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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.
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.
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.
Julián Ugarte of the Un Techo Para Mi País Innovation Center talks about how he got interested in using his industrial design skills on behalf of the base of the pyramid and his work consulting with companies on their BOP product designs.
Last year, MajorityMarkets.org told you about an event organized by Opportunities for the Majority and the Un Techo Para Mi País Innovation Center in Santiago, Chile, which was meant to get engineering professors and their students excited about using their skills on projects that benefit the base of the pyramid.
Companies in the food and agro-industry sectors are uniquely positioned to improve lives through their base of the pyramid business projects. At a recent conference on "The Potential of Private Sector Solutions in Nutrition," executives learned about a mapping study and about opportunities for them to get involved.
Last year, Opportunities for the Majority joined forces with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition [GAIN] and the FEMSA Foundation to carry out a regional mapping study of private sector involvement in meeting the nutritional needs of the base of the pyramid in Latin America.
Information about the conference to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil on September 14, 2010 on the Potential of Private Sector Solutions in Nutrition
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.
Read about an innovative project being launched by a Peruvian social entrepreneur who hopes to involve citizens in the work of investing in their country's future.
I recently spoke with Guillermo MacLean, a social entrepreneur with a background in banking and finance. He is founder of a company called Social Futures Exchange Corp. (SFFX), which has the intriguing motto, “Anything a society truly wants is financeable and achievable.” He is developing a 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.
Opportunities for the Majority's Johnny Jiron describes a successful partnership between a Trinidad resort and some nearby farmers. If you know of any Caribbean tourism companies that might be interested in trying to engage with local majority markets, let them know about the IDB business plan competition accepting applications until April 9, 2010.
A couple of months ago, the Opportunities for the Majority initiative launched a business plan competition for companies in the tourism sector in the Caribbean that are seeking to engage with low-income communities. The deadline for applications is April 9, and we are just starting to receive proposals.
Former IDB manager Donald F. Terry shares excerpts from his recent Congressional testimony at a hearing on microfinance, and suggests that the time has come to take microfinance to a new level in order to reach the millions of people still living outside the formal economy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
I had the opportunity last month to speak at a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Since I worked as a Congressional staffer earlier in my career, it was interesting being on the other side of the table.
