Scaling a business often comes with the risk of leaving behind underserved communities, local partners, or employees who helped build the foundation. Inclusive scaling ensures growth while maintaining fairness, equity, and shared value. Here’s how to grow your business without losing inclusivity.
Firstly, embed inclusivity in your growth strategy Make inclusion a core part of your business plan. Consider underserved customers, local suppliers, and employees in all scaling decisions.
Next, strengthen local partnerships: As your business grows, continue investing in local suppliers and entrepreneurs. Maintain fair practices, support capacity building, and ensure they benefit from your growth.
Following that, diversify your teams and leadership: Inclusive growth depends on diverse perspectives. Hire and promote talent from different backgrounds to ensure decisions reflect a broad range of experiences.
Then, maintain accessibility and affordability: Ensure that growth does not price out or exclude underserved customers. Adapt products, pricing, and delivery models as the business expands.
Finally, monitor impact and adjust: Track both business performance and social outcomes. Collect feedback from employees, partners, and customers to refine strategies and remain inclusive as you scale.
Scaling your business does not have to compromise inclusivity. By embedding inclusion in strategy, strengthening partnerships, promoting diversity, maintaining accessibility, and tracking impact, businesses can grow sustainably while continuing to create value for everyone involved.
Image Credit: The GT Scholars Programme
