REMINDER: This event will be held on Wednesday. Please RSVP if possible, and feel free to bring friends/colleagues.

Also, it's worth noting that early registration for September's BOP conference, "Business With 4 Billion: Creating Mutual Value at the Base of the Pyramid," will close on Friday. More info at the BOP 2007 web site.

While interest and debate about the base of the pyramid (BoP) as a poverty alleviation perspective is growing, most of the current research has focused on market entry strategies for organizations interested in exploring these markets. Indeed, a deep exploration of the unique poverty alleviation implications of a BoP perspective has lagged. With organizations from the development, non-profit, and private sectors increasingly incorporating BoP approaches in their strategies, this gap in our knowledge is increasingly untenable.

In light of this gap, please join us on Wednesday, June 27 for a presentation by Dr. Ted London of the William Davidson Institute and the University of Michigan. Dr. London’s forthcoming paper, "A Base-of-the-Pyramid Perspective on Poverty Alleviation," reviews the existing literature on the BoP and puts forth a framework and set of principles that distinguishes the BoP perspective from other poverty alleviation approaches. These principles also provide insight on when a BoP perspective is most effective and how it can complement other poverty reduction efforts.

Kristi Ragan, DAI's Strategic Advisor to USAID Global Development Alliances and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, will offer comments following the presentation. Robert Katz of the World Resources Institute’s Markets and Enterprise Program will moderate the panel session.

What: A Base-of-the-Pyramid Perspective on Poverty Alleviation featuring Ted London, Kristi Ragan, and Robert Katz
When: Wednesday, June 27 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Where: World Resources Institute
10 G. Street NE
8th Floor
Washington DC 20002
Metro: Red Line
RSVP: Robert Katz: rkatz (at) wri [dot] org

About the speaker:
Ted London is a Senior Research Fellow at the William Davidson Institute (WDI) and on the faculty at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. At WDI, he directs the Base of the Pyramid Initiative, a program that generates groundbreaking research and innovative thinking on market-based strategies to effectively serve the four billion people at the base of the economic pyramid. Previously, he was on the faculty at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he also was Director of the Base of the Pyramid Learning Laboratory. Prior to pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina, Ted worked for more than a decade in senior management positions in the private and not-for-profit sectors in Asia, Africa, and the U.S.