NextBillion - A WDI Publication

On Campus, a Different Pyramid Scheme

Classes that explore the controversial base of the pyramid economic development theory are proliferating at B-schools around the world. More B-school students than ever will be taking courses in base of the pyramid theory when they go back to campus this fall?an indication that the idea that economic development can come from selling products to the world’s poor has gone from buzz to curriculum staple. The base of the pyramid concept, which is not universal...

Source

Business Week (link opens in a new window)

Cornell Professor Builds on His Base

Stuart Hart, founder of base of the pyramid economics, talks about terrorism, poverty, and the next big corporations. As one of the founding fathers of the base of the pyramid economic theory, Stuart Hart plays a crucial role in reshaping the way companies view the 4 billion people who live in poverty. The Cornell B-school professor is the founder and chair of the school’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and an authority on the implications of sustainable dev...

Source

Business Week (link opens in a new window)

The Business of Ethics Remixed

Corporations have to integrate ’social responsibility’ into their business agenda to protect environmental, social and human rights of the vast majority. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a highly misunderstood and misinterpreted term in India. The core of CSR is what a company essentially does in terms of philanthropy or charity in the community in which it operates. This understanding of ’India Inc.’ has traditionally been continued, practised and modelled vis-?-vis the ...

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Hardnews Media (link opens in a new window)

India Rides the Venture Capital Wave

The base of the pyramid is often ignored, but offers a tremendous opportunity, says Katie Hill, the India representative of Acumen Fund, an fund backed by the Cisco Systems Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. Acumen has put $1.5 million into Ziqitza, a Mumbai-based ambulance company that offers deep discounts for residents of the city. The fishermen from the Indian village of Chidambaram live a hard life. They sleep most of the day, then spend the night out on the water...

Source

CIO Today (link opens in a new window)

Visa Boosts LatAm Volume

Visa posts a strong increase in volume and credit cards in Latin America. Visa boosted its point-of-sale (POS) volume in Latin America by 26 percent to $116.3 billion in the four quarters ending on March 31. The growth was due to a 37 percent increase in the number of new credit cards issued, which now total 91.3 million in the region. All in all, Visa boasts 270.9 million cards in Latin America, including debit cards. Purchases made with Visa credit cards at the POS grew 26 percent t...

Source

Latin Business Chronicle (link opens in a new window)

Behind L’Or?al’s Makeover In India: Going Upscale

In India, most beauty products sell for less than a dollar. L’Or?al SA is betting its future here on products costing three to 20 times as much. MUMBAI -- In India, most beauty products sell for less than a dollar. L’Or?al SA is betting its future here on products costing three to 20 times as much. The French cosmetics giant has embarked on a strategy that sharply differs from that of its rivals. Having failed to turn a profit selling low-priced shampoo in India, i...

Source

Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Sri Lanka Agribusiness Firms Reach out to Farmers

Sri Lanka’s agribusiness companies have started a programme to get corporate executives to volunteer their services help farmers improve productivity, reduce waste and get better access to markets. The aim of the programme, launched under the aegis of the National Agribusiness Council (NAC), is to get member firms to provide two executives who will visit rural farmers during their leave period and help solve problems, said Mario de Alwis, former president of NAC. ...

Source

Sri Lanka Community Portal (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Opportunity International Launches Microschools(TM) – New Frontier in Breaking the Chain of Poverty

OAK BROOK, Ill., July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Opportunity International, a leading innovator in the microfinance industry, today announced the expansion of its microfinance school loans program to bring greater educational opportunity to poor children, especially girls. Microschools of Opportunity(TM) is a new initiative that provides loans to edupreneurs who open schools in poor neighborhoods where children cannot access public school for a variety of reasons. Groundbreaking r...

Source

PR Newswire (link opens in a new window)