Products and Services for the BOP

What I expect to learn :

I expect hoe BOP can apply to other concept of life.
Review :
A growing number of global companies are being drawn to the seductive idea that
money can be made by developing and marketing products for those at the bottom o
f the pyramid, some four billion people around the world who eke out a living on
about two US dollars a day. Not only are companies attracted by the prospect of
discovering markets with untapped growth potential, but they re also aiming to ha
ve an impact, in a global society characterized by deep divisions between the ha
ves and the have-nots. But those developing new products for those living in pov
erty are finding that cost alone isn t the most important factor.
Last month, the Executive Sustainability Roundtable, in conjunction with the INS
EAD Social Innovation Centre, highlighted the role that businesses can play in a
ddressing the needs of the poor, as well as the potential that lower income mark
ets hold for firms.
Executing a bottom of the pyramid strategy with a new product isn t easy. Even if
you can come up with a product which would help improve the lives of the world s p
oor, distribution can be difficult due to access barriers in highly segmented lo
wer income markets.
It s not just about making consumer products cheaper, he says. How do you design pro
ducts that people need? You have to actually go and find out, and so we send res
earchers to find out how people live how they do their washing, their cleaning (
and) what are their problems.
He outlined the case of a water purification system called PUR, which P&G develo
ped in collaboration with the US Centre for Disease Control for commercial marke
ts, targeting low income consumers. The product had clear social benefits, provi
ding clean drinking water for households in places where the health risks of unt
reated drinking water are high, especially for children. After three years of ma
rket tests though, PUR was looking like a commercial failure. Many other firms w
ould have closed down the project, but P&G instead moved PUR to its corporate su
stainability department, easing the pressure on turning a profit. Since 2003, P&
G has sold the product at cost and worked in partnership with non-profit organis
ations, who distribute the product through their development and humanitarian re
lief networks. As White explains, our products have huge reach and so the opportu
nity to improve lives and to make sure we reduce our overall environmental impac
t is primarily through our products.
What I have learned :
I learned that you've got to come up with products that actually meet the specif
ic needs at the bottom of pyramid.
Integative questions :
1.) What is BOP?
2.) What is Executive Sustainable Roundable?
3.) What is Purifications System?
4.) What is sustainability department?
5.) What is PUR?