Millions of people suffer and die each year in developing countries from causes that humanity has the scientific and technical ability to solve. Global Good is a collaboration between Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures stemming from the vision of Nathan Myhrvold that addresses these challenges.
Global Good combines IV’s unique invention prowess with the expertise of leading humanitarian organizations, forward-looking governments, research institutions and commercial partners that share their vision. Together they invent, develop and deploy commercially-viable technologies that improve life in low-resource countries.
Global Good helps commercial partners identify business opportunities and make informed licensing decisions with minimized upfront risk or financial investment.
They work with governments, NGOs and academic and research organizations from all over the world, leveraging IV’s invention expertise - including the Intellectual Ventures Laboratory - at the earliest stages of an invention’s lifecycle to make commercialization in the developing world feasible by understanding and reducing technology and market risks.
REVERSE INNOVATION APPROACH
Global Good invents affordable, accessible and appropriate technologies that solve the biggest problems in global health and development. First for the people who need it most – the global poor.
Inventions developed to meet the stringent requirements for the most difficult developing world markets are often disruptive enough to transform standards of use and provide benefits everywhere else. They call this reverse innovation.
Through invention and applied and translational science Global Good fills in the key technology gaps in developing countries that improve public health and improve agricultural economies to improve life for millions.
COMMERCIALIZATION PARTNERSHIP APPROACH
Collaboration partners help them accelerate the development of inventions. And once they prove an invention works, Global Good pursues technology licensing relationships according to Global Access principles with companies that see the long-term market potential of the developing world.
Successful partners view their philanthropic work as a strategic and sustainable enabler of business activity, not only as part of traditional corporate social responsibility. Many have already demonstrated commercial success in these markets with related technology or products.
Following their reverse innovation approach, inventions adopted in low income regions can be re-deployed to other low resource regions in need or even back to higher income markets for profit, creating a market incentive that reinvents philanthropy as a sustainable commercial opportunity.
