Building the Ship As It Sails - Review of Innovations Journal

Abigail Keene-Babcock — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 06:25:11 -0500

My entry into the world of BOP is shockingly recent – in fact, I’ll even admit that I learned what the acronym stood for (Base or Bottom of the Pyramid – referring to a very large and often marginalized part of the global income strata) as recently as June. This was after I left academia, and had already decided to pursue a notion that very few in my graduating class would take seriously – the fusion of private sector and social interests to create logical, sustainable solutions that allow poor people to reap the benefits of their own hard work and to direct their own futures.

To the naysayers, I now say… watch out. Or rather, just watch! It’s happening, and, not surprisingly, it’s happening faster than any USAID reform package or overhaul of the UN, though perhaps not as fast as the next iPhone. But that’s a different story, and one that the New York Times will undoubtedly be covering in great detail.

So, why do I believe my “crazy notion” is gaining traction? I’m not by nature an optimist, or easily swept away by inspirational tales, but two essays that I recently read from Innovations (Winter/Spring 2007) provided me with some profound evidence, and with cause to re-consider how fast BOP solutions can develop into reality.

The essays, by Jacqueline Novogratz (Patient Capital), Matt Flannery (Kiva and the Birth of Person-to-Person Finance), each chronicle the conception and actualization of market-based ideas that removed barriers to the creation of greater economic and social well being for the BOP. (Nick Hughes and Susie Lonie also have a great essay (M-PESA: Mobile Money for the “Unbanked”) that is equally relevant and worth the read!).

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Building the Ship As It Sails - Review of Innovations Journal