I had an opportunity recently to share an introductory presentation on social intra/entrepreneurship with a class of high school seniors at The Culver Academies on March 10, 2010. These students were sharp and did a great job of outlining the case for “Good Business” at the beginning of the presentation and asked fantastic questions throughout! Despite [...]

Just a few weeks ago — Feb 11-15th — I had the great opportunity to join fellow social innovators from around the world at the 2010 StartingBloc Social Innovation Institute in Boston. I absolutely love attending events such as this (including GES, SOCAP, The Feast, and the upcoming SVC/SE Conferences). It’s a rare opportunity for [...]

Regular readers of this blog know that Coca-Cola is one of my favorite companies. Here’s an update on what they are up to in Africa: At Coca-Cola, we believe that the private sector can play a powerful role in reducing poverty – particularly by concentrating on core operations in a profitable but inclusive and responsible [...]

00:00 – 00:32 Introduction 00:32 – 02:23 Market Context 02:23 – 03:13 What is Ayllu? 03:14 – 04:55 What is Microfranchising? 04:55 – 06:20 Is There A Microfinance Connection? 06:20 – 08:04 How Did You Come Up With Ayllu? 08:04 – 11:01 Groundwork Laid in Brazil 11:01 – 12:34 Future of Ayllu One of the [...]

C.K. Prahalad, author of “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”, spoke to the 2009 class of Acumen Fellows providing perspective and insight into working among the poorest in the world. Key points: Don’t do it for guilt or morality, do it for intellectual stimulation Leadership is about the future, change, and opportunity Thinking [...]

Here’s your Daily Brief for November 4th through November 5th: Nokia Launches 5 New BoP Mobile Phones – Nokia has been one of the most successful companies in the world when it comes to tackling BoP markets. They just announced the upcoming launch of Nokia Life Tools, a “service which gives consumers in small towns [...]

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, [...]

Here’s your Daily Brief for October 16th: New Approaches to New Markets: How C.K. Prahalad’s Bottom of the Pyramid Strategies Are Paying Off (via Knowledge@Wharton) – C.K. Prahalad’s book, The Fortune at The Bottom of the Pyramid, has been one of the most coveted books for those of us advocating business investment in BoP markets. [...]