The mobile, the media and the money: empowering Kenyans for Kenya
If I were to go by the majority of the mainstream global media articles on the subject of the drought in East Africa, I would think that only citizens in the USA and across Europe were contributing assistance for food aid. Yet my twitter feed is full of stories of how much Kenyans have raised […]
Visible sign of market creation for a product designed for social impact
It struck me when I saw this Moneymaker pump by Kickstart on a street corner matatu stand in Nairobi while wandering around a market with Muchiri who was shopping for shoes. I’m giving this level of detail so you can see the context in which we spotted this classic and oft quoted example of a […]
Analysis of mobile platform business models for lower income customers by Monitor Group
The Monitor Group has released a report analyzing business models across Sub Saharan Africa meant for the BoP (Base or Bottom of the Pyramid, that is the survival markets living on $2 or less a day shown above). For comparison, the percentage of population who fall under the category of emerging middle class market (defined […]
Navigating the African market opportunity
We have not been able to ignore the constant stream of media articles this year on the ‘rise of the African lions’ echoing the tigers and dragons of Asia just a few short years ago. The first reports mentioned GDP growth rates and economic potential followed rapidly by statistics on consumption, market opportunities and now, […]
Kenya’s Kadogo Economy
Charcoal seller Margaret Nyambura, a widowed mother of four, used Sh100 we had given her to shop for food and household goods that would last her family three days. Her priority was cooking oil and maize flour, which cost her Sh20 and Sh10 respectively. Each was measured in portions to fit her money. She bought […]
The Telco and the BoP (January 2009)
NextBillion.net’s Rob Katz recently posted an Indian news snippet based on research that led the writer to argue that telco’s should focus on their most profitable customers, those at the top of the pyramid. The BoP (Bottom of the Pyramid), as the numbers demonstrate, are simply not worth it. Following some commentary, Rob added his […]
From Top to Bottom: New Design Magazine Emerging Markets Special February 2008
The challenge to address the issues faced by the significant proportion of the world’s population who live on less than £ 1 a day has been taken up eagerly by many in the global design industry. The INDEX awards regularly nominate some of the best in the world, and others are frequently seen in the […]
Systems design lessons from challenging and demanding environments
The most common question posed by designers (at the Design Factory, in Finland) has been “What is different about designing for the BoP from the way I already design for mainstream consumers?” Its a good question to ask, because it takes a systemic view of the user centered design process and methods being taught to […]
