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A Brief about the topic: Each nation works towards being an ideal state, a state of
Development, equity and prosperity for all the sections of the society.
As competition intensifies, developing nations strive harder to create innovative
solutions in order to attain a competitive advantage. But do market driven
innovations tend to miss out on the goals of equity, poverty eradication, and
enhanced human security? Or is innovation the way to access the real opportunities
the bottom of the pyramid to create wealth and transform lives in an inclusive way?
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A growing number of global corporations are being drawn to the lucrative idea that wealth
can be made by developing and marketing products for those at the bottom of the pyramid,
around 4 Bn people around the world, living on less than $2 a day are waiting to act as micro-
consumers or micro-producers . Not only are corporations attracted by the prospect of
discovering markets with untapped growth potential to boost their bottom lines, but they¶re
also aiming to have an social impact. Developing a bottom of the pyramid strategy with a
new product isn¶t easy. Even if the company can come up with a product which would help
improve the lives of the world¶s poor, distribution can be difficult due to access barriers in
highly segmented lower income markets. But Innovation at every step of the supply chain is
the only solution to counter and propel to a utopian state.
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The New Management philosophy doing rounds is that of
, which
integrates specific needs of the bottom of the pyramid markets as a starting point and works
backward to develop appropriate solutions which may be significantly different from existing
solutions designed to address needs of upmarket segments. For example : In the Indian
context GE MAC 400, a hand-held ECG device, Mahindra Gio, a low-cost fuel-efficient mini
truck, Godrej Chottukool, battery powered refrigerator and Tata Swachh, water purifier.
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Innovation as a key propellant to inclusive growth would always have an advantage of
planning ahead of its times. In an Era where developing nations like India and China have
clearly demarked area of expertise and competencies. Both strive to grow inclusively. India,
in particular is batting for a financial inclusive model where, each village in the country is
targeted to include in the main stream banking. The need of the hour is Innovation,
innovation of products and models which would cater to the masses integrating with the
growth plans of corporate and become a sustainable developed phenomenon.
The Chinese model of Me2 Innovation of Shanzhai:
On a larger picture China has developed an highly inclusive model by projecting it as one of
the major manufacturing hubs in the world and providing jobs to unskilled and semi-skilled,
which form a large part of the burgeoning population, also at the same time is focussing hard
to achieve D
by creating employment opportunities in the services sector.
The country has a highly skewed urban development program, with its east coast developing
at an exponential rate ,being an export oriented zone, so the need of the hour was to connect
central mainland china with east coast, hence they developed a hi-speed rail network which
would transfer people 1000Kms away in a span of 2-3 hours. The fact of the matter is each
scenario is studied deeply and planned well in advance of its occurrence and an innovative
product or service at developed to propel to a utopian state.
On the contrary, India has developed itself as a service hub to the world and generating
employment for the skilled labour. Thus increasing the gestation period and cost of training
employees. India is balanced in its conquest to achieve an inclusive society, with schemes
evenly distributed for tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The marketers are focusing to tap the
untapped rural markets of India, with growing income levels and changing lifestyle , the
marketers would reduce the distribution cycle and pass on the cost benefit to the consumers.
For example Private equity is an Financial Innovation, which simplifies the funding to
unlisted entities and is highly prevalent in our country.
Innovation and Bottom of the pyramid can also be Industry specific; for example the
automobile industry would have a different BOP as compared the BOP of micro lending
institutions. Hence each industry has to formulate its own strategy and target audience by an
collaborative efforts of all stakeholders.