Triple Value's Economic Impact Assessment Model

Multinational Companies are sometimes perceived as neo-imperialists, who extract profits out of the countries in which they operate and give very little in return. MNCs do use their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to argue against such allegations but what can be a better argument is the extent of impact that the MNC has had on the local economy.

Triple Value Strategy Consulting, a well-known BoP Strategy Consulting firm, which is based in The Hague, The Netherlands, has devised an Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) model, which quantifies the economic impact of an MNC on the society in which it operates. This model was used to assess the economic impact that Heiniken, a Dutch brewing company, has had in the Sub-Saharan country of Sierra Leone, where the company operates through a controlling stake in the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited (SLBL). The assessment report, which begins with an interesting analogy of comparing the effects of an earthworm and an egg-plant on the soil to that of an MNC in an emerging economy, uses data points such as industrial production, incomes/taxes generated, jobs created and also takes into account the direct and indirect benefits, to arrive at the total economic impact.

The EIA, according to Triple Value, enables managements of MNCs to tune their decisions more towards enhancing the local economic impact. It also enables the local Government to understand the wider impact that the MNC has on the economy and tune policies to enhance the impact. It can also help NGOs to maximize development impact in cooperation with companies.

More information about the EIA and Triple Value can be found at:

http://www.triple-value.com/en/economic_impact_assessment

The complete presentation of the Heiniken EIA in Sierra Leone can be found at:

http://www.bidnetwork.org/download.php?id=42201.