"Distributing product across the rural market segment holds the key to how most corporations will sustain themselves over the next few years and the longer run." 

So begins the executive summary of a new publication “The Base of Pyramid distribution challenge” by Sachin Shukla & Sreyamsa Bairiganjan. In their note introducing the paper the authors explain that…

Hi All,

See below for some fascinating research - there's a lot to debate in here.  I think it makes a general point that I would query, but some of the specifics are to my mind correct, i.e. the need for finance and organisational capacity.  I am concerned that as they note there are considerable compliance costs to break into some high-governance markets and Malawi in particular is poorly set up to benefit.  Partners that understand these limitations and are able to…

How to access finance for inclusive business? What financing instruments exists for companies? Where can I find more information?…

A professional educator named James Patsalides posted in LinkedIn a question that has been on my mind since I joined BIF. My experience of working with large corporate in Bangladesh has shown me that employees get so set in their ways of work - that they cannot think outside of the box, create changes, innovate etc. In fact, they are particularly resistant to change!

So, James Patsalides rightly said "Companies struggle with this... how to stimulate innovation,…

Imagine a land where there is education without much learning taking place; revenues without justice; participatory democracy where people still claim they do not have a hand in electing the leaders. Nigeria is a country with much oil but little petrol; much gas but little energy; a nation where the youth claim to be growing but very few are genuinely maturing. In Nigeria, the bulk of the citizens are engaged in agriculture: drop a seed anywhere and its first instinct is to grow, yet the…

Five summaries of inclusive business projects supported by BIF have just been loaded, here. They add to the first to appear, Afri-Nut, building a peanut processing business in Malawi. Each introduces the inclusive business model and how the Facility will support development.

• Project 2: mKrishi…

As a country manager for the Facility in Zambia, I am very keen that the Facility supports the development of ischool as an inclusive business for various reasons.

Firstly, I am very excited about what iSchool are trying to achieve, which by most…

I am just back from a visit to Nigeria on Facility business. Two conversations stand out for me.

The first was during a meeting with two Facility partner organisations, Oando Marketing Plc and Alitheia Capital. Their Facility-supported ‘Low Cost LPG Cylinder Initiative’ aims to provide Nigerian households with affordable and accessible clean cooking fuels.   The Oando LPG project manager, Adeyemi…

Some pointers to new material on other sites that are useful for inclusive business:

• M4P Hub: an entirely new website devoted to explaining the Making Markets Work for the Poor Approach and sharing resources and lessons. Very informative. Step by step explanation of this approach which seeks…

What are the reasons to NOT invest in inclusive business?    And what should you ask yourself before you do?   These are questions posed - and answered - by Monitor in a 6 page article in Harvard Business Review.   The article speaks direct to companies - many of them - that are interested in opportunities at the bottom of…