Featured Partners
On Monday, July 19, 2010, Opportunities for the Majority held a "BOP Modeling Workshop" to teach executives from a range of companies about the elements of base of the pyramid business models.
On Monday, July 19, representatives from dozens of companies gathered in Miami for a Base of the Pyramid (BOP) Modeling Workshop organized by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative and Dalberg Global Development Advisors. The participants came from a wide variety of sectors, including construction, manufacturing, agro-industry, financial services and business consulting. But they all shared an interest in learning more about BOP business models – that is, how companies are finding new ways of engaging with low income communities.
A guideline to participating in the financing of the Inter-American Development Bank's projects in majority markets through the IDB's A/B Loan program.
Since launching, Majority Markets has received a number of requests from socially driven investors looking for investment opportunities at the base of the pyramid. The truth is that there is not one answer for these requests, the opportunities and channels to connect are many, and the outlook is looking even more promising as awareness of BOP projects grows and market participants are increasingly eager to explore investment opportunities which have social impact along with financial returns.
Nicaraguan bean farmers now have the chance to access credit, improve their agricultural methods and sell their crops directly to food distributors. Read how a new project is helping traditional small farmers increase their profits and become part of national supply chains.
Large areas of highly fertile volcanic soil have made bean production a centuries-old staple of the Nicaraguan economy and food supply. Although small bean producers have inherited a rich and important legacy, they have often struggled to earn a fair profit due to low productivity rates, lack of credit access and difficulty in organizing cooperative farming mechanisms.
An interview with Pedro Bulcão, executive director of Brazil's SINAF Group, about his company's innovative approach to selling life insurance to low-income customers.
There are many ways private companies can serve base of the pyramid (BOP) populations. These underserved communities represent a large untapped market and, as such, offer a number of opportunities to organizations willing to address their basic needs in a responsible and profitable way.
Two leading Mexican companies, Mi Tienda and CEMEX, were recognized at the IDB’s Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Cancun, Mexico, for their innovative projects that engage with low-income populations in Mexico.
On Friday, March 19, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno meet with Jose Ignacio Avalos, a leading social entrepreneur who has been instrumental in creating major nonprofit organizations that address critical needs of the poor in Mexico, including Mi Tienda, a company that supplies hundreds of small grocery stores in rural communities in Mexico.
The second in a series of IDB-hosted Strategic Partners dialogues proposes a forward-looking agenda centered around the topic of market-based strategies and the results they can deliver for the base of the pyramid in the region.
The second in a series of IDB-hosted Strategic Partners’ dialogue proposed a forward-looking agenda centered around the topic of market-based strategies and the results they can deliver for the base of the pyramid in the region. Mixing strategic stock-taking with practical discussion on current issues, a lively dialogue was created that touched different topics, ranging from strategy and innovation to the role of multilateral institutions in this new space.
IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno highlights the Bank’s commitment to working with partners to promote private sector investment in majority markets in Latin America and the Caribbean at the second Strategic Partners’ Dialogue, organized by the Opportunities for the Majority Initiative.
It is gratifying to see all of you gathered here today, representing diverse organizations, approaches, ideas and structure of resources. Many of you have been pioneers and innovators in what is now our common endeavor. The IDB is fortunate to count you among its allies and is proud of its association with all of you here today.
Only 13% of lower and middle-income Mexicans use the Internet, in many cases because computer access in rural areas is limited or nonexistent. Learn about a pilot project that is helping connect villagers in the Yucatan region to the rest of the world through affordable, high quality Internet service.
At about 2:00 pm on Thursday, July 9, I received an e-mail saying, “we are at a store and it works!” I knew exactly what this cryptic message meant and where it was coming from: a remote rural village in Yucatan, Mexico, where many houses do not have electricity and, until that moment, access to Internet was limited only to the very few who could afford a thirty minute walk and a ME$200 taxi ride to the nearest town.
Technology plays a key role in helping many companies engage with majority markets in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. A workshop being held in Santiago de Chile on December 14 and 15 seeks to introduce tomorrow's innovators to the challenges and rewards of working with the base of the pyramid.
Much of the work showcased on MajorityMarkets.org has to do with what companies are doing to adapt their business models to better engage with the untapped human potential at the base of the pyramid.
Opportunities for the Majority announces a business plan competition for companies in the tourism sector in the Caribbean region. Submit your ideas about including the base of the pyramid in your company's operations, and you could receive valuable advice on launching your project.
The Caribbean region is always a popular vacation destination, meaning tourism is perhaps the most significant sector in the economies of most Caribbean nations. A business plan competition launched by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Opportunities for the Majority initiative hopes to demonstrate that the Caribbean tourism industry can simultaneously improve both their businesses and conditions for the poor in their communities by engaging directly with base of the pyramid populations.
