EPISODE 203: Marketer of the Month Podcast with Bernhard Kowatsch

Hey there! Welcome to the Marketer Of The Month blog!

We recently interviewed Jonathan Daglish for our monthly podcast – ‘Marketer of the Month’! We had some amazing insightful conversations with Jonathan and here’s what we discussed about –

1. Changing perceptions on innovation’s role in solving global challenges.

2. Encouraging risk-taking and collaborative problem-solving within the organization.

3. Strategies for attracting partners, funders, and innovators.

4. Effective storytelling and personal marketing for social impact entrepreneurs.

5. Importance of mentorship and peer support in overcoming startup challenges.

6. Trends towards more professional and impactful philanthropic investments.

7. Selection criteria and goals for impactful solutions in humanitarian issues.

About our host:

Dr. Saksham Sharda is the Chief Information Officer at Outgrow.co. He specializes in data collection, analysis, filtering, and transfer by means of widgets and applets. Interactive, cultural, and trending widgets designed by him have been featured on TrendHunter, Alibaba, ProductHunt, New York Marketing Association, FactoryBerlin, Digimarcon Silicon Valley, and at The European Affiliate Summit.

About our guest:

Bernhard Kowatsch is the Head of the Innovation Accelerator at the UN World Food Programme, a Social Entrepreneur, an ex-BCG consultant, and a TED speaker. He founded the WFP Innovation Accelerator in 2015, leading it to become the world’s largest social impact startup accelerator. He holds a degree from HEC Paris and is a recognized thought leader in social impact innovation and technology. 

Marketing for Good: United Nations WFP Head of Innovation Accelerator Bernhard Kowatsch on How Big Data and Startups Are Tackling Hunger

The Intro!

Saksham Sharda: Hi, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Outgrow’s Marketer of the Month. I’m your host, Dr. Saksham Sharda, and I’m the creative director at Outgrow. co. And for this month we are going to interview Bernhard Kowatsch who is the Head of Innovation Accelerator at the United Nations Food Programme.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Great to be here. Thank you.

Don’t have time to read? No problem, just watch the Podcast!

Challenge yourself with this trivia about the exciting topics Bernhard Kowatsch covered in the podcast.

Launch Interactive Quiz

Or you can just listen to it on Spotify!

The Rapid Fire Round!

Saksham Sharda: Alright, let’s start with the rapid-fire round. The first question is, at what age do you want to retire?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Never.

Saksham Sharda: How long does it take you to get ready in the mornings?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Short.

Saksham Sharda: Most embarrassing moment of your life.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Unknown.

Saksham Sharda: Favorite color?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Blue.

Saksham Sharda: What time of day are you most inspired?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Evenings.

Saksham Sharda: How many hours of sleep can you survive on?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Four.

Saksham Sharda: Fill in the blank. An upcoming technology trend is ______.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Disruptive.

Saksham Sharda: The city in which the best kiss of your life happened.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Rio

Saksham Sharda: Pick one. Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Elon Musk.

Saksham Sharda: The biggest mistake of your career?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Fear.

Saksham Sharda: How do you relax?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Working out.

Saksham Sharda: How many cups of coffee do you drink per day?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Five.

Saksham Sharda: A habit of yours that you hate

Bernhard Kowatsch: Pass

Saksham Sharda: The most valuable skill you’ve learned in life.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Adaptability.

Saksham Sharda: One-word description of your leadership style.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Impact.

Saksham Sharda: Top priority in your daily schedule.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Impact is, well, I guess.

Saksham Sharda: Ideal vacation spot for relaxation.

Bernhard Kowatsch: A beach.

Saksham Sharda: Key factor for maintaining a work-life balance.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Love what you do.

The Big Questions!

Saksham Sharda: Alright, that’s the end of the fire. Let’s go. The first one is, can you elaborate on some specific challenges you faced during the establishment of the United Nations WFP Innovation Accelerator and how did you overcome them?

Bernhard Kowatsch: When we started the World Food Problem Innovation Accelerator, people thought that it was a crazy idea because we are replicating what Silicon Valley does for global social impact. And overcoming first the fear of, on the one hand, you know, how can you actually adapt that of people that, you know, did not believe was one factor of course. But the other one was actually that nobody had really done that before, right? Because it’s a global accelerator program for developing countries, helping hungry people in developing countries. And so we needed to adapt and learn and take the best out of what’s happening in the business world, and at the same time take in the realities of the world food program serving hungry people in over 120 countries and territories.

Saksham Sharda: And so how, how have these challenges evolved over time? And were there any unexpected opportunities or breakthrough moments that emerged from navigating these challenges?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So over time we of course figured out like, okay, how do we actually run these programs? And our first design choice turned out to be working really well. So we are running what we call innovation bootcamps. It’s a one-week training program where we bring those startups and innovators together, and then they go back and co-develop their solutions with their users, with the people that they’re serving. And now we are running a total of 20 different social impact accelerator programs all across the world for different global social impact problems like ending hunger, humanitarian response, climate action, gender equality, and primary healthcare vaccine delivery. And I, I think what we now know is that the startups and innovation, actually have an impact. So they have impacted the lives of over 60 million people already last year and have raised $295 million of ground funding, not counting equity investments.

Saksham Sharda: So you mentioned that the WFA Innovation Accelerator addresses various social impact and sustainability issues. Could you highlight one or two specific programs or initiatives within the accelerator that have made a significant difference in addressing these issues?

Bernhard Kowatsch: One innovation, which is an internal world food program innovation, I want to mention is called Optimus. It’s a big data optimization tool that helps us optimize supply chain routes and also food baskets. By doing that, we’ve saved over $50 million already that has been reinvested into more food for hungry people across the planet. Another example I wanna mention, it’s called Nylus. It’s a social business that actually brings cosmetically rejected food, or food that’s about to expire from farms to urban food deserts. It’s a fully for-profit model. And what they’re tackling is the people who are otherwise too poor to afford a healthy diet, they’re now able to afford it via these digital platforms. And we are helping them scale right now in Colombia and also in Peru. Just to say, these are the types of startups that really inspire me because they show there is hope and we can do something to end hunger right now and even take on climate change.

Saksham Sharda: And so how do you collaborate with local stakeholders and partners to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of these initiatives that you just mentioned?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Everything we do at the World Food Pro Innovation Accelerator is geared towards local innovation. So the startups we’re working with, they’re co-developing with the users or the people that they’re serving. So that’s happening as we speak in our secret superpower as well. Food Pro, we have a field network, so we are in 120 countries and territories, which means that there is World Food Pro staff who work with the local communities, NGOs, governments, the local people who are on the ground and have the knowledge also like what it takes to actually be hungry there. And so this is an important factor, like, how do you really learn fast and also co-develop those solutions with the people you are serving?

Saksham Sharda: So let’s talk a bit about Share the Meal now. It has been recognized as one of the best apps of the year by both Apple and Google. Can you share insights into the marketing strategies that contributed to its success, especially in mobilizing such a large user base for social impact?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So for ShareThe Meal, I really contribute a lot of the success to the basic idea behind it. We want to make it easy for people to donate for 70 cents. You can feed a child or an adult for a day. You can just share a meal with one touch on your smartphone. And also it’s about, you know, you and I, if we are having dinner or we’re having drinks together, why don’t you wanna share your meal with a child in it? And it’s so simple and so cheap. And it’s, I think it’s about this basic idea that we want, there’s so many people out there who wanna do good, but they don’t know how. And together we can have so much impact and by now it’s almost 230 million shared meals. So over $150 million has been coming together by people. You know, you might just share one meal, but then, you know, maybe you and your friends together, you can have so much more impact.

Saksham Sharda: And so how exactly does the app work?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So everybody can download it on the Apple App Store, and Google Play Store. Once you have the app, you can literally just choose which, you know, what’s the cause that you actually wanna support, whether it’s like supporting families that I need right now in Palestine people who are fleeing in Sudan whether it’s actually supporting small farmers in Zambia around it, like different places you can choose with one tap, you can then choose to share like one meal or more and then you just donate it, you know, with Apple Pay or Google Pay or any credit cards or PayPal. And that’s what makes it so simple.

Saksham Sharda: So all of this involves changing people’s minds to want to work for the better. Your Ted Talk recently emphasized the importance of a mindset shift mindset in tackling global challenges. Can you provide examples of specific mindset shifts you believe are necessary, especially within the context of addressing hunger and food insecurity?

Bernhard Kowatsch: A lot of people that come to me, they don’t know about basic facts and also what it, as it pertains to hunger, hunger is actually a very unsolvable issue. But then again, a lot of people feel that, you know, they, they are excited about technology, about, you know, like rockets going into space, but then not about ending hunger. Why is that? Because we have this kind of fixed mindset that innovation and technology don’t apply to these big global problems. And I think there’s a big opportunity if people believe we can make a difference and there’s hope and there’s little action that everybody can take. You know, somebody can donate, but you can also, maybe within your job or as a startup founder, there are so many problems that can be tackled, and there is even an opportunity to do more. 

Saksham Sharda: What about mindset shifts within your own team? So how do you cultivate a culture of innovation and risk-taking within your team and the broader ecosystem of partners and collaborators?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So a lot of the people that work on our team actually have been coming to the World Food Program for the first time to work for the United Nations. And there are several entrepreneurs, who’ve been working innovation teams in tech companies, so it’s within their DNA or the mindset already that they are the ones that push innovations. We also have colleagues who have been startup founders in developing countries. And so we bring in that skillset of innovation, of pushing boundaries that are, you know, impossible or believed impossible to actually solve. And I think this is one of the challenges that we sometimes face, or, you know, working together with partners you need to actually be able to transcend different boundaries, is not just knowing what innovation means, but also like with other people actually knowing the problems on the ground. How can you actually bring that together? And I think being able to communicate, to bring working with people, I think is a key skill set, which is coming together with the ability to innovate, but also being empowered. And, I truly believe that if you are an innovation team, everybody’s opinion counts. So like, it’s just something where you know, all your working style, all the way you are running meetings, this has to be organized in a way that we know that the person who’s actually running and doing the work, they’re probably the ones that need to be pushing those innovations forward.

Saksham Sharda: Speaking again of like, you know, collaborating, working and changing the mindset of partners as well. How do you market and position all your programs to attract the attention of potential partners, funders, and innovators in the social impact space?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Marketing is an often overlooked topic in the social impact space specifically because a lot of times people see that as wasteful or something that, you know, you might not even need because but I really believe that so many people want to support social impact goals, but they have never heard about it or they have, they don’t know how. And I think this is a role where the language specifically towards getting a broader audience involved, so not just the experts, but like maybe being at a tech conference like Viva Tech or in other places, it’s a great opportunity because if you think about it, like if you have an AI engineer, maybe that AI engineer can have a multiple impact doing something with social impact rather than just doing what they do in their day job. Similarly, you have a lot of companies that wanna actually contribute more, and there are so many opportunities in marketing. I think showing that there’s hope and showing that you can actually do something with innovation is a great opportunity specifically when there’s a lot of bad news in the news otherwise.

Saksham Sharda: So what strategies would you recommend for social impact entrepreneurs to maximize their marketing efforts on a limited budget? How can they ensure their message resonates without compromising their values?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So, the first step of course, depends on what stage they’re in. Like ideally you do have a big vision. They, so you connect whatever you do to like, towards solving that bigger vision that you’re imagining, staying truthful to what you actually can accomplish because it can be daunting. Let’s say the area of climate change, right? Like if you are a startup, maybe you alone will not be able to end climate change globally. However you will, you can describe what that is, and how you can actually contribute. Similarly, once you have traction, you can actually show what difference you’ve made to the world, to the people that you’re serving. And like, I, I think that’s important where in a business world, oftentimes people look at, you know, revenue, profits, other KPIs in that regard. But in social impact, it’s about helping people, like what have you actually done to tangibly change people’s lives to the better? And you know, especially if you are a startup and you don’t have a lot of funds is like really also like taking like marketing or like your personal marketing is something that’s important. If you are the founder or the founding team, people are excited, people wanna feel the passion, the excitement that you have. And it’s your job among other things to do all the great work to solve a problem to also be their spokesperson and the champion for the cause that you’re there.

Saksham Sharda: And so collaboration is an important part of marketing as well. The collaboration with Google for startups that you’ve done is an exciting development in the fight against hunger. Can you discuss how these 10 innovative solutions were selected and what criteria were used to determine their potential impact?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So we have been collaborating with Google for Startups for years already. We’re actually one of the accelerators globally that are a partner of the Google for Startups ecosystem. And we have benefited from that for years already from free support and also knowledge from Google. Now the current collaboration with Google for Startups is actually about $2.8 million also of grant funding and support we’re receiving from Google for Startups and google.org. And with a specific goal of how we can solve humanitarian issues with technology. And so what we’ve selected in that case were specifically impactful startups and innovations within the World Food program that can be having these breakthrough moments, whether it’s like supply chain optimization, bringing carbon optimization also in supply chain optimization, or using AI for essentially not only determining where hunger is right now but looking into the future essentially future casting that type of hunger. I think that’s where, you know, it’s sometimes maybe not the most obvious examples of innovations, but the ones that are prioritized by the impact that we could achieve with those startups.

Saksham Sharda: Speaking of innovation, could you share an example of a startup or innovation supported by the WFP Innovation Accelerator that faced initial challenges but ultimately achieved significant impact? How did the accelerator support them through this journey?

Bernhard Kowatsch: No, this is very interesting because every startup journey, like you will face challenges in those challenges. You either overcome them or I guess you will not be in business at some point anymore. And I think for every startup you actually need to get used to it, there will be constant challenges and even if something is going really well, you will have other challenges. And it depends really like early stage startups, later stage startups, those challenges, they, they are just shifting. And maybe let me take a social business and Sanko which we supported, they create a small device for smaller farmers to add vitamins and nutrients to things like maize that’s being milled, in small mills. And so we actually helped Sanko to expand from Tanzania to Kenya. And what’s interesting is that you know, they have been very successful already helping over 2 million people actually buy their solution that now have access to that nutritious food. So they’re not suffering from micronutrient deficiencies or malnutrition. And, going from one country to the next, that’s a new challenge. And like essentially, we as well, food Pro innovation accelerator, we help them do that also because we have teams not only in Tanzania but also in Kenya. So we’re able to connect them with the local ecosystem, the government, and different opportunities with the smaller farmers we’re already working with.

Saksham Sharda: And so what role do mentorships and peer support play in all this?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So mentorship is really important because it’s one aspect. On the one hand, there are a lot of people who actually wanna do good and they wanna support. You might be an executive, in a company or a starter founder that you just want to give back to like, you know, some younger founders that actually work on these social impact challenges. And so we work with mentors globally that can either be, you know, programs or innovation boot camps or, you know, a sprint phase with those startups or innovations. The other aspect, and like this is an important one, you know, looking at peer support, it depends a little bit like which programs sometimes we’re running these programs virtually, sometimes we’re running them hybrid or in person. Now of course the community is oftentimes better when you’re doing something in person, but like also in a virtual setting. It is important. Now what’s exciting and like, I see this a lot where startup funds specifically in the impact space, it’s not about competition, but it’s about helping each other. And sometimes one startup has already overcome a challenge that somebody else is still facing. And this is at least I think one of the powers of being part of an ecosystem and community. I can only encourage all innovators or startup founders if you work on something, and seek feedback early from partners, because other startups get challenged also, because you also wanna hear the critical challenges. 

Saksham Sharda: So speaking of challenges, the biggest challenge of course is zero hunger. It’s an ambitious goal that requires collective action. In your opinion, what are some practical steps individuals and organizations can take to contribute towards achieving this goal?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So the sad part is as well that in the last eight years, we’ve actually gone backward. We’ve gone away from zero hunger because of all the conflicts that are happening because of climate change and also economic shocks. When you think about specific actions that everybody can take, you know, it’s if you start easy, it could be something like, you know, just you could, you could donate whether it shares the meal 70 cents, you know, it’s a very simple action that you could everybody take. But you know, also other charities like support, whatever you care about. Think about what you can do as an individual. Now sometimes that’s about food loss or waste. Like what do you do? Where do you buy the food? Do you throw it away? What quality standards do you use in terms of organic food or if you are purchasing items that are coming from abroad? Like what are the quality standards that you are actually using? But then as a company or as a startup founder, what is it that you can do? And I think this is an over often overlooked area where, you know, you can actually create a sustainable business that makes money and solves people’s problems at the same time. And if you’re thinking about this, there’s enough food on the planet right now to feed everybody. It’s a real shame that this problem still persists. We could literally end global hunger right now. So whatever we need to take, I think it’s not only possible but if everybody just does one thing, we have a big chance to actually have an impact together for those people.

Saksham Sharda: So moving from the individual to the state. How do you engage with policymakers and governments to advocate for all these policies and initiatives that address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So as World Food Pro and also World Food Pro Innovation accelerator, we are largely funded also by governments but also corporations and foundations of course, and individuals. Now we do advocate for the support we need, which historically, unfortunately, we do not receive. We typically have a funding gap between like 30 and 50%. So we don’t have enough money to even help the most environmentally friendly people. And then again, when you look into like investing to the future, some of the funding, you know, isn’t there, we are engaging with a lot of different governments and we are having good conversations where across the globe with governments about innovations actually being seen as part of hope and the solution because you have the same leverage you have in private sector, you’re investing and then you have a payback that’s multiple into the future. Unfortunately, I think there’s still room to grow but I’m hopeful that, you know, if we excite people about those opportunities, the startups, the innovations that in showing the impact that they can have right now, that a lot more people will get excited and also actually bring more support, whether it’s financial support, but also connections with, you know, business ecosystems, public-private partnerships. I think there’s lots of opportunities to work on.

Saksham Sharda: So corporations and governments working on this is one thing, but then we have philanthropy. So recently the announcement of Melinda Gates’ departure, the Melinda Gates Foundation has sparked discussions about the future of philanthropy itself. What trends or shifts do you anticipate in the landscape of global philanthropy in the coming years?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So what I’m seeing, and I’m also hoping about is that philanthropy is getting more professional, which is about like actually looking, you know, not only the causes that you’re actually wanting to support but also looking at the professionalism of like, you know, are your investments making a difference? Is a return investment on those investments. And I think that’s important because like if you are giving a lot of money you know, ideally that money, at least in my personal opinion, will have the biggest impact on the planet, on helping people, on helping the cause that you’re actually passionate about. And I think this is where, you know, the transparency and the data and technology that can actually play a big role because we are able already right now to give feedback on, you know, the work of the startups and innovation that we’re working with. But think about that if we can actually show you the impact that you can have on your money, then you can make rational choices even like, you know, the interest that you have about things like where is the impact the greatest? And I think that has a big opportunity going forward specifically also as it pertains to technology, because philanthropists have maybe a higher risk appetite than what traditional funding or donations might have.

Saksham Sharda: So what advice would you offer to emerging philanthropists or social impact investors who are looking to make a meaningful difference in the world with their resources?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So I would say if people wanna make a difference it is like looking into what type of interventions are actually making a difference and what’s the track record of those organizations actually implementing those interventions. Because I often see this where people are passionate about a particular organization and that is great, but then you also should look into what the actual impact is of that work that you’re actually funding. And I think that has been some of the early inspirations behind sharing the need to give you feedback on what your donation actually makes. But also as a world food pro-innovation accelerator where you want to know, you want to be able to track and put pressure on creating results. And at the same time be willing to also take some risks. Like if you wanna see the big impact that you have from the business world, from the tech world, innovations that are sometimes risky, that you’re backing individual organizations, companies, startups, you wanna know, do I trust those people? And then also diversify, you know, what is going to make a big difference and then maybe you do some more traditional investments as well.

Saksham Sharda: Let’s talk a bit about storytelling. In your experience, what role does storytelling play in effectively communicating social impact initiatives? Like, ShareTheMeal with a broader audience? Can you provide examples of successful storytelling campaigns that resonated with users and donors?

Bernhard Kowatsch: Storytelling is huge and it’s oftentimes related to, you know, a person. It could be the founders or it could be the person that’s the person that’s being supported or like that’s being served. And I think just connecting this, like the work that people are doing towards like, you know, people that are being served and what, how their life improves is so powerful. We’ve actually supported another initiative that’s called, you know, like citizen storytellers where the people receive food or cash. Like they actually, then they become reporters and they tell the story from their perspective of how it is like to work and live in a refugee camp like how they perceive some of these stories. And like if you as a starter founder, the innovators actually telling the stories, they’re on the ground and you see the impact that you’re making, I think that has a tremendous impact not only on the people receiving that story but also you know, on the people that you work with because it ensures that you’re staying truthful to helping people and not just staying somewhere remote.

Saksham Sharda: So how do you balance the message and the story where there’s like the urgency of helping the people in a humanitarian crisis and also the importance of maintaining a positive and hopeful narrative in your story? How do you balance this need?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So as my role focuses on innovation, I guess I’m the storyteller of hope. There’s so much bad news, there are so many crises that are all around the world. It’s my passion. I truly believe in that, that, there is hope and we can change the world with innovation and technology. And if more people just believe in that, I think we could engage a lot more people around the planet because a lot of people are uninspired. They think that there’s so much negativity, they’re shutting down all the noise. And I think that doesn’t have to be that way. And of course, I think we need to balance this in terms of like, innovation and technology cannot solve all the problems, but I think they can give hope to actually solve something and contribute towards a better planet.

Saksham Sharda: Alright, so the last question for you is of a personal kind, what would you be doing in your life, if not this?

Bernhard Kowatsch: So I’m passionate about impact, so impact for me isn’t exactly just about you need to do social impact for sure. And like I, this is where when I started my career working for Boss Consulting Group, working on actually creating businesses for companies, I think it’s the same thing that comes over and over again. It’s about what you can do to actually improve people’s lives through things like new businesses, technology, and innovation. So I think for me, what I’m really passionate about is doing things and, you know, maybe creating a startup, working with large companies, with organizations maybe investing into startups that create a difference for people. And I, I think there are so many fields also like that they’re a lot broader than just in the pure social impact of sustainability where people can make an impact. And I think probably somewhere in that space, that’s what I would do.

Let’s Conclude!

Saksham Sharda: Thanks, everyone for joining us for this month’s episode of Outgrow’s Marketer of the Month. That was Bernhard Kowatsch who is the Head of Innovation Accelerator at the United Nations Food Programme.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Saksham Sharda: Check out the website for more details and we’ll see you once again next month with another marketer of the month.