Business Models in the Context of Deep Poverty

The amount of literature on the benefits of working with the BoP is substantial. The BoP market identifies the poor as potential customers who can be served if companies learn to fundamentally rethink their business strategies. However, there is little literature among those who study the BoP on how exactly this can be achieved.

In their paper, Profitable Business Models and Market Creation in the Context of Deep Poverty: A Strategic View, authors Christian Seelos and Johanna Mair use two BoP examples to illustrate corporate and competitive strategies to reach the BoP.  Their first case study, from Bangladesh looks at how Telenor and the Grameen Bank, created a new market by creating a supply of a key input – telecommunication services. The second study focused on the work of Map Agro and Waster Concern in India, which built a new market by creating demand for a product.

Building on their study, the paper also makes recommendations for companies evaluating BoP stratergies.

Read the entire article here.