I'm back in DC after three very full days at the Business With Four Billion BoP conference in Michigan. First of all, let me assure you that I'll have session summaries written and posted as soon as possible - in the mean time, be sure to check out Nicole Goldin's live-blogging over at Changing the Pyramid. You can also check out some PowerPoints and perhaps even archived video/audio of plenary speakers at the BoP2007 web site.

In the mean time, I want to tell a short story that I hope will illustrate why this conference was important for those of us who live and breathe BoP.

One of the reasons I enjoy traveling for work is down time in airports. Combine a little down time with the complimentary newspaper that most business hotels provide, and you've got a great way to spend a few hours. Yesterday was no exception: I picked up a copy of The New York Times at my hotel in the morning, and by 3:00, I was at my gate, leafing through the front section.

(This post continues past the break; click "Read More" to continue)

The Madras Management Association will be organizing the sixth All-India Management Students' Convention in Chennai, India on September 21 and 22. The convention will focus on Strategies for the BOP.

There will be three business sessions in this convention. The first session will focus on 'Strategies to Overcome Challenges in Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid,' the second on 'Creating Products and Services for the Bottom of the Pyramid' and the third on 'Creating Consumption Potential at the Bottom of the Pyramid' followed by competitions for students.

This will be followed by a Business Plan Competition. The competitions are open to business and management students from all over India and the total prize money is Rs.1.5 lakh.

The idea behind this event is that 'Corporations, more than Government, should play a bigger role in developing the Bottom of the Pyramid.'

For more details contact the Madras Management Association at MMA House, 148-K Old Mahabalipuram Road, Thoraipakkam, Chennai 600 097. Email: mma@vsnl.com or by phone 044 - 2496 2766.

Via The Hindu

We at WRI's Markets and Enterprise Program (which powers NextBillion.net) are happy to welcome Abigail Keene-Babcock to the team.  She will be a staff writer for NextBillion.net, among other research duties.

Abigail joins WRI as an intern working in the Markets and Enterprise Program. She is interested in exploring market-based solutions, patient capital, innovative technologies and social entrepreneurship as tools for creating sustainable and measurable impact in poverty reduction, and in the wise stewardship of natural resources.

She received a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, where she also focused in International Development and Latin American Studies.

Prior to joining WRI, Abigail interned with Acumen Fund in NYC.

Knowledge @ Wharton published an article on the living conditions of India’s rural poor, and on the shortcomings of central and state-funded government housing programs. The author, Abraham George, maintains that the primary reason for failure is an exclusive focus on providing low-cost shelter, without consideration for interrelated factors that determine actual effectiveness.

However, it’s also important to realize that even a strategy that convinces government to build more “complete” housing may also fail. Ownership and active involvement in the building of a new community are some of the strongest mechanisms that exist to ensure the highest positive impact on quality of life.

More consideration should be given to sparking and supporting locally-based, private initiatives that work with market forces and are directed for and by the poor.

To read the full blog, click "read more."