-
A Chinese start-up tries to grow in harsh climate
Hundreds of miles north of here on the edge of the Mongolian steppes, Li Enhui is producing a magic bag to help China fight the fierce sandstorms that plague this city every spring. Li’s water-saving pouch, which he says enables trees to thrive in desert conditions, was selected as a special technology project by the organizers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Hoping to host sandstorm-free games, the government is planting a green wall of trees around the capi...
-
Global fin giants to go micro in India
India?s growing microfinance segment may soon see the entry of global financial services giant, Morgan Stanley and the Switzerland-based Blue Orchard Finance. Both these firms are in talks with the banking regulator Reserve Bank of India to foray into the local microfinance segment. Indian microfinance institutions have already started looking at diversifying their avenues to raise funds as part of the effort to lo...
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
New centre to build Bottom of Pyramid business models for local communities
Around the world there is a growing awareness that governments alone can’t solve the problem of poverty. In many countries, the private sector is exploring ways to contribute to sustainable development through commercially viable initiatives. In South Africa, the University of Stellenbosch Graduate School of Business (USB) has launched a project at its Centre for Sustainable Enterprise in Africa, with R1 million in seed capital from the Kellogg Foundation. Its work will be co-or...
-
Indian knowledge and skills promise a lot
Harold Rosen believes in driving people towards accomplishing tasks they never dreamt about. He is a stranger to the places where he works, but is quick to find hands that connect him to local people and their dreams. Though many reading this would know him as the director of Grassroots Business Initiative (GBI) at International Finance Corporation, but for many who can?t read or write, he is a catalyst in turning their dreams into reality. Working with the World Bank Group since 1978, ...
-
World Bank Study reveals $5 trillion market
The poor have substantial purchasing power too ? purely because there are so many of them. The 4 billion people across the world, who stand at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) have purchasing power of $5 trillion (Rs 2,25,00,000 crore) according to a new report released on Monday by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank. The report, The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid, measures the purch...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Four Billion Poor People Have $5 Trillion Purchasing Power
According to the report, the Bottom of Pyramid (BOP) market is $429 billion in Africa, which represents 71% of aggregate purchasing power in the region. The African BOP includes 486 million people, 95% of the region’s surveyed population. Tagged, ’The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid’, the analysis is complemented by an overview of business strategies from successful enterprises operating in these markets. A new report r...
-
Business Setting Sights on Low-Income Market
BUSINESS interest in low-income Filipinos comprising the so-called base of the economic pyramid (BOP) is on the rise, according to a new report by the International Finance Corp. (IFC) and the World Resources Institute. Comprising 30 percent of the Philippine population, the BOP market spends its money largely on mobile phones, pharmaceutical products, and information and communication technology, the report titled ?The Next Four Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base ...
-
Low-income groups form a $5 trillion consumer market
Four billion people form the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) ? those with incomes below $3,000. Yet together they have substantial purchasing power as BOP constitutes a $5 trillion global consumer market. This was stated in World Bank?s report released Monday titled ?The Next 4 Billion?. The data compiled by the bank reveals that BOP population, though made up of very low income groups, is the largest consumers in food, transport, health, energy and water sectors in their economies...
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.