Aline Krämer

Managing Director

"Joining forces with actors and experts from all over the world to learn about, encourage, inspire and support inclusive business models has been an incredible learning experience!"

Expertise

Aline is an expert on inclusive business. As co-founder and managing director of Endeva, she has developed and directed research and consulting projects on the topic. Aline co-authored several studies on inclusive business models - all aiming at understanding how to make these models work for both companies and the target group: people living in poverty. Her field experience lies in understanding and assessing the needs of low-income consumers and integrating them into the development of suitable solutions. 

Aline enjoys bringing people from different backgrounds together for mutual learning and exchange. She has organized and moderated workshops and trainings with diverse participants from both developed and developing countries. 

As a researcher, Aline led projects on the development of inclusive and sustainable innovations in the housing and energy sector in Brazil for the Research Centre for Design and Sustainability, for which she won the Emerald/CAPES Management Research Fund Award. Aline is currently completing her Ph.D. on “Identifying Low-Income Consumers as a Source of Innovation” at the TUM School of Management.

Building knowledge

• Co-authored the paper "Policy measures to support inclusive and green business models", for BMZ and GIZ
• Co-authored case studies on adapting to climate change with an inclusive business approach
• Led the project on "Bringing Medicines to Low-income Markets" and co-authored the report on the same topic
• Project manager for and co-authored the publication "Fast Growth and Big Impacts: How Emerging Market Multinationals are advancing Sustainable Development"
• Led the country-based research project on the role of emerging market multinationals as development agents for GIZ
• Led, designed and conducted field research on inclusive innovation processes in Brazilian low-income communities, applying idea competitions
• Coordinated, reviewed and provided input for 17 case studies written by authors from Africa as well as Eastern Europe and the CIS for the UNDP Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative (GIM); provided input and reviewed the regional report on inclusive business
• Co-developed a toolbox for analyzing sustainable ventures in developing countries for UNEP and co-authored the respective report ‘Towards Triple Impact’
• With Bertelsmann Stiftung, has analyzed the CSR activities of German companies abroad since 2008; co-authored the study "Corporate Social Responsibility of German Companies doing business abroad"

Sharing knowledge

• Developed and implemented the practitioners' workshop on "Bringing Medicines to Low-income Markets"
• Organized study trips to Brazilian low-income communities for students from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR)

Applying knowledge

• Led the project “Feasibility study for the development of an eSolution on sustainable and inclusive innovations”, for GIZ India 
• Organized four idea competitions with low-income consumers, integrating them into product development processes in cooperation with the Research Center for Design and Sustainability of the UFPR and project partners from the government and the private sector
• Co-Developed the concept for the Internet platform for German business on responsible management abroad, with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, five German ministries and three key business associations (www.csr-weltweit.de)

Aline enjoys

• Setting the agenda for inclusive business projects
• Researching innovative approaches to making business work for the poor
• Tackling global problems with innovative strategies by organizing a constructive exchange of ideas and expertise between non-traditional partners from business and development
• Developing and applying new ideas and concepts in a creative and flexible environment – with a team of like-minded experts who enjoy thinking out of the box

Other work experience

• As a research assistant at the TU Munich, coordinated the concept development for the multilateral, 3-year research project "Advancement of sustainable consumption through user integration in sustainable innovations" funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research.
• Consulted with German companies interested in the Brazilian and Portuguese markets for the German Chamber of Commerce in Sao Paulo and Lisbon.
• For the consumer goods company Henkel, analyzed requirements for the sustainability strategy of the Henkel Group in Mexico.
• For the ZF Friedrichshafen AG, organized recruiting events and workshops for interns.
• As a student, headed up the Students Project for Asian and International Relations (SPAIR e.V.) 2 years in a row and was active in various student organizations such as the Tatennetz – an organization that encourages people to volunteer; the Wirtschaftssymposium Passau e.V. – an initiative that organizes dialogue between theory and practice

Education

• PhD candidate in business administration at the TUM School of Management (Munich, Germany)
• Brazilian Research Management Fund Award 2009
• Masters Degree in International Business and Cultural Studies, University of Passau (including studies at Universidade Federal da Bahia in Salvador, Brazil)

Languages

German, English, Spanish, Portuguese