NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - From the ToP to the BoP - Comments

You've got to get there to make a difference

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:18:48 -0500

I have run many successful projects for the poor and in developing countries, and can vouch they have only ever been successful because I took the time to live there and get to know what life really was like. Once the locals see you sweating and toiling alongside them, you will gradually gain their respect and you will be able to speak with authority. What I still find frustrating and I think it hampers efforts, is this: in the big international organisations there is a lot of snobbery directed towards those who have succeeded in the "field", and those who swan around HQ. The HQ people think the "field" people are not as intelligent or as successful: in a word, losers. Until this prejudice is addressed, few will make the trip to live and work beside the poor.

MBA Enterprise Corps, Fellows Programs, MBAs Without Borders

Rob Katz — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:11:28 -0500

Helen - as far as immersion programs go, we are planning to feature some of them on NextBillion in the coming weeks and months.

Among others, we plan to write about the MBA Enterprise Corps, MBAs Without Borders, Executives Without Borders, the Acumen Fund Fellows program, the Agora Fellows program and more.

Stay tuned - and please suggest other "immersion" type programs that we should look out for and feature here on NextBillion.

Jakarta

Moses Lee — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:40:20 -0500

Aldi, please shoot me and email as I know a number of people in Jakarta and visited last year myself. My email address can be found on the WDI website: www.wdi.umich.edu. Would love to chat.

Hi Moses, Thanks for the

Helen — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:37:24 -0500

Hi Moses, Thanks for the great post. I would love to see more on those immersion programs and other initiatives of BoP groups and companies who are building their local knowledge. For NextBillion readers who, like Hector Ureta, recognize their ignorance and want to work in the BoP at the BoP level, what's out there? I'm thinking Peace Corps meets Acumen Fund Fellowship meets Hindustan Lever Limited...

A superb view seldom expressed

Aldi — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:23:26 -0500

As someone who took the plunge I went through similar thoughts as I decided not to postpone going to B-school( Haas) and leave the comforts of San Francisco to start a BOP idea in Banda Aceh and now consult for large potential BOP-serving companies in Jakarta. I found that you really have to be living in the same region, breathing the same air, eating the same food(well, it takes some adjusting and is not always advisable) with the very people we are trying to help. For those who are thinking about taking the plunge, you will be surprised at how much you wont miss your usual amenities.

Thanks

Moses Lee — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:46:31 -0500

Appreciate the reflection and the post, Mohit. I have always wrestled with the idea that everyone is self-interested. This was one of the first ideas that I learned in business school.

I think the real question is not how do we rid ourselves of self-interest (because we will always be self-interested), but how do we align our self-interest in the service of other people.

The answer may not be so much a change in the perspective of our thinking, but more of a change in the condition of our hearts.

Will poverty give in without sacrifice?

Mohit Garg — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:20:35 -0500

A very nice article Moses. It made my day... I have tried to collect my thoughts on it here...

From the ToP to the BoP

Moses Lee — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:00:00 -0500

In 2007, I had the opportunity to consult for a newly formed NGO trying to establish a BoP venture in South East Asia. The NGO's management team had years of experience running small-to-medium sized businesses, had raised a sizable amount of capital, and had formed an all-star team of advisers. To the management team, South East Asia's economic potential was on the up-and-up; they felt that this was a great opportunity to leverage their professional expertise and capital for a social good.

I traveled with the team to the region on a short trip and we developed a business plan – we identified specific unmet needs across a range of communities, created a pricing structure whereby customers who had higher disposable income effectively subsidized the poor, and found local partners to help scale up the venture. Everything was set to go.

However, at the end of the day, the project didn't launch because no one from the management team wanted to move full-time to the region to live among the people the NGO wanted to serve. In other words, no one wanted to do the heavy lifting of starting a BoP venture. The management team thought, incorrectly, that it could simply manage the venture from the States – parachuting in and out of the region multiple times a year. There were a variety of reasons for this approach: family, comfort, lifestyle, and finances – to name a few.

The idea was great, but the commitment wasn't there to make it a reality. If I had actually known that this was plan early on, I probably wouldn’t have traveled with them overseas, saving them time and money. If the NGO wanted to succeed, it needed its own personnel on the ground, working with the local people. There are many in the business community who are eager to do something good for the world, but what they don’t see, at least initially, is the cost involved in making it happen. It goes well beyond writing a check for charity. Check writing: that is the old model.

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