Category Archives: Bottom of the pyramid/Poverty

Demanding savvy customers at the BoP

Probably the most successful global BoP consumer product today is the mobile phone and its attendant services. While there's fodder for a separate post to follow contained within that specific sentence, this one looks at the reasonably maturing market as … Continue reading

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The trickle-up influence of design for the bottom of the pyramid

The most common question posed by designers (at the Design Factory, in Finland) has been “What is different about designing for the BoP from the way I already design for mainstream consumers?” Its a good question to ask, because it … Continue reading

Posted in Bottom of the pyramid/Poverty, Business, Culture & research, Design, Ecodesign, Environment, Marketing, pay as you go economy, Strategy | 2 Comments

Coping with variations in language and literacy

Christmas Eve 2009, Singapore This cleaning station next to the petrol pump caught my eye last night. With the increasing numbers of migrant labour available affordably in Singapore these days, one can't predict their educational background or language skills – … Continue reading

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India’s telco price wars; a street view

This issue of Businessworld caught my eye on the flight from India, with its accompanying cover story full of informative graphs and numbers. Anecdotal evidence from the rental car driver tells me that some gaps exist between marketing and the … Continue reading

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Can big business save the world? It depends…

Jared Diamond's op ed in the NYT struck me with the question he posed, which is whether big business can save the world. Diamond went on to use Walmart, Chevron and Coca Cola as examples. I leave  it to you … Continue reading

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*This* is a design revolution

Reading Helen Walter's review of Emily Pilloton's book Design Revolution in Businessweek titled "This is a design revolution?" made me wonder what would happen if we approached doing business with the BoP without the filter of "social impact" or "doing … Continue reading

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Women at the BoP: what does it mean when your money belongs to you?

Photocredit: WSJ slideshow I came across the following anecdote from the CGAP blog referencing biometric identification technology as a means for financial services to serve their BoP customers and it gives rise to some food for thought. Here's the snippet … Continue reading

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Research and the blog: The medium is not the message

Dear students, As I see your invisible wanderings page by page with nothing overlooked in the index section – yes, I'm tracking you guys from tu delft particularly of late – I have a small request to make. I understand … Continue reading

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Godrej: Setting the bar for BoP innovation in consumer marketing?

Image of Godrej Chotukool from the WSJ Distracted by the coolness of the product, I overlooked the real story developing in the Indian consumer market. New ways of distributing, new ways of creating and meeting demand, in ways that proffer … Continue reading

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Photoblogging: Stocking up inventory in BoP retail

All photographs taken by the author on 20th February 2009 in Januiay, Iloilo, The Philippines.

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