World leaders in health, food, prosperity head to Nashville

NASHVILLE — Ask Scott Massey what he is working on these days and he will share a tall agenda: creating abundant food, health and economic prosperity for everyone in the world.

Fortunately, he is not tackling these lofty goals alone. Massey leads a business and university alliance called the CumberlandCenter, focused on developing meaningful solutions to largescale problems related to these areas through its Global Action Platform. Instead of looking to the world of nonprofits and governments, the CumberlandCenter is turning to the source of the most capital — the private sector.

“To achieve sustainable, scalable solutions, it’s really going to require business models,” Massey said. “We are going to find ways to engage the business sector in sustainable business practices that are profitable to them but that help us address issues.”

Massey’s nonprofit is bringing as many as 400 thought leaders and executives to Nashville this week for its third Global Action Summit (formerly Global South Summit), at the Music City Center, led by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. One of the speakers will be FedEx CEO Frederick W. Smith of Memphis.

Attendees will share ideas on the world’s most pressing food and health concerns and seek to determine how new and existing businesses can prompt action. The summit is part of a series of summits leading up to the World Expo in Milan next year and kicks off the conversation each year that continues at the World Bank, the National Press Club and the Meridian International Center.

When Massey explains the role businesses could have, he points to Coca-Cola. The soda company relies on clean water to operate and recently partnered with a business creating water purification systems. It can supply water for its own products, as well as replenish water in the surrounding communities, and its goal is to operate as a sustaining operation that supports local entrepreneurship.

“It solves their business need, solves a social need and is selfsustaining,” Massey said.

The Global Action Platform is developing a $50 million fund to invest in new businesses that could make an impact in its target areas, especially as research funding from the National Institutes of Health declines. At the summit, a group of startups will vie for $1 million in investment dollars through a Global Action Challenge that they can use to help grow their business.

The nonprofit has also created a fellowship program that includes about 60 students from U.S. universities who are in earlier stages of their careers. They take on a community service project or start a social enterprise business related to the center’s mission. The idea is that through the investments and the fellows, the Global Action Platform can ensure action is being taken on addressing health and food issues.

Nashville will be an ongoing hub for the CumberlandCenter beginning next year. There, it will serve as a business development and innovation center connecting universities and business leaders.

With a new center, ongoing collaboration and investments focused on new businesses and social enterprises, Massey says he is confident the Global Action Platform will live up to its name. “We have assembled a tremendous network of partners that are dedicated to making a difference,” he said.