Product Description

The world's most exciting, fastest-growing new market? It's where you least expect it: at the bottom of the pyramid. Collectively, the world's billions of poor people have immense entrepreneurial capabilities and buying power. You can learn how to serve them and help millions of the world's poorest people escape poverty.

It is being done-profitably. Whether you're a business leader or an anti-poverty activist, business guru Prahalad shows why you can't afford to ignore "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BOP) markets.

In the book and accompanying CD videos, Prahalad presents...

Why what you know about BOP markets is wrong A world of surprises-from spending patterns to distribution and marketing

Unlocking the "poverty penalty"

The most enduring contributions your company can make Delivering dignity, empowerment, and choice-not just products

Corporations and BOP entrepreneurs Profiting together from an inclusive new capitalism

"C. K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they dobusiness in developing countries if both sides of that economic equation areto prosper. Drawing on a wealth of case studies, his compelling new bookoffers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability." Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect,Microsoft

"The Bottom of the Pyramid belongs at the top of the reading list forbusiness people, academics, and experts pursuing the elusive goal ofsustainable growth in the developing world. C. K. Prahalad writes withuncommon insight about consumer needs in poor societies andopportunities for the private sector to serve important public purposes whileenhancing its own bottom line. If you are looking for fresh thinking aboutemerging markets, your search is ended. This is the book for you." Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State

"Prahalad challenges readers to re-evaluate their pre-conceived notionsabout the commercial opportunities in serving the relatively poor nations ofthe world. The Bottom of the Pyramid highlights the way to commercialsuccess and societal improvement--but only if the developed worldreconceives the way it delivers products and services to the developingworld." Christopher Rodrigues, CEO, Visa International

"An important and insightful work showing persuasively how the privatesector can be put at the center of development, not just as a rhetoricalflourish but as a real engine of jobs and services for the poor." Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15711 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review

"C. K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they dobusiness in developing countries if both sides of that economic equation areto prosper. Drawing on a wealth of case studies, his compelling new bookoffers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability."
Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect,Microsoft

"The Bottom of the Pyramid belongs at the top of the reading list forbusiness people, academics, and experts pursuing the elusive goal ofsustainable growth in the developing world. C. K. Prahalad writes withuncommon insight about consumer needs in poor societies andopportunities for the private sector to serve important public purposes whileenhancing its own bottom line. If you are looking for fresh thinking aboutemerging markets, your search is ended. This is the book for you."
Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State

"Prahalad challenges readers to re-evaluate their pre-conceived notionsabout the commercial opportunities in serving the relatively poor nations ofthe world. The Bottom of the Pyramid highlights the way to commercialsuccess and societal improvement--but only if the developed worldreconceives the way it delivers products and services to the developingworld."
Christopher Rodrigues, CEO, Visa International

"An important and insightful work showing persuasively how the privatesector can be put at the center of development, not just as a rhetoricalflourish but as a real engine of jobs and services for the poor."
Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

From the Back Cover

The world's most exciting, fastest-growing new market is where you least expect it: at the bottom of the pyramid. Collectively, the world's billions of poor people have immense untapped buying power. They represent an enormous opportunity for companies who learn how to serve them. Not only can it be done, it is being done--very profitably. What's more, companies aren't just making money: by serving these markets, they're helping millions of the world's poorest people escape poverty.

 

C.K. Prahalad's global bestseller The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, now available in paperback, shows why you can't afford to ignore "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BOP) markets. Now available in paperback, it offers a blueprint for driving the radical innovation you'll need to profit in emerging markets--and using those innovations to become more competitive everywhere. This new paperback edition includes eleven concise, fast-paced success stories from India, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela--ranging from salt to soap, banking to cellphones, healthcare to housing. These stories are backed by more detailed case studies and 10 hours of digital videos on whartonsp.com. Simply put, this book is about making a revolution: building profitable "bottom of the pyramid" markets, reducing poverty, and creating an inclusive capitalism that works for everyone.

 

Preface  xi

About the Author  xix

 

Part I: The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid  1

Chapter 1: The Market at the Bottom of the Pyramid  3

Chapter 2: Products and Services for the BOP  23

Chapter 3: BOP: A Global Opportunity?  47

Chapter 4: The Ecosystem for Wealth Creation  63

Chapter 5: Reducing Corruption: Transaction Governance Capacity  77

Chapter 6: Development as Social Transformation  99

 

Part II: Business Success Stories from the Bottom of the Pyramid  113

Financing the Poor  115

Aravind Eye Care—The Most Precious Gift  131

Energy for Everyone  137

Agricultural Advances for the Poor—The EID Parry Story  149

Retail for the Poor  159

Information Technology to the Poor  169

The Jaipur Foot Story  187

Health Alerts for All  191

Transparent Government  201

The Annapurna Salt Story  213

Homes for the Poor—The CEMEX Story  221

From Hand to Mouth—The HHL Soap Story  235

 

Part III: On the Web at Whartonsp.com

Video Success Stories

            Casas Bahia

            CEMEX

            Annapurna Salt

            Hindustan Lever

            Jaipur Foot

            Aravind Eye Care

            ICICI Bank

            ITC e-Choupal

            EID Parry

            Voxiva

            E+Co/Tecnosol

            Andhra Pradesh

 

Full Success Case Stories in pdf format

            The Market at the Bottom of the Pyramid

            Known Problems and Known Solutions: What Is the Missing Link?

            Known Problems and Unique Solutions

            Known Problems and Systemwide Reform

            Scaling Innovations

            Creating Enabling Conditions for the Development of the Private Sector

            The EID Parry Story

 

 

Biographies of the Researchers/Writers of the Success Case Stories from The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid  247

About the Video Success Stories  255

Index  257

 

About the Author

“…he may well be the most influential thinker on business strategy today.”

BusinessWeek

 

Internationally recognized as a specialist on corporate strategy and value-added of top management in multinational corporations, C.K. Prahalad has consulted with many of the world’s foremost companies. In addition to being the Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan, he serves on the board of Directors of NCR Corp., Hindustan Lever Ltd., and the World Resources Institute.

 

A prolific author as well, his book, Competing for the Future (co-authored with Gary Hamel), was a national bestseller and was the Best Selling Business Book of the Year in 1994. He also co-authored Multinational Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global Vision (in 1987 with Yves Doz) and The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value with Customers (in 2004 with Venkat Ramaswamy).

 

He has been named among the top ten management thinkers of the world in every major survey for over ten years.

 

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Customer Reviews

Looking at Ethical Profits from the Global Poor
Rather than teaching the poor how to fish you should provide them with the information they need to reach a life beyond fish and rice. That goal is nicely laid out by author C.K. Prahalad in his wonderful volume "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid."

Prahalad correctly points out that it is the poor who stand most to profit from free, global markets. While that is true, the goal cannot be reached without a government being willing to assume a leadership role in making transactions easier for customers and accepting the responsibility of helping to create wealth rather than merely taxing wealth.

Prahalad shares the belief of many that poverty and non-functional economies are not caused by Western dominance but by the inattention of the West. The author issues a call to change, insisting that business no longer can afford to neglect a market of 5 billion people who already are consumers and will help business generate even more profits once these 5 billion become more highly-informed consumers. It is information, not charity, that provides meaningful relief, stresses Prahalad, who calls upon business leaders to make meaningful and sustained improvements in the lives of billions of people.

In case study after case study the author provides evidence for his premise that the win-win formula of innovation offers the dual function of helping the poorest of the poor while at the same time generating corporate profits.

When you take a close look at India and its opportunities for successful business intervention, you see further evidence for Prahalad's assertion that the greatest potential for economic growth is in the billions of people living at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

By Gunjan Bagla
Author of Doing Business in 21st Century India

Interesting and insightful read, not just for business people
I learned about CK Prahalad and the BOP about two years ago doing a school project. I'm a graphic designer, so my approach is far removed from the typical business person's. After this project, I used this book to guide my senior project (design equivalent of a thesis), in which I made up a company that served the BOP in Venezuela and created a brand and packaging system for it. As a non-business person, it was sometimes challenging to follow the book, but it was not overwhelming. I agree with other comments that say that it was a bit technical (especially with all the abbreviations), but it was still approachable.

I'd recommend this not just for business people and entrepreneurs. Poverty is a world-wide issue and this book shows new and innovative ways of dealing with it. We can find uses for this theory in many different realms and disciplines and the theory forces us to think outside of the box. I was especially appreciative of the non-subsidies and the notion that poverty alleviation can come from sustainably profitable operations. I also like the idea of environmental sustainability as a must when dealing with the vast majority of the world as consumers.

I would also recommend "Out of Poverty" by Paul Polack. I liked Prahalad's position better, as Polack falls short in addressing exclusively money as a poverty factor and disregards life quality as something we should address; something that Prahalad does address. But Polack addresses an even poorer segment of the world and we can learn from both theories.

Great book for any serious business person
This is a great book for anyone serious about expanding their business, or starting their own business. It gives a real look at the world's poor. Every stereotype is wrong.