MARKETING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

The International Finance Corporation, IFC, uses the term “base of the pyramid” to describe
people living in poverty in the broad sense in which the poor themselves understand and
experience it. In 20,000 interviews conducted for the seminal World Bank study Voices of the
Poor, the poor describe not only a lack of income, but more fundamentally, a lack of access — to
goods, services, and economic opportunities. Some of their thoughts are as follows:
•“There is nowhere to work.” (Ecuadorian woman)
•“We need water as badly as we need air.” (Kyrgyz woman)
•“Whoever goes to the health clinic healthy comes out sick.” (Egyptian villager)1
1) What is BOP and Who are the BOP Consumers?
In a more quantifiable manner, economists define the base of the economic pyramid as people
living under $2 a day. The World Resources Institute (WRI) and IFC used the purchasing power
parity methodology to account for differences in costs of living and inflation between countries.
Using a cutoff of $3,000 per person per year in purchasing power parity, the estimate is that there
are 4 billion people at the base of the global economic pyramid.
These 4 billion consumer can be divided further into three sub-segments2:
1. Low income: People earning $3-$5 a day and makeup approximately 1.4 billion people
2. Subsistence: People earning $1-$3 a day and make up approximately 1.6 billion people
3. Extreme poverty: people earning below $1 a day and make up approximately 1 billion
people
Rangan et al. (2011) suggest a number of strategies for catering to these different sub-segments.
This can be done by understanding the roles of such individuals as consumers, co-producers or
clients. They suggest that BOP low income sub-segments can be considered as “consumers” as
they have relatively greater resources than the other two sub-segments in the role of clients.
Value creation for this sub-segment can happen by introducing products that meet their needs
and requirements. Co-producer’s role which relate more with the subsistence sub-segment entail
enhancement of the overall skill sets of individuals. A great example of this PDDC which is
discussed in the subsequent section. Finally, they discuss the “client role” relating with the
extreme poverty sub-segment. The governmental bodies, organizations, communities or NGOs
become “agents or advocates” for this sub-segment as individuals are usually unable to seek
support or gather resources on their own.
2. Importance of Considering at the BOP segment
1
Jenkins, B., E. Ishikawa, A. Geaneotes, and J. Paul (2010). “Inclusive Business: Expanding Opportunity and
Access at the Base of the Pyramid.” Report of a Conference held October 7-8, 2010 in Washington, DC.
Washington, DC: IFC.
2
https://hbr.org/2011/06/the-globe-segmenting-the-base-of-the-pyramid
For multiple reasons ranging from lack of infrastructure, to illiteracy and corruption, most
companies elected to leave the job of serving the low end consumers to local organizations or
government agencies and instead stay focused on the “low hanging fruit” - the middle and the
upper classes. However, writing off nearly five billion customers was short sightedness, for even
though their individual incomes are tiny; their collective incomes represent an immense business
opportunity.
As the urban markets saturate, a number of enterprising organizations turn toward emerging
market opportunities posed by the bottom of the pyramid customers, seeking expansion among
the next billion customers earning less than $2 a day making up three-quarters of the world’s
population. And it’s about time, says C.K. Prahalad, a consultant and economist at the
University of Michigan, who says these “aspirational poor” could contribute an additional $13
trillion in annual sales to the global economy, if only companies would drill deep enough to
reach them (Kay Johnson, 2005). This is essentially where the future growth and profitability of
companies will come from. However, having been ignored until now, BOP customers are not as
conditioned by mainstream global marketing.
Three assumptions have stopped marketers from entering/serving BOPs: low purchasing power,
no or slow appreciation of high tech products and the belief that all innovations come from the
west. Hence this market cannot be engaged in a process of co-creation of value. At this point, it
is important to note that BOP’s purchases are driven by their circumstances and are backed by
sound logic because they know their situation the best. In spite of having income and resource
constraints, BOP consumers are sophisticated and creative. They are motivated not just by
survival and physiological needs but seek to fulfill higher order needs either to build social
capital, for cultural reasons or as a means to compensate for deficiencies in other areas of their
lives (Subrahmanyan and Arias, 2008)

Their product choices and decision-making criteria are based on an entirely different set of
values than those that influence the design of most consumer products today. A combination of
factors such as local culture and history, as well as the daily experience of coping with a life of
adversity, lead to a different mindset when it comes to purchasing patterns.
Uncertainty and chaos are a given in the informal economy that supports the majority at the
bottom of the pyramid. Most do not have a regular job with a predictable salary, but manage to
earn money through a variety of sources like selling crops or vegetables, hawking cigarettes and
cold drinks or menial labor on daily wages. Income is more often than not irregular and
unpredictable, and life becomes a balancing act on the edge between survival and disaster.
The first priority then is to meet the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. If there is change
to spare, an impulse buy could be a soft drink for a treat. Every decision to spend beyond the
basics is considered an investment that requires careful planning and research. Hence, BOP
customers behave more like cautious “money managers” than typical customers. Word of mouth
is the most trusted medium, since it's someone else's real life experience--not simply a faceless
marketing message splashed on a colorful billboard or blared on a radio.
So a 'wait and see' attitude rather than 'try and buy' becomes the norm. The product or service
must be seen to stand the test of time and performance. The BOP consumer cannot afford to
experiment with the 'new and improved' over the 'tried and the true'. Brands that are chosen
either have known benefits or are trusted in order to minimize risk. (NitinBahn& Dave Tait,
2008). This can be further explained with the acceptability of the micro insurance in the
Pakistani market. When EFU LifeInsurance Pakistan reached out to individuals at the base of the
pyramid, the positive experience regarding claim settlement of an individual created positive
word of mouth in the neighborhood and made the pitch process easier for sales team. Positive
experience in this segment is explained with a claim settlement ratio of 99.49% 3 and ease of
claim settlements. Individuals with life insurance were just required to send a discharge slip
picture using WhatsApp reducing any hassle of going to the nearest collaborated NGO.
1. Empowering the BOP customers
For a poor consumerto participate in the marketplace requires having cash, which at the end of
the day is all about having a job. So you could say that the drive to sell consumer products to the
unemployed and underpaid may be putting the cart before the horse. More companies should be
looking to leverage the productive capacity of the poor as an input to business. We have several
great examples of that.
First of all is the example of Nestlé. Since World War II, Nestlé's milk has by and large been
produced by thousands of small farmers in developing countries. And their supply chain efforts
have gone far beyond just sourcing. Nestlé has provided the technology, training, and supply-
chain investments to make it possible for the small farmer to produce good-quality milk,
transport it, and sell it to the company. This makes sense for the company because it needs fresh,
locally produced milk, and for the small farmer, an assured steady source of income.
In the local scenario, Nestle has joined hands with the PDDC (Pakistan Dairy Development
Company) to empower dairy farmers by educating them with regard to efficient ways of
managing production and is also serving as their largest buyer for its raw materials.In 2006, The
White Revolution (Doodh Darya – river of milk) by PDDC (Pakistan Dairy Development
Company) in association with Nestle Pakistan is an attempt to make the most of the dairy market
by training the dairy farmers with smallholdings to increase their dairy production and minimize
waste. Pakistan is the 4th largest milk producing country in the world but much of the milk
produce is handled by local dhodis thus it did not go through sophisticated processing. Moreover,
other dairy products’ (such as cheese and cream) production was highly untapped because of
lack of technology. PDDC chalked down a plan where they prioritized the well-being of all dairy
farmers and their livestock as well as to promote a business environment to bring milk in
commercial use. The plan includes training the farmers regarding all stages in the supply chain.
3
EFU Life - Personnel’s Interview
The plan had a timeline ending in 2015, by the end of which the dairy farmers would be
equipped to add value to their milk produce on their own. 4 Thus by effectively streamlining its
own supply chain process, Nestle has led to empowerment of the BOP.
Unilever is another important example. In 2003, the company's Indian subsidiary refocused its
efforts on the country's rural poor in the face of growing competition from new market entrants.
The Shakti programme, more popularly known as Shakti Amma, is recruiting entrepreneurs in
rural areas to create a win-win situation. By training and hiring low-income, community-based
Shakti entrepreneurs, the company successfully expanded the reach of its products to an
additional 60,000 rural villages. By relying exclusively on low-income women as their frontline
sales force, it also provided a significant source of income to a traditionally marginalized group.
(Sean Silverthorne, 2007) Unilever has now extended this programme to include men of the
Shakti families to broaden the reach to nearby smaller villages and settlements. In Pakistan, a
similar programme was initiated by Unilever in the late 2011.GuddiBajis - literally meaning doll
sisters - are trained in the provision of beauty services, and are also taught seven key messages
that they have to share with the women in their villages. These seven messages focus on hygiene
and health issues such as washing hands, breastfeeding infants, registration of children at birth,
sending girls to schools, family planning, ante-natal care for pregnant women and environmental
consciousness.

Women between 18 and 30 years of age are selected from villages having a minimum population
of 5,000 and 10,000 and minimum matriculate education. These women have to work with
Unilever Pakistan for three years, selling Unilever beauty products as well as beauty services to
women in their villages. The programme ties in with another Unilever initiative called Rahbar,
which engages rural men as small distributors. Once trained, the GuddiBajis are each linked to a
Rahbar, who delivers Unilever stocks to their doors.5
Generally, India has been a pioneer in catering to BOP markets by breaking complex products
into basic ones. This practice was termed as “Frugal Engineering” by Carlos Ghosn when Tata
Nano, a car that retails for just $2000 was launched in India 6. FMCG companies have taken
similar approach in Pakistan as well. Detergent brands like Bonus Tristar and Brite are packed in
sachets of 20 grams or less for low income consumers. Similarly, Unilever plans to increase its
scope in villages as well. Unilever’s products such as Dove shampoo, Surf detergent and Brooke
Bond Supreme tea is sold in around 11,000 villages across Pakistan 7.
Frugal Innovation
4
Imran Adnan. Pakistan Today. March 2012. Web source:
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/03/22/uncategorized/livestock-farmers-scream-bloody-murder
%E2%80%A6and-with-reason/?printType=article
5
Unilever Global Website: Sustainable Living. Retrieved from http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-
living/betterlivelihoods/supporting-small-scale-distributors/ in February, 2014.
6
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-frugal/insight-companies-forge-lean-business-models-to-tap-rural-
india-idUSTRE78F0WH20110916 Rura
7
http://www.riazhaq.com/2011/10/fmcg-companies-profit-from-rural.html
Emerging markets have become new centres of gravity for technology because of their large
market size, growing demands ad plentiful source of R&D talent. Countries like China ad
India, initially playing secondary roles, have now become the global innovation hubs [Jiatao,
L.,Rajiv K. K., 2009].As these markets are maturing, they are moving away from imitations to
innovations of their
own types. The inherent differences in the local needs and lack of infrastructure have led to
newer innovation paradigms like "Frugal Engineering", "Reverse Innovation" and "Constraint
based Innovation" [Saaf 2009, Economist 2010]

The high growth rates, huge market size and workforce in emerging countries have ensured
sufficient academic focus on "winning in emerging markets" through region appropriate
strategies [Khana, T.& Krishna G. P, 2010]Various theories like "reverse innovations",
"disruptive innovations", "cost innovations", "frugal
innovations" & "jugaad" are being proposed to explain this phenomenon.
[Christensen,2003,Zeschky et al. 2011, Immelt et al.,2009].

All these theories mostly relate to the same definition of

redesigning & developing both products and processes from scratch at minimum cost, addressing
the region-specific needs. Western consumers ae also showing interest in such offerings that
were initially developed specifically for emerging countries. [Flatters & Willmott 2009].

Zeschky, Widenmayer &, Oliver [2011] define frugal innovations as "good-enough, affordable
products that meet the needs of resource-constrained consumers". Frugal products with heavy
resource constraints have extreme cost advantages compared to existing solutions ad ae much
simpler and cheaper with limited features. Frugal innovations are generally developed for their
home countries, and not meat for worldwide distribution.

The potential mass markets in this so-called "bottom of the pyramid [BOP]" [Prahalad,
2005]have caught the attention of multinational companies from around the world. Developing
frugal products for such BOP markets offers tremendous opportunity for these companies to
establish a strong foothold in emerging contexts [Ha & Christensen, 2002]. Initially, the intention
of western MNCs was to exploit the low-cost manufacturing. However, now the same companies
have established local set ups, are investing heavily in R&D ad ae developing long-term
partnerships in emerging countries [Singhal ,2011, Aggarwal, A., 2000]. These efforts are also
due to the challenges the Western firms ae facing. The home-grown companies compete on
aggressive price/performance ratios required by emerging contexts and endanger the market
share of these Western firms. These western firms because of their experience in their home
markets are generally not prepared for and are often insensitive to some of the demands
emerging from the resource constraints in these nations [Immelt, Govindaajan, and Trimble
2009, Hang, Chen, & Subraian, N.D, 2010, Khana & Palepu 2006].
In some situations, even a deep cost management strategy may still not enable a firm to
reachBOP customers. "Core value identification" is very critical and to understand this concept
firms need to understand the circumstances of the
customer ad how the customer is currently meeting those needs ad also recognize that BOP
customers' needs and wants are quite different in kind and/or degree from the needs and wants of
more affluent customers. As a result, even more fundamental redesign might be essential
[Gollakota, Gupta, & Bork, 2010]. Hence the organization needs to move beyond cost reductions
to finding creative ways to add value for BOP customers.

Organizations like Siemens and General Electric [GE] have already started developing such
unique products which are developed specially for the BOP customers and have potential to
succeed in the developed markets. They illustrate examples for both frugal and reverse
innovation. GE has developed a cheap ultrasound device, originally for the Chinese maket, but
has now become the basis of a global business, with eager customers in the developed as well as
the developing world. GE is one of the benefactors of reverse innovation, announcing $3billion
to create at least 100 health-care innovations that would substantially lower costs, increase
access, ad improve quality [Immelt, Govindaajan, and Trimble 2009]. Especially two of those
products have already been developed - a $1,000 handheld electrocardiogram [ECG] device and
a $15,000 ultrasound machine that are now making inroads into the developed countries such as
United States.

Frugal innovation in action

Siemens decided to venture and compete in emerging markets with a new product portfolio
specifically targeting the needs of these markets. This laid the foundation of the SMART
[Simple, maintenance friendly, affordable, reliable & timely to market] initiative at Siemens
These market segments exist in all geographies, but the share of these segments vary from
country to country. Even developed countries like USA & Germany have sizable proportions of
top end, high end, medium end and low-end market segments. Emerging countries, especially
China, India and Brazil, also show the presence of all four segments. However large portions of
the markets in China, India & Brazil exist in medium ad low end segments.
Unlike the top & high-end markets, the medium & low-end market segments are extremely price
sensitive. The customers ae typically medium to small size local companies [for B2B
businesses] who don't have highly skilled labour and need simple, easy to understand and user
friendly systems. They are less "brand cautious" and need a maintenance free solution. The
Siemens SMART products ae targeted at these segments.

To develop a SMART product Siemens experts justify the products at every phase of product
development. A typical SMART product development project goes through 3 phases:
1. Need identification - Experts identify the needs of the target market and the unique
selling points (core value identification).
2. Cost reduction - Reviewing whether - ad if so, how - the manufacturing costs of a
SMART solution can be minimized, for example by using cost-effective materials, new
technologies, exploiting synergies during the production process, etc.
3. Mix & match - Here the individual components of a solution are assembled. Focusing
primarily on interactions among individual building blocks.

Multix Select DR machine, a digital X-Ray product is an example of SMART product

which also shows illustrates reverse innovation concept associated with these frugal products.
This product was developed not only for emerging markets but was also designed so as to
address the global markets. Siemens developed a new digital X-ray system, the Multix Select
DR, which is an entry level system that facilitates cost-effective access to X-rays. At a price
which is around one third below comparable predecessor products of Siemens, Multix Select DR
is attractive to small and medium-sized hospitals in newly industrializing countries as well as to
small hospitals ad physicians' clinics in industrialized countries.

The cost of this system is around 30% less than the existing high-end products within Siemens
but in the of quality to a large extent adheres to the standards used in the western world. This
product is also used in western world as back up machines.

End to end localization and core value identification are critical for success of MNC's in
emerging markets. Researchers have identified that learning ad innovation are highly
localized interactive processes of innovation [Bruche, 2009] as a large part of the frugal
innovation require know-how of the local market and tacit knowledge transfer which is
complex and can be done only by face-to-face interactions. Therefore, successful
creation, development and commercialization of these frugal products need proximity to
the local markets throughout the entire value chain from conceptualization of the product
to designing, to team formulation to R&D to commercialization. world.
 2. Challenges in catering to the BOP markets
Marketers face a number of challenges posed by the environment in which they operate to serve
the BOP customers. These challenges can be grouped under the following heads:
a. Availability

The BOP markets constituting urban slums as well as the isolated and far flung rural
areas or villages have fragmented to non-existent distribution channels. Pakistan consists
of approximately 55,000 villages out of which only 17,000 – 18,000 remain accessible to
companies with significant distribution muscle and that too after consistently trying to
reach out to these villages in the last 5-6 years.

The roads leading to most of these villages are little more than rutted dirt tracks and in
the monsoonseason these are sometimes washed away. In the north, roads to isolated
villages cut across snow-covered mountain passes that can be closed for weeks at a time.
The time to cover even small distances under such conditions can be long, stretching
supply chains and adding cost. With such a setting, the task of the marketer is then to
come up with innovative ways of making his product or service available. Jazz Easy
Load, is an example of innovative distribution of pre-paid cards.

Vachini and Smith (2008) propose three “market based alternatives” for reaching out to
these poor consumers who have to pay an overall high price due to poor infrastructure.
These socially responsible strategies are8:
1. Taking cost out, a strategy that improves access through reduced cost structure.
2. Re-inventing the distribution structure through innovation and improved technology
3. Taking the long term view through investments and a long term payment expectation.

The reduced cost alternative can be explained through Unilever Pakistan and Colgate
Palmolive’s rural van initiative. A number of company brands are taken to the BOP
customers in villages by the company sub-distributors. For areas where the return on
investment is not significant enough for a local distributor to take his van, the company
runs a Rural Van Operation. The cost for running this operation is shared by different
brands from the company. This is also in alignment with Prahalad’s initial observation
that multinational companies have the financial muscle as well as resources to lead a
BOP initiative successfully.

In the similar vein, Habib Oil Mills, Dalda and many other cooking oil manufacturing
companies hire temporary employees who carry huge drumson cycle backs for
8
https://cmr.berkeley.edu/search/articleDetail.aspx?article=5471
 distribution to the low end consumers. This way the customers are able to buy the
quantity they desire based on the size of their pocket. Moreover, the Hindustan
Unilever’s Shakti Amma project and Unilever Pakistan’s Guddibaji and Rahbar projects
are great examples of taking long term view by the company

b. Affordability
An aspiration to a new and different quality of life is the dream of everyone, including
those at the base of the pyramid. Therefore, aspirational brands are critical for BOP
consumers. While indulging in brands may be a luxury for this market, it is interesting to
see how these consumers sometimessatisfy their thirst. Horlicks, a malted milk hot drink,
typically consumed with milk, was at one point in time consumed by SEC D & E residing
in Orangi Town of Karachi, with plain water. As astonishing as it may be, a great portion
of the company sales was coming from areas (such as Orangi) that do not form a part of
the core target market.

From the urban slums to the most remote rural areas, according to the Living Standard
Measure9, BOP customers essentially belong to the SEC D & E. BOP consumers have
low disposable incomes and products may also need to match the cash-flows of
customers who frequently receive their income on a daily rather than weekly or monthly
basis. While income is low, a great portion of what is earned is spent on food. Very little
is then left for acquiring soaps, shampoos, telecommunication services etc.

BOP consumers are value buyers. They expect great quality at prices they can afford. The
challenge to large firms is to make products which have an aspirational value affordable
to BOP consumers. In order to serve this segment of the society, marketers design special
lower unit packs (LUPs) of popular brands in low price denominations - sachets. Multiple
examples of brands can be given here; Sunsilk, Lifebuoy Shampoo, Lipton, Supreme,
Colgate,Tapal, Surf Excel, Ariel, Fair & Lovely, Rin are all the brands that are available
in LUPs with prices ranging from Rs. 3 – Rs. 10.Not just MNCs but local companies are
also following suit; for example, Shan’s recipe masala mix for making ½ kg of meat is
available at a lower price point and only at selected stores in slums or rural areas.

While attention is paid to keeping the specially designed packs low on the price ladder or
the price piano, merchandising is also duly stressed. The sachets are sold from the local
retailers where display is the name of the game. Strings consisting of 12 sachets (also
referred to as “lari” in Urdu) are displayed on a rod so that as soon as a customer comes
to the POP, his attention is captured and opportunity is not wasted. Most of these retailers
survive on the high turnover low value transactions.

9
Living Standard Measurement (LSM), developed by Unilever, segments customers into 18 LSM segments on the
basis of 25 parameters such as income, education, durables ownership, media consumption, entertainment
preferences; et al. Unilever now uses this system across the world.
 Another example of designing offers to match the pocket of an acutely price sensitive
customer base is that of Mobilink’s Jazz Load. Jazz Load now allows customers to
recharge their Jazz account in variable denominations at major retail outlets nation-wide.
All you have to do is pay the retailer cash equivalent for the credit you wish to transfer to
your prepaid account. You will in turn receive an SMS confirming the credit transfer.
This payment solution allows you to recharge your account in any denomination, ranging
from Rs. 2,000 to as low as Rs. 20, without the hassle of buying scratch cards in fixed
denominations. This facility is now being offered by all other Telecom service providers
as well, encouraging increased cell phone (GSM) usage. As a result, cell phone usage has
grown in rural areas. The number of mobile phone users have grown to 136.48 million,
with significant rise in rural areas and semi urban areas. They use phones to remain
connected to their outstation relatives who are working for livelihoods. Along with low
cost of voice and data connections, affordable mobile handsets have also increased
consumption. Customers in rural areas use 3G and 4G for watching movies and enjoying
songs 10.

In addition to the LUPs, marketers also launch fighter brands to tap the lower tier market.
In the FMCG sector, example such as Bonus detergent, Sparkle tooth paste (Colgate
Palmolive), Sunlight detergent, Lifebuoy soap (Unilever), Nestle Bunyad has brought
affordable solutions for the consumer.

Mr. Sami discussed the issues that Haleeb Foods faces in the BOP category. According to
him, there are four types of shoppers: Carefree (who do not care about the price but only
care about the brand), Mission (the ones who have a list and stick to it like husbands or
maids), Value Seekers (who are willing to pay higher price for a greater value) and
Economizers (who wants the cheapest product). The BOP category mainly belongs to the
economizer shopper given that they have limited daily wages however, they may even be
value seekers when they at times have sufficient money to spend as per their
circumstances.

Tetra Pak has also identified a group of consumers called ‘Deeper in the Pyramid’
consumers or DiPs who live in developing countries, earn between $2-8 a day and
accounted for 38% (72.5 billion litres) of liquid dairy product (LDP) consumption in the
developing world in 2011. Seventy-six percent (or 55.2 billion litres) of this consumption
is concentrated in six developing countries: India (49.9%), Pakistan (21.9%), China
(18.7%), Brazil (5.8%), Indonesia (2.6%) and Kenya (1.1%).

In Pakistan, which ranks second highest in terms of LDP consumption in developing

countries, 64% of the population is classified as DiP and these consumers account for

10
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1298601/semi-urban-rural-areas-lead-growth-cellphone-services/
 60% of all LDP consumption in the country, most of which is still consumed in
unpackaged form, making these consumers an extremely important segment for milk
processors. Therefore, based on the fact that the packaged milk consumer base is still
quite small, and lower income consumer segments are going to drive consumption in the
future, milk processing companies are focusing most of their energies on converting
people from loose to packaged milk by making the latter more affordable11.

Haleeb in the Tea Whiteners category offers the following products:

 Haleeb Tea Max(liquid) has 6.5% vegetable fat and Rs. 4per cup price. It sells
everywhere it has been launched.
 Haleeb All Max(liquid) has 6.5% vegetable fat and Rs. 4per cup price. It was
launched after Olpers and looks exactly like it but is Rs. 60 cheaper. It only sells in
KPK.
 Haleeb Dairy Queen(liquid) has 6.5% vegetable fat and Rs. 3.5per cup price. It only
sells in Lahore.
Nestle’s EveryDay(powder) has 6.5% vegetable fat and Rs. 6per cup price. It sells on
the basis ofthe taste it provides.

Normal milk has 3.5% animal fat content hence all the above categories are disqualified
as milk. People in this segment want loose milk as they think that the ‘malai’ upon
boiling means that the milk is pure/healthy, and it is also convenient. Many households
store malai and make desi ghee out of it later. Haleeb Foods also launched Asli with 3.5%
total fat as point of market entry at Rs. 100. It is currently not doing any business at all.
Any milk with less than 12% solid fat is not milk hence, dairy drinks such as Dairy
Omung with 11% solid fat have now been issued notice by the government to stop
production or remove its claim of milk.

In the telecom sector, Telenor’s initial focus on rural led to the launch of Telenor Talk
shawk. From 2005-2016, Telenor Talk Shawk brought in campaigns like “suchiyari sab
pay bhari” that focus on interacting the consumer at an eye to eye level rather than taking
a supremacy and aspirational view. Moreover, it wanted to build trust and convey the
lack of hidden charges.

While some marketers hold the view that the sensitivities of the BOP should be
accounted for, there have been examples of serving the aspirations of this market in ways
unthinkable for the regular markets. Broken biscuits and chocolates, not fit to be
packaged in regular packs, are sold by manufacturers in the BOP concentrated areas.

11
Milk in The Time of Opportunity – DAWN Aurora
Link: https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1141745
In addition to the aforementioned strategies involving LUPs and fighter brands, the true
essence of affordability lies in providing product which truly meets the need of these poor
consumers. Brands such as Telenor Easy Paisa, Tameer Bank, Orangi Pilot project,
Kashaf foundation, The Citizens Foundations, Indus Hospital, Aman Tech, Engro Weld,
Reckit’s Project Hope are great initiatives. Some of these solely serve social objective
while others fulfill both social and commercial objectives. These initiatives also relate to
different sub-segments of BOP that have been highlighted previously (extreme poverty,
subsistence and low income).

An industry expert is of the view that mass brands are for everybody and not only the
BoP customers. However, companies still carry out segmentation to cater to different
kind of markets. This is done to increase the customer base known as the Double
Jeopardy Law. For instance, brands like Colgate use behaviour-based segmentation and
have therefore launched the following products:
 Colgate Herbal and Miswak (Herbal Benefits)
 Colgate Sensitivity (Sensitivity Segment)
 Colgate Regular (Family Toothpaste for all members of the household)
 Colgate Optic White (Whitening Segment)
 Colgate Max Fresh (Freshness Segment)

For FMCG brands, it’s all about volumes that come from rural markets which also
consider of BoP markets. This focus on mass consumption is also called the Buyer
Motivation Law. However, the quantity consumed by an individual greatly depends on
the share of spend (money spent on different categories by a normal consumer). One of
the competing brands of Colgate sensitive is Sensodyne by GSK. GSK has a share of
spend of more than 50%.

Pricing is also one of the ways brands and marketers segment their customers. It plays a
great role in entering the BoP markets and then maintaining a significant share of spend.
There are three type of pricing:
1. Value Tier used by Bonus Tristar, Colgate Sparkle Toothpaste and Local Classic
Toothpaste
2. Mid Tier used by Express Power, Colgate ZigZag Toothbrush and Colgate
Regular Toothpaste.
3. Premium Tier used by Colgate Sensitivity, Colgate Mouthwash and Brite Max
Powder

Another approach to segmentation is based on format of the product or size of the SKU
for example sachets, jumbo packs, pouch packs which are targeted to differentiate
between single use and bulk consumption.
There are some key tips and tricks to succeed at BoP marketing. Firstly, the marketer
should understand the potential in the market. This potential arises primarily from mass
consumption. A brand should focus on growing the pie the most. One of the ways to do
that is to build brands that transition people into the category you’re aiming at. For e.g.
Bonus always used humor in their ads by their tagline “wahh kia baat hai bonus ki”. BoP
consumers are value seekers; they want maximum benefits in an economic price since
they cannot afford to lavishly spend on products. A BoP marketer should be prepared to
face cheaper mushroom brands. Mushroom brands are the worst nightmare for a marketer
as they take away your entire market share. They also offer better margins increasing the
chances of success. One way to approach a reluctant BoP customer is through offering
trial packs. Once, a customer uses the product, the inclination to purchase increases. You
can also catch them through improved formulation which entails an innovative product in
low prices. BoP customers do not have media access so BTL activities are also one way
to grow brand awareness leading to product trial.

Therefore, the ultimate formula to target a BoP customer is to be present both physically
and mentally. Physical availability entails distribution, in-store offerings and shelf
outlook. Brands are easily substitutable known explained by duplication of purchase law.
Therefore, the product should be occupying a unique place in the mind of a consumer
which is unique and should not be replicated by another brand.

c. Competition
A third challenge faced by the BOP marketers is to gain acceptability for their products
and services versus competition. Competition in this category ranges from competitive
brands in the organized sector to low quality, low price substitutes to counterfeits and
unbranded alternatives. Some brands may also be competing against tried and tested
home-developed solutions used by the BOP and being followed through generations. For
example, before baby diapers became common, the popular solution was a cloth nappy
and is still used in many households. Thus when Pampers needed to penetrate the market,
it had to establish a use and purpose of the product against a widely accepted solution.

Furthermore, competing in the BOP market is a lot about winning the retailers’ loyalty.
Retailers from the BOP markets are just as price sensitive as the customers. In better
terms, they are highly sensitive to trade offers and promotions. They would go with
whoever sets up their shops for them. In order to win the battle, marketers not only
decorate the POPs but also try to lock the retailers’ cash with their products. This leaves
retailers with very little to no money to buy competitive products. Such a strategy puts
the retailers on the better end of the bargaining table and they tend to demand higher
margins. So for example, while a typical marketer may be looking to give out a retailer
margin of Rs. 1 on a string of 12 sachets, he may be forced to raise it to Rs. 3-4, only in
order to block out competition.
 While merchandising helps decorate the POPs, they also help in creating awareness
amongst the customers. Although the brands are picked by customers more when they get
positive feedback from those who have used it, the retailers also play a substantial role in
the selling process.

d. Counterfeits
With no established rules of the game, mushroom players become very active in the BOP
markets. It is very easy for small scale producers to tamper with the names of established
products and cannibalize sales. All they have to do is change a few letters around in the
principal brands name and retain the color, design and packaging as original. Since
consumers are largely illiterate, they are hardly able to tell the difference between the
original and the counterfeit. Being least loyal to brands and highly price sensitive further
add fuel to the fire. As a result counterfeit products tend to perform well and the image of
the principal brand suffers erosion. The confectionary industry is most prone to a problem
of counterfeits. It is one of the least regulated industries, and owing to the impulse
purchase behavior of its customers, switching between brands is already high. In
addition, a problem is created when five different types of the products are available, i.e.
its counterfeits. Since the packaging is almost identical, the original brands face a hard
time competing in a market which barely distinguishes or cares to distinguish whether the
biscuit or candy they are purchasing is from the original company. This creates a bad
name for the brand when the counterfeit fails to deliver on the brand’s promise. Large
brands such as Prince and Rio are suffering from the same issue in rural markets.

5. Being successful in the BOP markets

In order to cater to the BOP, marketers have tried to identify and streamline few strategies. One
such popular approach is the 5D approach designed by NitiBhan.

1. Development: For a company to successfully tap into the BOP market, its products must
address unmet needs or wants, or provide a way for them to live better lives. The focus
should be to ascertain whether there is an opportunity for social or economic
development. While BOP markets may at best be a focus of either fast moving consumer
goods or consumer durables such as household electronics items, there are companies
like Bulls and Bulls Insurance who have specially designed insurance plans for pan
Shops or kiosks in Karachi. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh started a revolution with
his microfinance service via the Grameen Bank and now microfinance banks have sprung
up all across the globe, some of which are seen in Pakistan as well. These banks provide
microcredit to poor people and rural customers. The microfinance industry has grown in
Pakistan and serves about 4.3 million people. However, it has a long way to go because
the ability to save, invest and borrow are basic financial needs of every individual, rich or
 poor. It has helped improve lives of millions of people and enabled them to come above
the line of poverty. FINCA is the major financial provider in Pakistan that has created
about 10,000 jobs through micro credit provision 12

Microinsurance also plays an important role in improving lives of the customers below
the poverty line. The incomes of the poor are not just low, but also irregular and
unpredictable. Farmers face the ups and downs of seasons, income from microenterprises
is volatile, and employment is highly uncertain. The lives of low-income people are more
uncertain as compared to other segments of the society. Low-income households face
higher risk of health problems, accidents and death, and they often live or work on land
that is prone to natural disasters. Such low-income households also use a variety of
mostly informal tools to spread their incomes over time, deal with risk and put up large
sums when needed. They borrow from friends, save in groups with neighbors or get
advances from the grocery shop. These tools are flexible, but also often unreliable.

Insurance as a product has the capability to yield immediate benefits for these low-
income households as it provides them core protection against the uncertainties of life
such as death or disability of the breadwinner (Refer to Figure Below - Insurance
Supports Human Development and Economic Growth).

Microinsurance is a way to help mitigate those risks as it is tailored specifically to BOP

customers’ needs. There are several challenges related to product design for mass/micro
market as it differs significantly from traditional insurance products with reduced
premiums and coverage levels. It requires a significant refocus in every aspect of product
12
https://www.rozee.pk/blog/2016/12/microfinance-role-pakistans-economy/
 development and delivery. The drivers for microinsurance in Pakistan had been UNDP’s
Sustainable Development Goals and The National Financial Inclusion Strategy of
Pakistan (2015-2020) which states:

“Individuals and firms can access and use a range of quality payments, savings, credit
and insurance services which meet their needs with dignity and fairness.”

There are many leading insurance providers who offer micro-health insurance, micro-life
insurance, disability insurance, accident insurance etc. These leading providers are some
of the biggest insurance companies ofPakistan such as Jubilee Life Insurance, Adamjee
Life Insurance, EFU Life Insurance to name a few 13. These providers have developed
innovative channels to reach these markets. Some of these includes: Microfinance
Institutions/Banks (DAMEN, Kashf Foundation, Telenor Microfinance Bank etc., Digital
Platforms such as Tez Financial Services and Mobile Network Operatorsplatform’s such
as Jazz Cash, Easy Paisa etc.

An interesting insight that EFU Life’s key personnel shared in her session was that since
Pakistani’s don’t think about or see the viability of a life insurance plan and the benefits it
yields; the company created a strategy to first sell health insurance since it offers a living
benefit in contrast to life insurance which offersdeath benefit. Later, the
companycapitalized on its ‘first step in the door’theory(referring to the trust built in the
brand’s name through its initial product offering) to sell life insurance. One of such
products that EFU Life Insurance offered to the BOP segment was the DAMEN Sehat –
Hospital Cash Plan. This was a free of cost service that provided financial safety to the
clients (specially women) of Damen Support Programme and their spouses. This plan
was built within the loan agreement whereby it made the individual (specifically females)
eligible for the health cover. The benefits that it provided were a daily hospital cash
benefit which would double in case of ICU confinement as well as a specified payout for
Caesarian Section Surgery for child birth. With just a minimal premium of PKR
315annually, EFU Life provided a maximum cover worth PKR200,000 (inclusive of the
daily hospital cash benefit and caesarian section surgery).

The key learnings of the company through launching this product was that it was
essential to reinforce the product’s features and benefits to the individuals along with
making them aware how they can benefit from it in time of need. Hence, loan officers
were specifically trained to provide all the necessary information to the individual when
they were opting for a loan from DAMEN. Furthermore, the product was talked about
and awareness was spread through panchaits (informal meetings that the local residents
of the village have frequently). Apart from this, when the company paid its first claim, it

13
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 ensured that it advertised the experience of the individual who received the claim to build
credibility and ensure trust in the ‘promise’ that they were offering to this segment. EFU
Life now focuses upon gathering insights from these markets and hence, continuously
upgrades its product offerings. The takaful version of the DAMEN Sehat Plan and the
added C-Section benefit was built into the product’s new version as a result of these
insights.

2. Design: Next, the solution must be well designed - contextually relevant, appropriate and
affordable. Some marketers have already sensed the importance of designing the right
solution for their BOP customers and are entailing support of the locals for the same
purpose. Local companies have also taken initiatives of involving consumers from the
BOP segment in co-creation of value. PSO, in Arifwala and Sahiwal, involves the local
tractor associations to help them design packaging for lubricants.

3. Distribution:Even the best designed product or service in the world will not sell if your
customer is unable to find it. Since logistics and transportation is as much of an
infrastructural challenge in the developing world, distribution becomes critical in
ensuring the availability of the product. The entire supply chain might have to be built
from scratch. Moreover, distribution becomes extremely crucial for reaching the BOP
markets since they do not have access to proper markets. Unilever’s distribution
methodologies in its projects such as Shakti Amma and the Rural Van Operation are good
examples of involving the locals in improving distribution outreach.

As mentioned above, EFU Life’s DAMEN Sehat Health Plan was designed as such that it
made the product easily accessible to the consumer. Traditional health insurance plans
have a restriction of panel hospitals which the individual can opt to for their treatment
thereby, limiting the ease of access. EFU Life realized that this restriction may not work
in the case of the BOP segment as the panel hospitals were restricted to the KLI region.
Hence, they tweaked the model and allowed individuals to get their selves checked or
operated in any hospital that fulfilled the definition of a hospital. All the individual
needed to do was to send the picture of the discharge slip (to an official WhatsApp
registered number of the company) of the hospital he/she got operated in to claim the
health insurance cover.

4. Demand: This D is related to the challenge of creating awareness as described previously.

Demand for a product in the BOP is dependent on whether the target market knows it
exists. Hence relevant ad campaigns, targeting the appropriate individual, need to be
designed. Moreover, BTL campaigns have proven successful in creating awareness
amongst the BOP and intensified demand for products. For example, after the launch of
Maggi UmdaMaza, a taste enhancing powder available in sachets, a BTL Mohalla
(English: neighborhood) activation was conducted where women from the neighborhood
 made dishes on the spot and tasted the effect of the product hands-on. Such a campaign
not only helps intensify the impact of a message, but also leaves a feel-good factor with
the participants and thus promoting the brand through positive word-of-mouth. One thing
to keep in mind when trying to establish demand is thatwhen the value proposition of the
seller has little or no resonance with the value system of the target market, it will most
likely be ignored.

5. Dignity: According to Niti Bahn, the whole offering must cohesively hinge upon
preserving and ensuring the dignity of the BOP customers. The poor are painfully
conscious of their conditions and do not appreciate being looked down upon.

In summary, the rural marketing mix is significantly different from the clichéd 4Ps of Marketing
mentioned in every marketing book and classroom. According to Anderson and Markides
(2007), the marketing mix of rural marketing include the following:

1. Affordability (designing LUPs is an example of making products affordable for the

BOPs)
2. Availability (HUL’s Shakti Amma project is an example)
3. Awareness (Communication and marketing programs designed to market BOP products
in their language and at their touchpoints)
4. Acceptability (easy to understand solutions designed to meet the needs of a typical BOP
customer)

6. Whether to market to the BOP segment or not?

The concept of selective exclusion14 focuses on ignoring certain market segments due to their
vulnerability. A number of arguments have been put forward against marketing brands to the
Bottom of the Pyramid customers:

• Selling to the poor & serving the poor are two different things. Can the private sector,
while pursuing its core business objectives deliver developmental benefits?

• BOP marketing encourages overspending by those who can least afford it.

• Companies have the power to create needs rather than respond to needs.

An example to substantiate the above arguments is from the telecommunication industry.

Consumers at the BOP have mobile phones but incomplete knowledge of the terms of the service
providers, hence they fall victim to the power of media…..they end up paying more for ringtones
and caller tunes….and have no clue how the payment works…..

Prahalad, the visionary behind the idea, has some counter-arguments to offer:

14
Machchiette& Roy (2001), Taking Sides, Mcgraw-Hill/Dushkin
 • Poor are very value conscious (Kay Johnson 2005)

• If people have no sewerage or drinking water, should we also deny them TVs and cell
phones? (Kay Johnson 2005)

Apart from the ethical concerns, marketing to the BOP can also address the growth concern for
companies specially large MNCs. Big brands have largely saturated markets with an ever
decreasing potential for growth, eventually the next option to ensure high growth for brand sales
and penetration is going to be catering to the untapped “Next-Billion” i.e. BOP markets around
the world. There is high latent demand for affordable goods and services, since the BOP
segments are also witnessing globalization and aspire to live better lives. Thus, when Citibank
opened up an ATM based banking service in Bangalore, with a minimum deposit of $25, it was
able to attract 150,000 customers in one year only.

An important advantage which co-creation of value with the BOP offers is, of course, a cost
reduction. Companies all over the world are looking for ways to reduce labor related costs,
which is why outsourcing manufacturing to China has proven so advantageous to companies and
households alike. Ironically, these labor-abundant markets are the BOP segments of our society.
Many a businesses in India have sprung up capitalizing on the labor-abundant structure of their
society and are thus providing services to other customers at one-tenth of the rate of those in
developed countries. This inadvertently increases the purchasing power of the local consumers
by providing them with jobs.

Consequently, it turns out that there are four things that are required from the BOP marketers:

• Forming alliances with the local NGOs and government institutions. Collaborating
effectively with the agents close to the BOP markets is vital. If the goal is to alleviate
poverty with market solutions then these strategic alliances have to be proactive and
forward looking. Needs known to the government agencies and NGOs must be
communicated to the manufacturers so that appropriate solutions may be designed well in
time. (Dennis A. Pitta, Rodrigo Guesalaga and Pablo Marshall, 2008). An example of
government help in catering the BOP is highlighted with the Jaipur Foot. Designed in and
named after Jaipur, India, the prosthetic leg was designed to be inexpensive, water-
resistant, and quick to fit and manufacture. The Jaipur Foot is made of polyurethane,
which increases the durability and the convenience of use. The government of India
supports BhagwanMahavirViklangSahyataSamiti with financial aid to carry out the work
done by the organization. The Jaipur Foot has helped many people to overcome their leg
disability.

• A revision of the conventional business model. The recipe for success with the TOP
cannot be replicated for the BOP. BOP market is very unique in its characteristics and the
marketers would have to reinvent their formula for success. The segment requires
persistent and long term involvement, because given the economies of BOP; the return on
 investment takes longer to come. The Marketing Mix may have to be redefined and all
the conventional practices questioned.

P&G's PUR water sachet, an innovative product that provides safe drinking water by
simply mixing it with a bucket of contaminated water, was a commercial failure during
pilot tests in Guatemala, Pakistan and Morocco. Although it met a clearly-observed need,
the poor just weren't buying it. Margaret Hansen, Associate Professor at European
business school, INSEAD, writes: "Simple in theory, but finding the right formula is
often more difficult. Local barriers to entry are often tricky to overcome in 'bottom of the
pyramid' markets. Certainly, P&G discovered that traditional marketing methods did not
work; consumers were suspicious of new products that required them to change the way
they managed their lives." (NitiBahn& Dave Tait, 2008)

 Strengthening bottom-up market intelligence—finding novel ways to inte grate the

preferences, constraints, and habits of the poor into business development is very
important. Simply changing the packaging size to make brands more economically viable
may not always work or may not work for long. It is important to understand the ground
realities of the BOP segments - the need and demand patterns of the BOP customers from
the urban slums are very different from those in the remote villages. There is a need to
intimately know each sub-segment within the BOP market in order to appropriately
design market solutions for them.Motorola went through four redesigns to develop a low
cost cell phone with battery life as long as 500 hours (for villagers without regular
electricity) and an extra loud volume for use in noisy markets.Lakson Tobacco Company
in Pakistan hires local residents from areas like Landhi to report through SMS, daily sales
made of various brands of cigarettes.

• Commitment to educate customers. A number of MNCs have taken up the task of helping
customers understand how the use of various products would be beneficial for them.
Pampers is a case in point here. Launched in Pakistan in Aug 2000 by P&G at a time
when 81% of the market was using cloth nappies and diaper as a product was non-
existent. With 3m births every year, a significant 85% is outside hospitals in the country.
This means that the health standards are significantly low and the early education of new
mothers on child care is rarely given.

Given the P&G ambition of improving lives of consumers wherever they operate,
Pampers’ brand team decided to take up the challenge of educating mothers. The biggest
challenge was to explain that there is a need to bring about a habit change – moving away
from using cloth nappies to disposable diapers. And the habit change required an outlay
of cash for a financially struggling class.

Pampers team launched their Mobile ClinicService and covered 60% of the slums of
Pakistan. With the objective of creating awareness amongst mothers with newly born
 babies, customers were approached at their homes and serviced free of cost.The mothers
along with their babies were escorted from their doorstep to a closely parked mobile
clinic under an umbrella. Once inside, a qualified child specialist attended to the baby
giving him a complete physical check-up. In this interaction, the mother was educated
about the benefits of using a diaper versus a cloth nappy. A diaper essentially keeps the
baby dry and enables him to sleep longer. Research proves that babies grow best while
sleeping, hence for complete mental and physical development, it is imperative that a
baby sleeps undisturbed for longer hours. On completion of this meeting between the
doctor and the mother, she was given a Pampers vaccination card and a free two pack
sample.

• Sell only what is of value. Not all products fit the context of BOP consumption.
Marketers need to hash out the right products that are truly needed and market those in
the right price denominations. No matter how aspirational they may be, selling an Armani
bag or a look alike to the BOP customers does not make sense. Similarly, creative
revisions to product offerings are also needed in order to better serve this market. Taking
laundry detergents as a case in point here, the Pakistani market is dominated by Surf
Excel. Realizing that the efficiency of any detergent in giving a quality wash heavily
depends on the water quality, Surf aired a creative commercial claiming that the brand
works just as well in kharapanias it does in normal water. This commercial was
especially targeted at housewives in the lower income groups.

A great majority of consumers in the BOP segment conjunctively use premium brands.
Surf Excel, for example, a premium detergent powder may be used only for certain
specific clothes or occasions. Hence, there is a need to study the brand consumption
pattern of the BOP market to better understand the need and motivation for choosing
brands.

Critiquing the BOP theory

The work of Kolk, Rivera-Santos, and Rufín (2014) is a fairly recent critique on the BOP
theory and highlights that the inclusive capitalism that the theory posits through its claim
of pursuing profits by private enterprise can relieve
poverty on a large scale is not a recent idea. Economists like Adam smith and Milton
Friedman had presented the idea that market forces and private ownership of productive
assets lead to a prosperous society. This work highlights that there are some flaws in the
BoP theory which can be categorized in 4 sub sets.

1. The definition of BoP

a. There is a general disagreement among researchers regarding the
definition of poverty and ways of measuring it. Can poverty be restricted
to a geographic location i.e. a region?
 2. Initiator of the BOP project
3. Real life examples show that cases that are cited in BoP literature are not always
instances where private enterprises alone have reached out to the BoP markets.
Sometimes NGOs and Government even are the lead characters. The initiator of
one of the most often cited examples of successful
BOP projects, Grameen Phone (Altman, Rego, & Ross, 2009; Anderson &
Kupp, 2008a; Chesbrourgh et al., 2006), is a joint enterprise created by a forprofit
company, Telenor, and the arm of a nonprofit organization, Grameen
Telecom Corporation. Similarly, the Akshaya project in Kerala, cited as an
example of a BOP initiative bringing modern communication technologies to
the poor (Kuriyan, Ray, & Kammen, 2008), was initiated by the local Kerala
government rather than by a firm.
4. The BoP business Model
5. What is the position of the poor in the value network? Are they merely
consumers or entrepreneurs. Most of the examples show that BoP initiatives that
have brewed entrepreneurship, dwell in the distribution sector. It can be argued
that it might actually be empowerment, reduced exploitation and improvement in
the quality of life per say.
6. The Outcome of the BoP project.
7. Most of the research conducted does not quote hardcore facts about the economic
impact of BoP projects for the initiating entity. More over it can be argued that the
triple bottom line goals of BoP initiatives might be contradicting in nature.

7. Conclusion

The debate regarding how to serve the BOP is endless; marketers argue that the approach should
not be a top-down approach, but a special business model specifically for the BOP. Erik Simanis,
an author on HBR has recommended three strategies for gaining the most out of sales
transactions with the BOP. I) Localizing and bundling the base product, which is done close to
the target market helps accessing the low-wage labor in the rural market and helps cut down cost.
For example, using refillable containers for re-purchasing a product can help cut down packaging
cost for a company. II) To maximize the functionality of a product, companies need to offer
services that engage a customer beyond the basic use of a product. Simanis here gives the
example of a Mexico based company which provides its customers complete advice on self-
building their homes by using the company’s products for a small fee. III) Cultivation of
customer-peer groups is a strategy most used by companies catering to the BOP. Grameen Bank
provides microfinance to customers in self-formed groups, where individuals share responsibility
for the loans. These are tight-knit circles, preferably of the same locality, which reduces the
chances of people defaulting on loans only for the sake of saving face in their community. HUL
employs the technique in its Shakti Ammaprogramme whereby opinion leader women encourage
purchase of HUL brands in their peer groups after being satisfied with the products themselves.
Additional Readings (Recommended):

“Serving the World’s Poor, Profitably” by C.K. Prahalad and Allen Hammond. Published in the
Harvard Business Review, June 2012.

Suggested Research Links:

 http://www.opp.org.pk/
 https://www.coursera.org/learn/brand-management/home/week/1
 https://cerp.org.pk/?page_id=8932
 https://www.akhuwat.org.pk/state-of-microfinance-in-pakistan/
 https://www.accaglobal.com/in/en/member/member/accounting-
business/2018/03/insights/microfinance-pakistan.html
 http://www.pbscensus.gov.pk/
 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/content/agriculture-census-wing
 https://www.dawn.com/news/1359914
 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/content/household-integrated-economic-survey-hies-2015-16

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Kolk, A., Rivera-Santos, M., & Rufín, C. (2014). Reviewing a decade of research on the
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