-
Strong partnership key to success in bottom of the pyramid markets
For those at the ?bottom of the pyramid? (BoP), the four billion people or so living on less than two dollars a day, life is hard. Although collectively they have considerable combined purchasing power, they have up to now been traditionally overlooked by businesses. However, major multinational corporations (MNCs) are now seeing opportunities in developing products for the BoP markets, while making a difference to the lives of the poor people. ?For this concept to work, there needs...
-
Social Entrepreneurship: Make Everyone A Change-Maker
By Harvey S. Keh Renato Mercado had worked as an assistant architect for 15 years in Saudi Arabia. Last year, he got a one-month leave and was finally able to visit his family in Laguna province after four years. Upon arrival, he was shocked to know his family was in disarray. His wife was not able to save a single centavo from the remittances he had been making; his eldest son was a drug addict. For Renato, all the sacrifices and years ...
-
Big Finance Muscles In on Microlending
By Uwe Buse Microloans were invented to help the poorest of the poor help themselves. Now major banks and pension funds are getting into the business, as they discover that the interest paid by the poor can produce high returns. Is it aid or exploitation? Muhammad Yunus is one of the good ones, on a par with Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa. Like them, he won the Nobel ...
-
Going for Gold in India
India obviously has barely touched its potential, still faced with vast poverty, corruption, and infrastructure needs. University of Michigan global management expert C. K. Prahalad this spring told Indian business leaders that if India, which is already producing 3 million college graduates a year, can educate the poor, it will have the world’s largest pool of trained people power by 2022. By Derrick Z. Jackson IN WINNING India’s first-ever individual gold med...
-
Compartamos versus Yunus
The Mexican micro-finance entity that raised $400 million from an IPO comes under fire for becoming the moneylender the micro-finance institutions were supposed to protect the poor from. A crimson and red screen lights up and a clutch of golden fish stream left and then right. This is the home page of the website of Compartamos Banco, the Mexican entity that became the first micro-finance institution (MFI) in Latin America to raise equity capital, as much as $400 million, through an i...
-
Agflation helps poor, says study
Studies conducted by economists at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) have deduced that rising global food prices can actually help improve the conditions of the majority of the poor and alleviate poverty in the country. Ms Sandra Polaski, senior associate and director at the CEIP pointed out that analysis of data collected through surveys by the Indian government of over 2.5 lakh poor families had shown striking correlation between increasing global food prices and...
-
Hinterland overtakes cities in FCMG production
It?s a rural resurgence of sorts and has got companies revisiting their bottom of the pyramid strategies. Rural offtake across select categories such as shampoos, toothpastes and hair oils has grown faster than consumption in urban markets this year. ACNielsen data for the January-July 2008 period shows that growth has been higher in rural markets across each of the categories by value and volume. The growth is being attributed to factors like higher prices of farm produce and farm lo...
-
VisionSpring Enhances Management Team With New Hire and Promotion
VisionSpring is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Eliassen as Vice President of Sales and Operations, a position responsible for the leadership and management of VisionSpring?s global operations team and the achievement of operational and sales objectives. Mr. Eliassen comes to VisionSpring with a mix of both public and private sector experience, most recently at Unilever, where he served as Associate Finance Manager in the Customer Development group. Prior to completing his MBA, Mr. ...
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.