I’m on my way out of town for the day, so today’s post is notably shorter — more of a “incase you missed it”! So without further adu, here’s your Daily Brief for October 20th:

Indian Firms Shift Focus to the Poor (via WSJ) – I’m impressed with the growing coverage in the WSJ, NYT, and Economist of social enterprise and bottom of the pyramid business. This WSJ article shows how firms in India are focusing on how to serve BoP markets.

“India’s many engineers, whose best-known role is to help Western companies expand or cut costs, are now turning their attention to the purchasing potential of the nation’s own 1.1-billion population.”

Among the innovations described:

For the farmer who wants to save for the future, one Indian entrepreneur has developed what is, in effect, a $200 portable bank branch. For the village housewife, a wood-burning stove has been reinvented to make more heat and less smoke for $23. For the slum family struggling to get clean water, there is a $43 water-purification system. For the villager who wants to give his child a cold glass of milk, there is a tiny $70 refrigerator that can run on batteries. And for rural health clinics, whose patients can’t spend more than $5 on a visit, there are heart monitors and baby warmers redesigned to cost 10% of what they do elsewhere.

And a handsome prediction was made:

“The biggest threat for U.S. multinationals is not existing competitors,” says Vijay Govindarajan, professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and chief innovation consultant to GE. “It is going to be emerging-market competitors.”

The article really hits the nail on the head, covering everything from BoP market strategy, to the “trickle up” benefits for firms, to the importance of design and manufacturing in addressing this growing market. Really, an A+ article!