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Dear Friends,
I last wrote to you at the end of 2009, when we were launching MajorityMarkets.org. So far, 2010 has been very busy here at Opportunities for the Majority. I was just in Mexico for the signing of a partial credit guarantee to support the expansion of CEMEX’s innovative “Mejora Tu Calle” project, a community infrastructure program that offers microloans to residents of low-income areas to allow them to expedite the paving of their neighborhood streets. It took time and hard work to build the model with CEMEX, but this is going to be such a powerful partnership. In CEMEX, we have an experienced company with a proven business model, a dedication to improving lives at the base of the pyramid and the resources to take its program to scale. This partnership with the IDB offers access to networks and partners that will enable the expansion of this business model region-wide. The most important thing is that this has the potential to transform the lives of millions of people.
In March, I participated in the IDB’s Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Cancun, Mexico. I moderated a panel which showcased some of the innovative business models that are finding success at the base of the pyramid in Latin America. Over the course of the Annual Meeting, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno spoke several times about the work Opportunities for the Majority is doing, and I met many people who are eager to learn more about new market-based models with the BOP to address poverty challenges. It is clear that we are not in start-up mode anymore and it is good to recognize that Opportunities for the Majority is helping to inform private sector lending.
And it’s not only Opportunities for the Majority that’s gaining momentum. Our partners have been busy lately as well – ANDE held its first Latin America conference this spring. The IFC recently hosted an informative dialogue on inclusive business models We are working with New Ventures, Kellogg and others to organize a BOP meeting in Mexico this autumn. And, the comprehensive private sector and nutrition mapping we launched in 13 countries in the region, along with GAIN and the FEMSA, is now coming to an end and we are planning a dissemination event in Brazil in September. It’s also great to see new joint ventures starting up between partners who’ve met through our dialogue meetings and other networks – my colleague Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen wrote about several examples in a recent blog post.
I would like to end this note with a small tribute to C.K. Prahalad, who was a friend and mentor, among the first to recognize and talk about what we now call “the base of the pyramid.” I’m glad he was able, in his lifetime, to see how influential his ideas have become. I believe MajorityMarkets.org is part of his legacy, a place where we can all talk about what we’re doing, learn from each other, and form new partnerships to continue this challenging and fascinating work.
Best regards,
Luiz Ros
Manager, Opportunities for the Majority
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| How Can Engineers Catch the “BOP Fever”?
In mid March, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers held a conference in Washington, DC on the topic of “Engineering for the Developing World.” The opening session featured three speakers who gave an overview of what’s meant by “the base of the pyramid” and some of the technology-related projects already established in developing countries. Read more
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| New Partnerships Forming for the Base of the Pyramid
Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen talks about three market-based business models in Latin America, recently showcased at the IDB's Annual Meeting in Cancun, which highlight how companies are becoming more interested in new business models to reach low income markets, and how they are networking to achieve the needed scale and reach. Read more
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| Majority Markets Community News: Spring 2010
We continue to grow our community in Mexico as we welcome Mi Tienda, Promotora Social Mexico, Un Kilo de Ayuda and New Ventures to MajorityMarkets.org. Also, we feature a tool created by the WBCSD for companies developing inclusive business models, and include recommended readings on social entrepreneurship. Read more
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| Follow MajorityMarkets.org |
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To keep up with MajorityMarkets.org and interact with others interested in base of the pyramid business models in Latin America and the Caribbean, follow @MajorityMarkets on Twitter or join the Majority Markets groups on LinkedIn and Facebook.
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| Can Innovative Social Investments Make a "First-Class Peru"? |
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Guillermo MacLean, a Peruvian social entrepreneur and funder of Social Futures Exchange Corp. (SFFX), explains how he is developing an innovative set of financial products and a system through which average citizens concerned about social problems in their country can play a direct role in solving those problems. Read more
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| Internet Access for Underserved Rural Communities |
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A private telecommunication company, a Mexican public agency and the Inter-American Development Bank work as partners in a pilot project to increase access to affordable connectivity in rural Mexico through the implementation of an inexpensive and scalable wireless network solution. Read more
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| Insuring the Poor Majority in Brazil |
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We met with Pedro Bulcão, executive director of SINAF Group, a Brazilian insurance company based in Rio de Janeiro, to learn about how his company has been successful in identifying and creating a unique market niche: life insurance for the poor. Read more
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| Can Market Based Solutions Ride the Aid Tsunami in Haiti? |
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Following the pledge of billions of dollars by the international community toward the recovery of Haiti, we are faced with a lingering question: How can market-based strategies and private sector business models contribute to the effective deployment of some of that aid and turn the private sector into an engine for growth that would bolster the country’s social and economic landscape? Read more
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About MajorityMarkets.org
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The IDB's Opportunities for the Majority initiative, along with its dialogue partners, is behind MajorityMarkets.org, a site for inspiration, guidance, and practical advice from others who are successfully using market-based approaches to serving the base of the pyramid in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Contact MajorityMarkets.org
Visit MajorityMarkets.org
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