NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Mudra Institute to Sow Power in Gujarat Farmers

Taking up an initiative to widen the scope of effective communication to the bottom of the pyramid of the Indian economy, the Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad (MICA) has started conducting a research. The research called ’National Agricultural Innovation Project’ (NAIP) is funded by the World Bank. Professor Arbind Sinha and co-principal investigator ...

Source

DNA India (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

The Year in Innovation: “Trickling Up”

In 2009 the world was no longer flat; much of it was flat broke. Deflated by slumping sales and income, companies roundly did what innovation consultants say they never should—they cut spending on research and development . The U.S. drug industry , historically ...

Source

BusinessWeek (link opens in a new window)

Insurance Providers Get Support to Invest in Low Income Market

The ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility issued a call for grant proposals to encourage insurance providers to experiment with new products and develop strategic partnerships that will bring affordable insurance products to working poor in developing countries. To overcome the major challenges associated with health financing for low-income households, the Facility proposes a special emphasis on health microinsurance, but also welcomes applications for projects focusing on high-...

Source

Auto-Mobi.com (link opens in a new window)

Tatas Add More Punch to Mass Push

“I am excited about Tata Swach because in my native village every house needs a water purifier as the water is contaminated,” says Dharmendra Jha, working in Patna. Jha’s aspiration is tied to the fortunes of the salt-to-software Tata Group, whose Tata Chemicals has priced at a market-beating Rs.749 the purifier that could make a dramatic difference in interior Bihar. “It is going to be a runaway success in rural Bihar as it won’t be consuming electri...

Source

Hindustan Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

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,...

Source

Hindu Business Line (link opens in a new window)

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...

Source

Times of India (link opens in a new window)

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’...

Source

Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

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...

Source

BBC World Service (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia