Based on research presented at The Harvard Business School’s first-ever conference on business approaches to poverty alleviation, Business Solutions for the Global Poor brings together perspectives from leading academics and corporate, non-profit and public sector managers. The contributors draw on practical and dynamic how-to insights from leading BOP ventures from more than twenty countries world-wide. This important volume reflects poverty’s multi-faceted nature and a broad range of actors—multinational and local businesses, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations and governments—that play a role in its alleviation.
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"This excellent collection including business contributions from 11 countries, demonstrates how creating shared value—for shareholders and society-s the basis for a long-term successful business."
—Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and CEO, Nestlé
—Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and CEO, Nestlé
"It is the rare mix of breadth and depth that makes this collection so extraordinary and so valuable. We are introduced to the world’s poor in detail, learn the many ways that business can help them work their way out of poverty, and told what governments and citizens’ groups must do to make this happen. Business leaders even discover how they can generate both economic and social value."
—Stephan Schmidheiny, founder, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
"This book provides excellent case studies that vividly describe how new business models can address the problems and the opportunities at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’; it thereby shows how corporate social responsibility can be embedded into normal commercial operations. The fact that these case studies are drawn from many industries on several continents add greatly to its credibility."
—Antony Burgmans, chairman, Unilever
"This is a very important book. If it’s widely read and widely applied, it might even prove to be a world-changing book. Expert contributors from different nations take an unsentimental look at the world’s poorest 3 billion people and ask: are there new ways of doing business that could be both beneficial for the poor and profitable for companies? Their answers are imaginative, practical and encouragingly positive."
—Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP
"This volume focuses on a challenge that business, worldwide, has hitherto not regarded as being within its ambition: the challenge of banishing poverty. . . . . The book makes a significant contribution towards setting business on that endeavor."
—Rattan N. Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons Limited
From the Inside Flap
In September 2000, the United Nations set forth a Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015. While there is still much work to be done to reach this goal, the men and women who dwell at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) are capturing the attention of corporate executives and senior managers. More and more businesses are redefining their interactions with the poor from an obligation to one integral to continued business growth and profitability.
Based on research presented at The Harvard Business School's first-ever conference on business approaches to poverty alleviation, Business Solutions for the Global Poor brings together perspectives from leading academics and corporate, nonprofit and public sector managers. The contributors draw on practical and dynamic how-to insights from leading BOP ventures from more than twenty countries worldwide. This important volume reflects poverty's multi-faceted nature and a broad range of actors—multinational and local businesses, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations and governments—that play a role in its alleviation.
The book examines the characteristics, preferences, and habits of the poor. It includes illustrative case studies that explore the role of business in meeting the poor's basic needs for security, healthcare, housing and utilities. The contributors show how companies have successfully adapted their value proposition to the needs of low-income, and poor consumers in the retail, technology, and consumer good sectors. The book also reveals how the private sector can help facilitate the integration of the poor into the global production system. In addition, Business Solutions for the Global Poor outlines the challenges companies face when seeking to operate at the base of the pyramid and includes overarching business principles for serving the BOP.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Paul K.
Format:Hardcover
This collection of articles comes from the 2005 "A Conference on Global Poverty: Business Solutions and Approaches" at the Harvard Business School. I've copied the Table of Contents below.
I was pleasantly surprised by several aspects of this collection. For one, the papers are relatively well written and easy to read, given the content area. Perhaps this comes from the business focus of the participants conference, where being succinct and clear is critical.
There is broad coverage of approaches by multinational corporations (MNCs) in developing countries. I don't see a lot of this in the writings on poverty alleviation--I see much more on microfinance--and so it was informative to see the various activities going on by MNCs. I have a sense that there's great potential for impact here because of the MNCs ability to scale and efficiently draw together resources.
I particularly like how several of these papers are based on case examples. In addition, I found the section on "Building the BOP Value Chain" to be especially insightful when thinking about how to scale social ventures for broader impact.
One more thing: several of the Powerpoint Presentations that go with articles in the book can be found online, if you search for this: hbs A Conference on Global Poverty: Business Solutions and Approaches.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1: Just who are the poor?
1 Microcredit and Poverty Alleviation Strategy for Women: Who Are the Customers?
2 Understanding Consumers and Retailers at the Base of the Pyramid in Latin America
3 Marketing Programs to Reach India's Underserved
PART 2: Meeting the Poor's Basic Needs
4 Brcko and the Arizona Market
5 Health Services for the Poor in Developing Countries: Private vs. Public vs. Private and Public
6 Fighting AIDS, Fighting Poverty: Customer Centric Marketing in the Generic Antiretroviral Business
7 Meeting Unmet Needs at the Base of the Pyramid: Mobile Healthcare for India's Poor
8 Patrimonio Hoy: A Groundbreaking Corporate Program to Alleviate Mexico's Housing Crisis
9 Energizing the Base of the Pyramid: Scaling-up Successful Business Models to Achieve Universal Electrification
10 Utilities and the Poor: A Story from Colombia
11 The Expansion of Public Services into Poor Areas: The Case of Piped Gas in Cuartel V - Moreno
PART 3: Building the BOP Value Chain
12 MULTIAHORRO: Barrio Store
13 Photography and the Low Income Classes in Brazil: A Case Study of Kodak
14 The Complex Business of Serving the Poor: Insights from Unilever's Project Shakti in India
15 Creating strong businesses by developing and leveraging the productive capacity of the poor
16 ITC's e-Choupal: A Platform Strategy for Rural Transformation
17 Nestlé's Milk District Model: Economic Development for a Value-Added Food Chain and Improved Nutrition
PART 4: BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP MODELS
18 Building New Business Value Chains with Low Income Sectors in Latin America
19 Developing Viable Business Models to Serve Low-Income Consumers: Lessons from the Philippines
20 When Giants Discover the Disadvantaged: Managerial Challenges and Success Factors in Building Capacity to Serve Underserved Markets
Part 5: ROLE OF GOVT. AND CIVIL SOCIETY
21 The Role of Financial Institutions in Revitalizing Low-Income Neighborhoods
22 Houses for the Poor and New Business for Banks: The Creation of a Market for Affordable Housing
23 The South African Financial Sector Charter: A Supplementary Market Framework to Achieve Affirmative Action
24 How Social Entrepreneurs Enable Human, Social, and Economic Development
25 Hybrid Value Chains: Social Innovations and the Development of the Small Farmer Irrigation Market in Mexico
26 Entrepreneurship and Poverty Alleviation in South Africa
27 A Gentler Capitalism: Black Business Leadership in the New South Africa
PART 6: MEASURING SUCCESS
28 Microfinance: Business, Profitability, and the Creation of Social Value
29 Alleviating Global Poverty through Microfinance: Factors of Financial, Economic, and Social Performance
30 Strong Double Bottom Line Banking
31 H&R Block's Refund Anticipation Loans: Perilous Profits at the Bottom of the Pyramid?
32 When is Doing Business with the Poor Good - for the Poor? A Household and National Income Accounting Approach
I was pleasantly surprised by several aspects of this collection. For one, the papers are relatively well written and easy to read, given the content area. Perhaps this comes from the business focus of the participants conference, where being succinct and clear is critical.
There is broad coverage of approaches by multinational corporations (MNCs) in developing countries. I don't see a lot of this in the writings on poverty alleviation--I see much more on microfinance--and so it was informative to see the various activities going on by MNCs. I have a sense that there's great potential for impact here because of the MNCs ability to scale and efficiently draw together resources.
I particularly like how several of these papers are based on case examples. In addition, I found the section on "Building the BOP Value Chain" to be especially insightful when thinking about how to scale social ventures for broader impact.
One more thing: several of the Powerpoint Presentations that go with articles in the book can be found online, if you search for this: hbs A Conference on Global Poverty: Business Solutions and Approaches.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1: Just who are the poor?
1 Microcredit and Poverty Alleviation Strategy for Women: Who Are the Customers?
2 Understanding Consumers and Retailers at the Base of the Pyramid in Latin America
3 Marketing Programs to Reach India's Underserved
PART 2: Meeting the Poor's Basic Needs
4 Brcko and the Arizona Market
5 Health Services for the Poor in Developing Countries: Private vs. Public vs. Private and Public
6 Fighting AIDS, Fighting Poverty: Customer Centric Marketing in the Generic Antiretroviral Business
7 Meeting Unmet Needs at the Base of the Pyramid: Mobile Healthcare for India's Poor
8 Patrimonio Hoy: A Groundbreaking Corporate Program to Alleviate Mexico's Housing Crisis
9 Energizing the Base of the Pyramid: Scaling-up Successful Business Models to Achieve Universal Electrification
10 Utilities and the Poor: A Story from Colombia
11 The Expansion of Public Services into Poor Areas: The Case of Piped Gas in Cuartel V - Moreno
PART 3: Building the BOP Value Chain
12 MULTIAHORRO: Barrio Store
13 Photography and the Low Income Classes in Brazil: A Case Study of Kodak
14 The Complex Business of Serving the Poor: Insights from Unilever's Project Shakti in India
15 Creating strong businesses by developing and leveraging the productive capacity of the poor
16 ITC's e-Choupal: A Platform Strategy for Rural Transformation
17 Nestlé's Milk District Model: Economic Development for a Value-Added Food Chain and Improved Nutrition
PART 4: BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP MODELS
18 Building New Business Value Chains with Low Income Sectors in Latin America
19 Developing Viable Business Models to Serve Low-Income Consumers: Lessons from the Philippines
20 When Giants Discover the Disadvantaged: Managerial Challenges and Success Factors in Building Capacity to Serve Underserved Markets
Part 5: ROLE OF GOVT. AND CIVIL SOCIETY
21 The Role of Financial Institutions in Revitalizing Low-Income Neighborhoods
22 Houses for the Poor and New Business for Banks: The Creation of a Market for Affordable Housing
23 The South African Financial Sector Charter: A Supplementary Market Framework to Achieve Affirmative Action
24 How Social Entrepreneurs Enable Human, Social, and Economic Development
25 Hybrid Value Chains: Social Innovations and the Development of the Small Farmer Irrigation Market in Mexico
26 Entrepreneurship and Poverty Alleviation in South Africa
27 A Gentler Capitalism: Black Business Leadership in the New South Africa
PART 6: MEASURING SUCCESS
28 Microfinance: Business, Profitability, and the Creation of Social Value
29 Alleviating Global Poverty through Microfinance: Factors of Financial, Economic, and Social Performance
30 Strong Double Bottom Line Banking
31 H&R Block's Refund Anticipation Loans: Perilous Profits at the Bottom of the Pyramid?
32 When is Doing Business with the Poor Good - for the Poor? A Household and National Income Accounting Approach
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By E. R. Gard
Format:Hardcover
This work is a seamless compilation of information from the corners of the globe detailing innovative new approaches to the alleviation of global poverty through creative efforts in the private sector. Beyond useful and insightful facts and information, this book goes on to organize and present the knowledge in a framework that serves to effectively establish the context of global poverty and therefore the efforts to alleviate it. Because of this context-building framework, as a reference material, this volume is greater than the sum of its parts.
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