Abstract
In this paper, we argue for a need for a closer examination of the value creating dynamics arising from and in targeted development interventions in developing countries. These interventions led by Western actors generally aim to provide methods and resources for developing local, communal self-sufficiency, improving social and economic networks and creating a foundation for democratic development. Yet rarely the final value is taken into account when considering outcomes and assessing impact. For instance, importing Western-Eurocentric economic models to developing countries is a practice frequently criticised for extending paternalism, neo-colonialism and excluding the local experience, particularly that of women (e.g. Bonsu & Polsa, 2011; Varman, 2019). In a similar vein, research on value co-creation at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) has followed a logic of value co-creation that buttresses the ‘neutrality’ of the beneficiary discourse in this literature (Vargo & Lusch, 2004).