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Bottom of the pyramid
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Tie-ins among companies, micro enterprise and government can raise standards of living
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Photo: K.K. Najeeb
Thought-provoking Let the benefits percolate to those at the lowest level
“You better pay attention to the three ‘A’s: Access, Availability and Affordability,” says C.K. Prahlad, the author of The future of competition: Co-creating unique value with customers, The Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: Eradicating poverty through profits and other path-breaking works. “Yeah, that’s right” agrees Janarhan D. “Companies should be making things affordable to the poor through innovation, just like the ITC and the HLL have done.” Through its e-choupal initiative, the ITC set up internet kiosks with a trained farmer from the village as in-charge. He in turn, trains other farmers imparting information about advanced farming techniques, seeds, market demands, prices and weather etc. The e-choupals also act as collection centres for agricultural produce, thereby eliminating the role of fleecing middlemen and fetching farmers the price for their hard toil. The kiosk acts as a conduit for getting agricultural produce. On the other hand, HLL’s strategy is different: through its Project Shakti, HLL created self-help groups to directly work with rural customers who do not have any access to its products. “Now I earn some money,” says Lakshmi K., a mother of two children, “I spend it for my children’s education and upkeep.” “The self-help groups have improved lives,” chips in Sudhir, who works for one of the groups. “Now, these people can buy some of the things they like.” Catering to five billion population world over at the bottom of the pyramid is not charity or corporate responsibility. CK says if we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers, a whole new world of opportunity will open up.”
A new model
“CK’s ideas have opened the eyes of companies for the wealth at the bottom,” says Karthik, who works with an MNC. He points out that many things that were out of reach previously are now available in sachets.” By ‘greenlining’--- recognizing the business opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid and providing quality products and services as opposed to ‘redlining’ where products and services are not available and affordable to the poor, --- companies can simultaneously make profit, raise the standard of living of the poor and seriously dent pervasive poverty. “It’s fascinating how companies are changing their outlook,” says Chandrasekhar, a marketing executive, adding “to make things available to larger number of people with no big income.”
Indian car‘ma’
“Tata Nano is cute,” gushes Gaurav, a guy who likes anything cute. “Middle class never had it so good,” he adds. Though the car priced at Rs. 1 lakh is still out of bounds for majority of Indians who scrape a life out of whatever means, Prakash, a student, opines: “If you have more dash than cash and a credit card to burn, this is easy for you.” Innovation always brings the costs down. Tatas might create an entrepreneurial ecosystem around the car. It’s about, as CK says: “Creating a network that eventually leads to the experience.” It’s about co-creation.
G.B.S.N.P. VARMA
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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