Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Revised and Updated 5th Anniversary Edition, The: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits, Adobe Reader

Read a note from our publisher on the passing of C.K. Prahalad.

This is the e-book version.

“C.K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they do business in developing countries if both sides of that economic equation are to prosper. Drawing on a wealth of case studies, his compelling new book offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability.”

--Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft (2004)

An idea can change the world...

• How to serve the world’s poorest people and make a profit
• New strategies and tactics for building winning businesses in today’s emerging markets
• New bottom of the pyramid trends in technology, healthcare, consumer goods, finance, and beyond
• Insights from top CEOs succeeding in emerging markets
• New and updated case studies--from Jaipur Rugs’ revolutionary supply chain to Reuters’ data services for farmers

Five years ago, C.K. Prahalad’s The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid showed companies how they could reignite profits and growth by serving the world’s five billion poorest people. Hundreds of firms have successfully taken that path--building large, profitable businesses that are reducing poverty and eliminating human misery at the same time.

Now, Prahalad has updated his extraordinary book to reflect the lessons of the past five years: business-building strategies, techniques, and innovations proven to work in emerging markets. The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: doing well by doing good or doing good by doing well!

Inspired by C.K. Prahalad’s breakthrough insights in the original edition of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, a wide variety of firms are identifying, building, and profiting from new markets among the world’s poorest people--while at the same time helping eliminate poverty and human misery. Five years after this book’s first publication, Prahalad’s ideas are no longer isolated instances of innovations.  They are proven, widely practiced “reality.”

In this 5th Anniversary Edition, Prahalad updates his book to give readers a picture of how this idea is being implemented in poor regions around the world.

Prahalad also offers an up-to-the-minute assessment of key questions such as: Is there truly a market? Is there scale? Is there profit? Is there innovation? Is this a global opportunity? Five years ago, executives could be hopeful that the answers to these questions would be positive. Now, as Prahalad demonstrates, they can be certain of it.

• Solving the unique problems faced by bottom of pyramid customers
  How to make a profit by helping people escape poverty and misery
• Breakthrough forms of innovation for emerging markets
  From rugs to cellphones, finance to energy, supply chains to state-of-the-art technology
• Building new ecosystems for wealth creation
  You can’t do it alone--but you can do it together
• Scaling up to impact the enterprise--and society
  Beyond “micro-businesses” and prototypes: large presence, large wins

This e-book version includes bonus extended versions of 13 case studies. On the website are companion videos available for download.

Table of Contents

Preface     xiii

Guide to Readers     xx

Part I   Private Sector and Poverty: Progress During 2004-2009     1

New Introduction: Private Sector and Poverty: Progress During 2004-2009     3

Part II  The Original Text of the Book     25

Chapter 1          The Market at the Bottom of the Pyramid     27

Chapter 2     Products and Services for the BOP     47

Chapter 3     BOP: A Global Opportunity     73

Chapter 4     The Ecosystem for Wealth Creation     89

Chapter 5     Reducing Corruption: Transaction Governance Capacity     103

Chapter 6     Development as Social Transformation     125

Part III CEO Reactions to the Concept and the Book     141

Microsoft     143

Bharti Airtel--Empowering the Villages of India     145

Reuters Market Light and The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid     147

Royal DSM     151

ING     153

GlaxoSmithKline     157

Unilever     159

Philips Electronics--Improving Health and Well-Being at the Base of the Pyramid     161

University of Maastricht     165

Acumen Fund     169

Part IV Case Studies and CEO Comments     171

Jaipur Rugs: Connecting Rural India to Global Markets     175

Casas Bahia: Retail for the Poor     207

CEMEX: Homes for the Poor     219

Hindustan Unilever: Lifebuoy Soap     249

Hindustan Unilever: Iodized Salt (Annapurna Salt)     261

Jaipur Foot: Prosthetics for the Poor     275

Aravind Eye Care: The Most Precious Gift     283

ICICI: Financial Services for the Poor     299

ITC e-Choupal: Technology for the Poor     321

Voxiva: Health Alerts for All     345

E+Co: Energy for Everyone     357

Biographies of the Researchers and Writers of the Success Case Studies from The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid     373

Index 385

E-Book Only Content (Extended Versions of the Case Studies):

Section I The Beat Goes On     1

Jaipur Rugs: Connecting Rural India to Global Markets     3

Section II The Market at the Bottom of the Pyramid     71

Casas Bahia: Fulfilling a Dream   73

CEMEX: Innovation in Housing for the Poor     103

Section III Known Problems and Known Solutions: What Is the Missing Link?     125

The Annapurna Salt Story: Public Health and Private Enterprise     127

Selling Health: Hindustan Lever Limited and the Soap Market     165

Section IV Known Problems and Unique Solutions     197

Jaipur Foot: Challenging Convention    199

The Aravind Eye Care System: Delivering the Most Precious Gift     221

Section V Known Problems and Systemwide Reform     243

ICICI Bank: Innovations in Finance     245

The ITC e-Choupal Story: Profitable Rural Transformation     275

The EID Parry Story     315

Section VI Scaling Innovations     325

The Voxiva Story     327

Innovations in Energy: E+Co’s Investment in Tecnosol     347

Section VII Creating Enabling Conditions for the Development of the Private Sector     385

Citizen Centricity: E-Governance in Andhra Pradesh     387