This story originally appeared in our April 7, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Rural distribution at the Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) level is challenging, but a new IFMR report analyzes different distribution channels and their potential.

At least 400 million people in India earn US$1 (INR 45) per day. Of the country’s 1.2 billion population, only 50 million people earn more than US$5 per day. However, according to a 2011 publication by the Centre for Development Finance at IFMR called The Base of the Pyramid Distribution Challenge, the year 2020 will bring a host of income distribution changes. By then, the number of people earning US$1 a day will decrease to 250 million and approximately 150 million will have a daily income over US$5. Sachin Shukla and Sreyamsa Bairiganjan, authors of the new publication, note that the revenue opportunity at the rural BoP level is on par with opportunities in urban markets. » Continue reading “Rural Distribution Models”

By Sreyamsa Bairiganjan, IFMR Rural Market Insight

India’s rural market space, comprising 700 million people (70% of the total population), has become a tantalizing, but difficult nut to crack for producers of renewable technologies. No one doubts C. K. Prahalad’s maxim: “Distribution systems that reach the BoP are critical for developing this market. Innovations in distribution are as critical as products and process innovations.”

Success stories of rapid market penetration by fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) that have innovative packaging, such as shampoo sachets, are encouraging, but they offer limited insights that can be put to use in other product classes. Consumer goods based on renewable technologies, such as lighting and cooking solutions, may be cost effective and easy to use for the rural user, but it is essential for small-to-medium scale enterprises to understand the characteristics of distribution systems and their evolutionary stages to assess the optimal cost-cutting and sustainable methods of reaching out to their end users. » Continue reading “The BoP Product Distribution Challenge”

By Pooja Rani Bhatia

The number of companies considering themselves social enterprises has dramatically increased in the past ten years, and has become the “new” thing this season. Although oft misunderstood simply as “do-gooders,” socially driven ventures promoting market-based approaches are actually making a bigger splash than ever, especially in the drinking water space. In a recent study on consumer perceptions and demand dynamics of filtered drinking water, the Rural Market Insight (RMI) team at Centre for Development Finance (CDF), in partnership with Sarvajal, winner of the Sankalp 2010 Awards, identified five key factors that underpin the biggest issues facing today’s social enterprises such as sustainability and scalability. » Continue reading “5 Ps To Make A Social Enterprise ‘P for Perfect’”