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Developing Health, Developing Profits
Pfizer’s Dr Ponni Subbiah is at the forefront of a revolution in the way the pharma industry views its business, who it believes its customers are, and how it can be socially responsible. There is currently much talk of pharma’s emerging markets - China, India, Brazil, Russia - but this expanded world view still excludes most countries, and billions of the world’s population. The most potent symbol of global poverty - and dire health needs that go with it - is sub-Saha...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Stabilizing Pakistan: Boosting its Private Sector
As it struggles to contain a growing insurgency, Pakistan has aroused concern that it is a failing or fracturing state. One aspect of the international community’s response has been to place new focus on Pakistan’s economic weaknesses. On completing his first hundred days in office, U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged that the Pakistani government was "fragile" and lacked capacity to deliver basic services to its people, making it difficult for them to gain support of the populat...
- Region
- South Asia
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Creating a Post-Crisis Economy: Why We Need Economic Dashboards
A significant difference between those of us fortunate to be living above the poverty line and those unfortunate enough to be at the "bottom of the pyramid" is that the ’wealthy’ can afford to consume. Being a "useful" member of a consumer society requires the consumption of products and services not directly necessary to survival. The very poor do not generally have that choice. I never really appreciated that distinction until I began to understand what was so powerful about t...
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Max New York Life to Focus on Rural Areas
Max New York Life will now tap the rural and semi-urban markets across the country with its innovative and specially designed policy — Max Vijay, riding on the Peerless’ network. Peerless General Finance and Investment Company (PGFIL), on its part, will take in 30,000 fresh “smart advisors” in the present year to sell Max Vijay. Max New York Life will also help grooming these smart advisors. PGFIL, at present has 50,000 smart advisors across the country. ...
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- South Asia
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Builders, Politicians Cheer Affordable Homes in India
Mumbai: A recent state government lottery for about 4,000 low-cost apartments in Mumbai drew more than 430,000 applications, underlining the need for affordable housing in a country where housing is also a top election issue. Political parties of all hues have seized on affordable homes as a vote getter in India’s ongoing general election, plugging in to the frustration of millions priced out of a real estate boom fuelled by a robust economy and a six-year bull market. Devel...
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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In the Nano’s Headlights
The Nano has more than lived up to its nickname — the people’s car. Judging by reports that the car has attracted bookings of close to a million, the market has now confirmed that the car has been a stupendous achievement for Tata Motors and its chairman, Ratan Tata, who conceived of just such a vehicle and marshalled his forces to deliver what most auto-makers had declared would be an impossible task. It is a tribute to India’s achievements in low-cost innovation that the g...
- Region
- South Asia
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Time for a New Kind of Capitalism?
The global financial crisis has led to serious questions, about the state of world capitalism. Anger is still running hot and strong against what’s perceived as the selfishness and greed of those in big Western banks and corporations. But there are some entrepreneurs who believe now is the time for another kind of capitalism to grow and flourish - a more kind and compassionate form which has social good as its goal, the betterment of the lives of the world’s poorest people, and ...
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Making Better Investments at the Base of the Pyramid
Managers of business ventures that work with the world’s poor need more than financials and feel-good stories to measure success. They need to know exactly who’s benefiting and how. Rama was a seamstress by trade, not an optician. Before she connected with VisionSpring, a venture providing vision care to the poor, she sold hand-sewn clothes and blankets from her home and used her earnings to help support her husband (a farm worker who was often between jobs) and their two ch...
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