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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.
Staff blogger Claudia Martinez says that while many companies are starting to really understand the concepts behind base of the pyramid business models, there are still a few that don't quite "get it" yet.
Susan Olsen of the IDB's Opportunities for the Majority Initiative lists the most important lessons learned at the First BASE Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The IDB’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative (OMJ) recently held its first international event on Business at the Base of the Pyramid. The First BASE Forum took place in Sao Paolo on June 27th-28th, 2011, with more than 700 in attendance and a jam-packed agenda.
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.
The IDB's Opportunities for the Majority Initiative is hiring a Development Effectiveness and Knowledge Specialist. Applications are accepted until June 7.
Interested in joining the IDB's Opportunities for the Majority Initiative? OMJ has a position open for a Development Effectiveness and Knowledge Specialist. An excerpt from the listing:
Staff blogger Daniel Granada, a native of Honduras, discusses the urgent need for Central America to embrace inclusive business practices to address persistent problems of inequality and violence.
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.
