Innovating For The Middle Of The Pyramid In Emerging Countries

Explains how firms innovate for the new and growing middle classes in emerging economies, i.e. the middle of the pyramid.

The world's most exciting, fastest-growing new market is where you least expect it: at the bottom of the pyramid. Collectively, the world's billions of poor people have immense untapped buying power. They represent an enormous opportunity for companies who learn how to serve them. Not only can it be done, it is being done--very profitably. What's more, companies aren't just making money: by serving these markets, they're helping millions of the world's poorest people escape poverty. C.K. Prahalad's global bestseller "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid," now available in paperback, " "shows why you can't afford to ignore "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BOP) markets. Now available in paperback, it offers a blueprint for driving the radical innovation you'll need to profit in emerging markets--and using those innovations to become more competitive "everywhere." This new paperback edition includes eleven concise, fast-paced success stories from India, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela--ranging from salt to soap, banking to cellphones, healthcare to housing. These stories are backed by more detailed case studies and 10 hours of digital videos on whartonsp.com. Simply put, this book is about making a revolution: building profitable "bottom of the pyramid" markets, reducing poverty, and creating an inclusive capitalism that works for "everyone." Preface xi About the Author xix Part I: The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid 1 Chapter 1: The Market at the Bottom of the Pyramid 3 Chapter 2: Products and Services for the BOP 23 Chapter 3: BOP: A Global Opportunity? 47 Chapter 4: The Ecosystem for Wealth Creation 63 Chapter 5: Reducing Corruption: Transaction Governance Capacity 77 Chapter 6: Development as Social Transformation 99 Part II: Business Success Stories from the Bottom of the Pyramid 113 Financing the Poor 115 Aravind Eye Care-The Most Precious Gift 131 Energy for Everyone 137 Agricultural Advances for the Poor-The EID Parry Story 149 Retail for the Poor 159 Information Technology to the Poor 169 The Jaipur Foot Story 187 Health Alerts for All 191 Transparent Government 201 The Annapurna Salt Story 213 Homes for the Poor-The CEMEX Story 221 From Hand to Mouth-The HHL Soap Story 235 Part III: On the Web at Whartonsp.com Video Success Stories Casas Bahia CEMEX Annapurna Salt Hindustan Lever Jaipur Foot Aravind Eye Care ICICI Bank ITC e-Choupal EID Parry Voxiva E+Co/Tecnosol Andhra Pradesh Full Success Case Stories in pdf format The Market at the Bottom of the Pyramid Known Problems and Known Solutions: What Is the Missing Link? Known Problems and Unique Solutions Known Problems and Systemwide Reform Scaling Innovations Creating Enabling Conditions for the Development of the Private Sector The EID Parry Story Biographies of the Researchers/Writers of the Success Case Stories from "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" 247 About the Video Success Stories 255 Index 257

3 extraordinary books show how to build “bottom of the pyramid” businesses that are sustainable, scalable, and profitable! Three remarkable books help you overcome the pitfalls of “bottom of the pyramid” business, learn from the pioneers’ successes and failures, and build “BoP” businesses that are sustainable, scalable, and consistently profitable! In Entrepreneurial Solutions for Prosperity in BoP Markets: Strategies for Business and Economic Transformation, Eric Kacou shows how to escape the “survival trap” that keeps many BoP businesses small, inefficient, and unprofitable. Drawing on his unique on-the-ground experience in Africa’s most challenging business environments, Kacou identifies new business models, operational techniques, and leadership approaches that can help BoP businesses grow rapidly and successfully. In Next Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid: New Approaches for Building Mutual Value, Ted London and Stuart L. Hart share proven, “on-the-ground” insights for building “Base of the Pyramid” businesses that really are sustainable and green, really will help alleviate social ills, and really can scale. Finally, in Capitalism at the Crossroads: Next Generation Business Strategies for a Post-Crisis World, Third Edition, Hart offers an up-to-the-minute primer on sustainable business for today’s executives, practical insights into what’s working and what isn’t, and expert insights for crafting and executing your company’s optimal sustainability strategy. From world-renowned leaders in successful bottom-of-the-pyramid business innovation, including Ted London, Stuart L. Hart, and Eric Kacou.

Innovation, often tempered by the language of inclusion, has become an indispensable element of contemporary development policy and practice in the so-called Global South. Driven by multinational companies, public–private partnerships and social enterprises, “innovation for development” aims to co-produce social goods (things of value) such as poverty alleviation with associated profit through innovative market-led solutions, opening up untapped and unserved markets in the developing world and exploiting the potential “fortune at the bottom of the pyramid”. But innovation for development is a contested notion with the capacity to shelter multiple political agendas. By reviewing existing academic theory and discussing four in-depth case studies from Bangladesh and India, this book interrogates how innovation for development is being framed, its politics and the impacts it is having on rural communities on the ground. The analysis suggests both an emerging hegemony constructed around a neoliberal, market-led agenda and the existence of countervailing voices that question this framing, sometimes radically so.

The Frugal Innovation and Bottom of the Pyramid Markets series comprises four volumes, covering theoretical perspectives, themes and various aspects of interest across four key geographical regions where BOP markets are located - South America, Asia, Africa and more engineered countries. BOP always addresses the poorest people or socioeconomic order or groups within a country, society, region or continent, thus, this series contributes a profound understanding of BOP markets across the most important geographical areas around the world and presents valuable insights on how the private sector can work together with other stakeholders to develop and operationalize economically viable business models in BOP markets, all the while contributing to sustainable development. Private actors such as multinationals, SMEs and entrepreneurs have a critical role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals agenda as laid down by United Nations in September 2015. Yet, BOP markets face unique challenges and the private sector alone cannot orchestrate sustainable value creation activities. Each volume presents several theoretical strands that highlight the diverse approaches and solutions to developing BOP markets further. Frugal, reverse and inclusive innovations can foster (sustainable) development and provide new business models and value streams that other countries can also benefit from. A variety of stylistic elements, such as research work, interviews and roundtable discussions, offer a wide and vivid impression of ongoing challenges and fruitful solutions.

Reveals the breadth of innovation in emerging markets, from drivers and types to outcomes and implications.

The Innovation and Sustainability in Base of the Pyramid Markets series comprises four volumes, covering theoretical perspectives, themes, and various aspects of interest across four key geographical regions where Base of the Pyramid (BOP) markets are located – Latin America, Asia, Africa, and affluent countries. This book focuses on the BOP markets in Asia, and in particular the challenge of how to address the needs of deprived population groups in a sustainable manner. Base of the Pyramid Markets in Asia deals with, amongst other topics, the innovation and innovativeness that is necessary to better the life of resource-poor population groups. The book covers various themes and aspects of BOP markets in Asia and their embeddedness in socio-cultural settings, and adopts a variety of theoretical angles for analysing the phenomena. Thus, this book aims at furthering our understanding of BOP markets in Asia and at deriving valuable recommendations for managers and policy makers. BOP markets face unique challenges and private sector actors alone cannot ensure sustainable value creation activities. Multidimensional elements and factors are needed to alleviate poverty and create economic development aligned with principles of sustainable development. Therefore, the book comprises critical and empirical studies as well as conceptual papers on the challenges linked to BOP markets in Asian countries. This book is recommended reading for managers and policy makers, as well as students and academics interested in Base of the Pyramid markets.

For well over 4 billion people – approximately 60% of all humanity – annual income is less than $1,500. The term "Base of the Pyramid" was first coined by Stuart L. Hart and C.K. Prahalad in 2002 and has become synonymous with both the method by which we can more effectively address poverty and the opportunity that exists in a multi-trillion-dollar market. A whole new lexicon has emerged to describe this phenomenon, including new buzzwords and catch phrases like "inclusive business", "opportunities for the majority", "sustainable livelihoods", "pro-poor business" and “social business”, and thousands of new businesses, institutions and investment funds have been set up.In this ground-breaking new book, Stuart L. Hart and Fernando Casado Cañeque have worked with members of the BoP Global Network to shake the tree, look objectively at what has happened since 2002, highlight why earlier applications of BoP haven’t worked and propose new objectives and ways of working to formulate more sustainable solutions. The book challenges the reader and organizations to think about the mindset and purpose across whole organizations, open innovation rather than simply co-creation, and a complete review of the innovation ecosystem. Through this book, practitioners will gain a clearer insight into which business models can work within different communities to ensure a sustainable transition to improved local economies. Equally, the book is a must-read for researchers and students in the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainable development and environmental management.