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.
Staff writer Valentina Echeverry Perez sets the stage for the upcoming BASE Forum for the Development of the Base of the Pyramid in Latin America and the Caribbean with a look at some of the many reasons Brazil is full of opportunities for BOP business projects.
Over the last decade, we have increasingly heard about Brazil’s emerging middle-class and the government’s achievements in reducing extreme poverty. Its "Bolsa Familia" program is among the most successful Conditional Cash Transfer programs in the region, reaching 12.7 million families, or about 50 million Brazilians.
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.
Blogger Valentina Echeverry Perez relates her recent visit to a rural Bolivian community where small farmers are producing sesame for export to Japan, thanks to a partnership with a company called Latco International Ltda.
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.
Opportunities for the Majority research fellow Valentina Echeverry Perez summarizes two recent events at the IDB which brought a variety of experts together to discuss the past, present and future of BOP business models in Latin America and the Caribbean, and beyond.
Mid-February was jam-packed with activity for the Opportunities for the Majority (OMJ) Initiative at the Inter-American Development Bank. On Monday, February 14, OMJ brought together more than 70 experts from multilateral institutions, investment funds, governments, NGOs, academia and private companies for its third annual Strategic Dialogue Partners' meeting to discuss leading trends and recent experiences in the Base of the Pyramid field.
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.
Consultants from Dalberg Global Development Advisors talk about their role in advising the companies selected to participate in the Corporate Leaders Program for Success in Majority Markets. In the coming months, they'll provide regular updates on their work helping these companies develop their business plans.
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.
