-
Why Small Packs Make Sense for FMCG Co’s
While C.K. Prahalad’s seminal work, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, advocated a strategy to look at the lower end of the market, companies till recently did not tap into the low-unit price market segment with aggression. Asked why marketers did not look at a low unit price strategy earlier, Cadbury India’s Managing Director, Mr Anand Kripalu, says that playing a low unit price game requires a change in manufacturing and mindset. It requires different kinds of machines,...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Think Small, Gain Big
The bottom of the pyramid in India is where the next big growth story lies. And Indian companies are waking up to this fact. The latest low-cost offering of high-end durables targeted at households in small-town and rural India is a water purifier from the house of Tatas, which revolutionised the domestic automobile market by rolling out the Nano. The new water purifier blends indigenous and advanced technologies and is priced at below a thousand rupees. Other players in the water purifier bu...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Meet Gordon Gekko’s Grandchildren
What if we could take Wall Street’s endless energy and innovation and turn it on the hunger and deprivation in the world? That’s not a silly question. It’s already being done. In the halls of finance and at America’s top business schools, there’s a small but growing movement to do more than just find the next dollar. Unlike efforts of the past, these bankers and business people aren’t heading off on missions to dig wells and hand out sacks of rice. They’...
-
Solar Power’s Role in Rural India
Mention solar panels and you might think of people in richer countries installing them, so they can reduce their carbon footprint. But there are good reasons for installing solar technology which are not to do with climate change. For example, in those places where there are no lights in the dark, and no hot water, such as in many parts of the countryside in India, where the electricity grid does not reach. Selco is a social...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Banking Still Miles Away from Jalanga
Saraswati Das, 32, walks 20 km whenever she has to carry out a banking transaction. The walks have become more frequent of late because membership of the self-help group (SHG) she heads has been growing. Das lives in Jalanga, a small village in Orissa’s Bhadrak district. Government records show Jalanga in the list of areas with 100 per cent financial inclusion. She leads Sri Gobind Anchalika Sangha, a conglomerate of 32 SHGs based at Jalanga, which has a population of 3,360 an...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Dutch Agency Funds E+Co With $6.6M Investment
FMO, the entrepreneurial development bank of the Netherlands, has created a clean energy investment facility to be managed by E+Co. FMO has set aside USD 6,650,000, funded by FMO’s Access to Energy Fund. Funding also includes a capacity development facility for entrepreneurs in the amount of EUR 500,000. The FMO-E+Co agreement is the result of intensive cooperation over the last year and reflects both organizations’ goals to create a sustainable market place for access to clean energy...
-
Tata Launches Low Cost Water Filter
India’s giant Tata Group on Monday unveiled a new low-cost water purifier, hoping to do for health what it did for motoring and provide affordable, safe drinking water for millions and cut disease. The Tata Swach _ named after the Hindi for "clean’’ _ is designed to be used in poor, rural households that have no electricity or running water, using ash from rice milling to filter out bacteria. The device, which will cost less than 1,000 rupees (21.5 dollars), ...
- Region
- South Asia
-
MFIs Wary of Housing Loans over Default Fears
Bangalore: Concerns of defaults are holding back microfinance institutions, or MFIs, from a full-fledged expansion into home loans even as they seek to turn their clientele of poor borrowers into consumers and compete with commercial banks. MFIs, established mainly to lend small sums to the unbanked poor to help them earn a living, say there’s potentially a huge demand for home loans among their customers. At least two of seven prominent MFIs that Mint spoke to have started...
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- housing
The Best of NextBillion in Your Inbox Each Week!
Subscribe to NB Notes for news, jobs & on-the-ground insights from the world of emerging markets business.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.