Billions of people around the world do not have access to products like solar lights, water filters, clean cookstoves and nutrition products. This is because distribution of these products is difficult and expensive, and because customers have low incomes and often live in remote, hard-to-reach areas. This is known as ‘The Access Gap’.

Last mile distribution organisations (‘LMDs’) specifically target this last mile market, which is overlooked by the traditional private sector. But they face a range of challenges: they operate in isolation within high-risk/low-infrastructure markets, with little capacity and limited access to finance. Instead of learning from and leveraging one another, they are continuously reinventing the wheel.

We believe that LMDs, and the products they sell, have a vital role to play in alleviating global poverty and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The GDC works to support last mile distributors and the underserved customers that they seek to reach. We adopt a systems approach, implementing ‘collective’ interventions that support the growth of the sector as a whole. We also help the broader ecosystem – including manufacturers, service providers, investors, donors and governments – to work more effectively with last mile distributors to achieve shared goals.

The GDC is the world’s only entity dedicated to supporting last mile distributors across sectors and across geographies. The GDC is bottom-up and demand driven, conceived by distributors themselves, with activities designed and implemented in close consultation with members.

GDC members must fulfill the following criteria:

• Sell household products that contribute to one of more of the Sustainable Development Goals, such as solar lights, improved cookstoves, water filters, nutrition products, agri inputs/machinery and off-grid appliances.
• Target the ‘last mile’, ie people who are low income or live in remote areas, or both.
• Focus primarily on distribution at the household-level. Organisations may be exclusive distributors of one company’s products, or distributors of products from a range of companies. They may work with white-label manufacturers to produce their own branded products, or be subsidiaries of companies that have a broader mission. But a significant part of their business is distribution. The GDC is not for organisations that are focused on manufacturing, or on selling to businesses, NGOs, communities or government agencies.
• Be willing to share information with others, since peer-to-peer sharing and collective action is at the core of the GDC’s vision and mode of intervention.

The GDC works with a range of partners to develop and deliver support and services that help last mile distributors to achieve impact and growth. Our partners include investors like Acumen, associations like GOGLA and the Clean Cooking Alliance, coalitions like Efficiency for Access, partnerships like CGAP, TA providers like Value for Women, and academic institutions like the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

Get in touch if you would like to work with us: GDC@practicalaction.org.uk

The GDC’s role is to integrate the systems, capital flows, and collective capabilities that allow locally–led distributors to thrive, without relying on GDC as a central hub. By 2030, we aim for the sector to begin standing on its own – anchored by strong country demonstrators, shared data and finance mechanisms, and a valued collective voice.  

The GDC is the only global platform dedicated to strengthening last mile distributors (LMDs) – companies that reach low-income customers at scale and deliver strong social returns. With 300 members already active across 60+ countries, GDC has built a trusted, representative mechanism for supporting LMDs and channelling donor investment efficiently.  

From 2026 onwards, we will:

• Shift from creating tools to embedding and scaling what works, through AI-enabled technology, local language delivery, and delivering through partners. 

• Anchor our activities in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on one to two SSA countries through creation of country demonstrators, to influence national level systems and unlock local financing – while ultimately remaining a global platform. 

• Explore creating dedicated LMD finance vehicles and shared services. 

• Have a stronger focus on systemic change and catalytic interventions.