Thinking Within the (Sand) Box

Professor C.K. Prahalad’s book Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, illustrated the potential of the BoP market. However, accessing that market often requires an informed understanding of what it means to create a product of value for the sector.

In his article, The Innovation Sandbox, Prahalad uses the example of two organizations within the Indian health care sector – Aravind Eye Care Hospital and Narayana Hridyula, a specialized heart care institution, to demonstrate the ability of organizations to achieve widespread success while serving the BoP.

Through the illustration of a sandbox, Prahalad analyzes the reasons behind the success of such organizations. An organization that understands the needs and constraints (illustrated in his example as the walls of a sandbox), he says is better equipped at reaching innovative solutions to reach the poor. It is often these constraints that prevent a company from viewing the BoP as a viable market.

Read the entire Innovation Sandbox article here.