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One of the winners of an IDB business plan competition for social enterprise projects in the Caribbean tourism sector presents his new venture, which is bringing authentic Bahamian art into the digital age--and into the pockets of mobile device owners.
In December 2009, we told you about an Opportunities for the Majority business plan competition for companies seeking to launch tourism-related projects in the Caribbean that would engage with low-income communities. Two projects were selected as winners and each received $35,000 from the IDB to pay for consulting services to help develop the business models.
Access resources from the 1st BASE Forum, hosted by the IDB's Opportunities for the Majority Initiative June 27-28 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Content includes video from plenary discussions, speaker presentation materials and more.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 27-28, 2011, the IDB's Opportunities for the Majority Initiative held its first international conference, the BASE Forum for the Development of the Base of the Pyramid in Latin America and the Caribbean. Highlights from the event, links to speaker presentations and more follow.
On June 27 and 28, the IDB’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative held its first major international conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The BASE Forum drew an overflow crowd of almost 800 registrants from a variety of backgrounds, including business, international development, government, and nonprofits, all eager to learn about the concepts behind base of the pyramid business models and how they are playing out at companies throughout Latin America.
Opportunities for the Majority investment officer Susan Olsen talks about the challenges of finding housing solutions that work for low-income families, and spotlights a new "rent to own" concept that has caught her attention.
At the IDB’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative, we are particularly concerned about finding solutions that provide more dignified housing options for the BoP. After all, the home is the basis for all economic and social life in the family unit. If living conditions aren’t adequate, children are more susceptible to respiratory illnesses from dust stirred up off dirt floors, or fumes from kerosene lamps and gas stoves.
Luiz Ros, manager of the IDB's Opportunities for the Majority Initiative, talks about his roots in Brazil and his hopes for the upcoming BASE Forum in Sao Paulo.
Luiz Ros has been manager of the IDB’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative since 2008. Before coming to the IDB, he worked on sustainable enterprise investments at the World Resources Institute and directed community projects at Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment.
For companies without prior experience with Base of the Pyramid business models, an effective strategy can be partnering with a business, nonprofit or other organization that has an existing network in the targeted low-income community. At a recent IDB event, executives from several companies explained how they are successfully using this "platform" approach.
We know that one of the biggest barriers to working effectively with Base of the Pyramid (BOP) communities is that in many cases, existing distribution systems simply do not reach them. These are real, physical gaps. For instance, a lack of paved roads makes it difficult for companies to deliver goods and services to rural villages or poor city neighborhoods, and make access to affordable or reliable transportation scarce. Such communities are also often literally disconnected from many basic services, including electrical grids, plumbing and waste water treatment or telephone wires.
Three leading impact investors joined the IDB as co-lenders to an innovative savings and loan cooperative in rural Ecuador. Get the behind-the-scenes story on how the deal came together.
The Jardín Azuayo cooperative of the Paute region in southern Ecuador is an amazing example of success coming out of tragedy. In 1993, a landslide and flood devastated the area and the rural people were left to rebuild their homes and their lives. Three years later, in 1996, community leaders formed a savings and loan cooperative designed to let each village manage its own reconstruction, according to its needs and priorities.
On February 15, 2011, executives from many of Opportunities for the Majority's client companies spoke at an IDB workshop about their Base of the Pyramid business projects. Read on for a summary of the event, links to the speakers' presentations and more.
On Tuesday, February 15, 2011, the IDB’s Opportunities for the Majority initiative held a daylong workshop showcasing executives from many of its client companies. The event demonstrated a wide range of the Base of the Pyramid projects supported by OMJ, and highlighted what OMJ and its clients have learned about how to develop successful BOP business models.
An innovative program, Salud a su Alcance ("Health Within Your Reach") is bringing affordable medical services to communities across Guatemala. Now, the program is preparing to expand into El Salvador.
The Guatemalan Health Promotion Enterprise (in Spanish, Empresa Promotora de Servicios de Salud, or EPSS)’s “Salud a su Alcance” (Health within Your Reach) program has created a network of 1,130 doctors to treat more than 770,158 members in Guatemala. These doctors include general practitioners, gynecologists, pediatricians, and other specialists.
Eight companies have been selected to take part in the Corporate Leaders Program for Success in Majority Markets and will now receive expert advice on developing their BOP business concepts into detailed business plans.
