The concept of Inclusive Business (IB) emerged to the 1990s parallel with the growth of urbanization, population and neo-liberalism development practices and debates (Berdegué, et al. 2008). The term Inclusive Businesses was introduced by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 2005 (Asian Development Bank 2016) and is defined as a business entity that generates high development impact by improving access to goods and services for the base-of-the-pyramid population, providing income and employment opportunities to low-income people as producers, suppliers, distributors, employers, or employees. The ADB highlights Inclusive Business as the role of the private sector in international change and progress by pointing out that businesses play a beneficial role in seeking outcomes that enhance both the poverty and the global expansion of the business. Commercial organizations can use their experience or their advantage to develop a strategic partnership to achieve the poverty alleviation. (Austin 2000; Jain and Vachani 2006). As the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mentioned, IB models build a bridge between business and the poor for mutual benefit (UNDP 2008).

Along with the idea of Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) emerging, Prahalad provided a convincing argument that poverty alleviation and profit-making can be complemented and reinforced by each other (Prahalad 2005). IB has been a fundamental concept within the overtly pro-poor development approach (Fernandez-Stark and Bamber 2012). It emphasizes to incorporate the BOP population into business for poverty alleviation (Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004; London and Hart 2010). 

An alternative view is that IB ‘may have an important impact for the short and long-term on sustainable development by creating economically viable business models.’ (Wach 2012; Likoko and Kini 2017). As Ashley (2009) pointed out, IB as business models integrated the poor people in the value chain or environmentally sustainable development to create positive impacts on the poor people and the environment. Besides, the United Kindom Department for International Development (DFID) states that ‘IB goes further by creating new economic opportunities for people living in poverty, perhaps as workers or as consumers of affordable good and services, or as participants in low carbon and climate-resilient growth’ (BIF & IAP 2011). 

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation incorporate the sustainable concept into their definition as ‘an economically profitable, environmentally and socially responsible entrepreneurial initiative’ (SNV and WBCSD 2011).  The G20 as an international forum for governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies collectively defines in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which advocate for balanced social, economic and environmental interventions for human well-being. In other words, 'IB should promote the sustainable development in all its dimensions – economic, social and environmental’. 

Even though scholars and practitioners define and appropriate the concept of IB differently, we summarise specific characteristics of IB below:

I.    Businesses try to seek a win-win situation. While commercial organizations sustain their economic growth, they will take benefits of the poor into their consideration.

II.    The products and services meet the needs of the poor and have a high development impact.

III.    Businesses expand development impacts through embedded in the BOP as their core business or part and integrate people living in poverty or local SMEs in their supply and distribution chains or R&D.

We argue that IB should aim at sustainable development for businesses and the BOP communities while feasibly integrating companies, consumers and civil society as drivers of IB.