Postcard from Kajiado: Cheap chinese phones and the internet
It wasn’t the first time we’d heard this from a cyber cafe operator, but apparently the biggest challenge to mobile phone users wishing to get online by using their spanking new phones was whether they were a cheap Chinese phone or a fake. Up and down Kenya, or right in the heart of Masai country […]
Influence of global communications among the BoP audience
Recently, this call for action by Infodev was shared with me and I was pleased to notice that they’ve referenced one of my former projects – the Finnish BoP project funded by TEKES and conducted by Aalto University. Now that was a challenging one to wrestle down into some kind of viable action plan but that’s […]
Barriers to business with the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ : what can we learn from Mama Boi?
The Monitor Group has made available the complete HBR article “Is the Bottom of the Pyramid Really for you?” (PDF) where the authors frame the debate for multinationals questioning whether to consider entering this challenging though untapped segment of the global marketplace. They list some of the common barriers faced by executives during their attempts […]
Caution: The emerging African market PDF stampede
This PDF report on the emerging consumer market opportunity in Sub Saharan Africa comes to us from Accenture, the most recent in the long line of consulting firm offerings that started with McKinsey’s in June 2010. In order to differentiate themselves from the migrating herd, they offer us a single customer segmentation model for the […]
Raising some concerns about urban user research insights being applied to design for rural markets
The Rural Market Insight Group at the Centre for Development Finance (CDF) conducted a six-week product test with a Base-of-the-Pyramid (BoP) household in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The purpose was to explore whether urban user testing of rural-targeted BoP products yields relevant user insights in early design stages. Surprising results warrant further research of this potentially […]
Assessing social impact vs financial sustainability for BoP business models
Insights from the South African low income market (BoP) opportunity
I came across this article from South Africa titled “Why companies should care about the low-income market” which has some excellent insights about this demographic and opportunity space. Also called the ‘BoP or Bottom of the Pyramid’, it is the mass majority segment in the emerging middle class in Sub Sahara today (per recent reports.) […]
Going solar as mainstream consumer choice
This shelf of alternate power supply equipment displayed in a Nairobi department store caught my eye. It was in the consumer product section along with fridges, washing machines, TVs and a host of small appliances. It was the first time I’d seen such a wide variety – batteries, solar panels, lamps – so casually displayed […]
Cracking the informal markets in Sub Saharan Africa: the need for strategic improvisation
Ernst & Young’s Consumer Products division released a report for global consumer product companies interested in growing in Africa where they highlight the challenge of cracking the informal markets, described thus: The informal economy is a key feature of life in Africa — estimated to account for around 42% of GDP in 2000 with the […]
Tradeoffs made in purchasing decisions influence product and marketing strategy
This snippet from the Business Daily caught my attention: With the inflation rate at 15.93 per cent in the month of July, product sales have come under pressure as consumers put aside non-essential commodities like refreshment drinks from their budget lists. “Right now, the market is very sensitive to price. Coke is competing with other […]
