NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Bottom of Pyramid Moves to 2.0 Version

BANGALORE: The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), a dominant idea in business, will now move into a 2.0 framework. The concept in its original shape dealt with how large corporations can develop products for low-income and below the poverty line (BPL) customers for profit. Around 400 million people in India live below $1.25 per day. BOP 2.0 goes a step further in calling for co-creation of products with communities th...

Source

The Times of India (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

The WaterWheel Makes Clean Water Cheaper, Easier to Carry

Not everyone can just turn on the tap to access clean water; in the developing world, women regularly carry five-gallon, 42-pound buckets of water on their heads. The Hippo Water Roller, a device that allows users to easily roll 24 gallons of water along the ground, has made life easier for over 30,000 people in the past 15 years--while becoming something of a ...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Orb Energy, Acumen Fund Announce Partnership to Address Energy Needs for Millions in India

Mumbai, India, June 20, 2011 - Orb Energy Pte Ltd. (Orb) , one of India’s leading providers of solar energy systems, and Acumen Fund , a nonprofit global venture firm addressing poverty in South Asia and East Africa, today announced a partnership to address energy needs for millions of Indians without reliable electricity. Acumen Fund is making a significant e...

Source

Acumen Fund (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

NextWealth: Creating a Next Wave in India’s IT and BPO Industry

During the early days of the Indian information technology outsourcing industry, Sridhar Mitta’s biggest challenge was convincing American companies that India was a viable destination to send their work. Mitta was with Wipro, at the time a fledging IT division of a vegetable oil company. He was, in fact, the very first employee of the company’s IT business and later went on to become its chief technology officer and president of the global research and development business. During Mi...

Source

India Knowledge@Wharton (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Stirred, But Not Shaken

Vikram Akula ’s SKS Microfinance , once the showcase company of the Indian microfinance sector, is having to re-design its business as well as salvage its reputation. Less than a year ago, in August 2010, the company w...

Source

Business Today (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Tata Nano Enters Sri Lanka Taxi Market

COLOMBO: Tata Nano, billed as the world’s cheapest car , entered Sri Lanka’s taxi market on Thursday, billed as a more comfortable and safer alternative to rickety three-wheel auto rickshaws. A local company said it was launching a service with 45 cabs with plans to increase the fleet to 200 within six months. Sri Lanka became the car’s first foreign market late last month. The service is pitched at a lower price than air-conditioned cabs and as a bette...

Source

The Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

In India, Dynamism Wrestles With Dysfunction

GURGAON, India - In this city that barely existed two decades ago, there are 26 shopping malls, seven golf courses and luxury shops selling Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs shimmer in automobile showrooms. Apartment towers are sprouting like concrete weeds, and a futuristic commercial hub called Cyber City houses many of the world’s most respected corporations. Gurgaon, located about 15 miles south of the national capital, New Delhi, would seem to have everything, ...

Source

The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

The $300 House: A Hands-On Approach to a Wicked Problem

When the New York Times printed " Hands Off Our Houses ," an op-ed about our idea for a $300 House for the poor, we were both delighted and dismayed - delighted because the $300 House was being discussed, and dismayed because authors Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava, co-founders of the Institute of Urbanology , didn’t seemed to have read the series of blog posts about our id...

Source

Harvard Business Review (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

South Asia