands and Singapore. fostering human potential. PAGE 1 Content 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Problem description ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Historical context: About nomads and global business people................................................................... 5 2.2 Challenges for rural nomads and urban migration ......................................................................................... 5 2.3 Resulting problems in the urban area ................................................................................................................ 7 2.3.1 Limited employment opportunities, discrimination and exploitation ................................................ 8 2.3.2 Quality of education ...................................................................................................................................... 8 2.3.3 Air pollution ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Problem definition and our approach ................................................................................................................ 9 2.5 Gaps in the Mongolian innovation ecosystem ................................................................................................. 9 2.6 Untapped potential abroad - the Mongolian diaspora as a missing piece ............................................... 11 3. Our Platform Solution – GerBound ....................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Target user segment ............................................................................................................................................ 14 3.2 Value Proposition - Matching of local projects and international supporters ....................................... 15 3.3 Elements of collaboration ................................................................................................................................... 17 3.3.1 Financial contribution .................................................................................................................................. 17 3.3.2 Contributing with expertise ...................................................................................................................... 18 4. From Idea to Business ................................................................................................................................................ 19 4.1 Key Partners .......................................................................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Short-term planning ............................................................................................................................................. 20 4.3 Long-term planning .............................................................................................................................................. 21 4.4 Channel partners and communication ............................................................................................................ 22 4.5 Feasibility and proof of concept ........................................................................................................................ 22 5. Platform governance, monitoring and evaluation ................................................................................................ 24 5.1 Platform governance ............................................................................................................................................ 24 5.2 Monitoring and evaluation plan for project performance .......................................................................... 24 6. Risk assessment and mitigation ................................................................................................................................ 26 6.1 Ethical risks ............................................................................................................................................................ 26 6.2 Political risks .......................................................................................................................................................... 27 PAGE 2 6.3 Platform strategy risks ........................................................................................................................................ 28 7. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................................................ 30 Appendix 1- Poor sanitation, hygiene and insufficient waste management ................................................... 30 Appendix 2 - Filtering mechanism for projects .................................................................................................... 32 Appendix 3- Our project journey ........................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix 4 - GerHub collaboration....................................................................................................................... 34 Appendix 5 - Knowledge transfer model .............................................................................................................. 35 List of References ............................................................................................................................................................ 36 PAGE 3 1. Introduction Since transitioning to democracy in 1990, the real GDP per capita in Mongolia has more than doubled. Within less than four years, however, Mongolia moved from being the world’s fastest growing economy in 2012 to receiving the 4th highest IMF bailout in history in 2016 (IMF, 2017). Since then, social inequality in Mongolia has deepened and the poverty risk has significantly increased (UNDP Mongolia, 2019). The severity of the situation becomes nowhere as visible as in the outskirts