NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - God at the Base of the Pyramid? - Comments

Majority Rules?

Mike Heiss — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:35:34 -0500

For ease if discussion, I will use Christian Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) as an example of "religious institutions." I think we would all be more comfortable supporting a Christian mission in a place where the majority is Christian over a place where Christians are the minority. However, even if Christians are the majority, would we be ignoring the non-Christians by working through Christian FBOs? Would funding the FBOs then be an incentive to convert? Even if we claim to only support indigenous lead FBOs (rather than sending Western missionaries), the very act of supporting them may be implicitly imposing our values.

On the other hand, if BoP initiatives are truly built from the bottom up, we should not impose our secularism on a religious BoP. Ideally we would support organizations based on merit in terms of social good, ignoring religious affiliations. This is difficult because we cannot simply ignore views associated with religious organizations. I understand that people hesitate using the church after the history of the crusades and other socially irresponsible actions, but we should try to see its current actions through unbiased lenses, recognizing that it may be an effective means of social improvement.

Missionaries in Burma

Paul Sager — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:57:41 -0500

In 2003, I spent a number of months backpacking through SE Asia and one experience that I will always remember is a two day boat ride that I made down the Irrawady River in Northern Burma (Myanmar). It was a wonderful two days and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I had chatting up some of the local Burmese people who could speak English. I eventually met up with a couple of young Burmense woman who were employed as tour guides for rich westerners. We eventually got to the topic of missionaries. They informed me that many of the missionaries that have come to Burma over the last 20-30 years have brought with many problems, along with their good intentions. What has been happening, particularly in the northern part of the country, is that many Christian missionaries have come to “save” people and give them food and shelter and of course bibles as a reward for converting. This has led to a sense of dependency by many of these new converts, which in turn have caused them to lose their work ethic and ability to provide for themselves and their families on their own merit. All of which has had a significant impact on the community as you could imagine. So when we talk about bringing religion into the BOP, please be cautious of how this is accomplished. Working with local Buddhist Monasteries is one thing. Working with Christian and Mormon missionaries is an entirely different strategy that comes at a price

The Church

Moses Lee — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:57:27 -0500

John, Thanks for the comment. I think it would be interesting to find out if there some successful church/BoP enterprise partnerships. I may do some research and write an entry on this in the future. Perhaps some folks from the NextBillion community are aware of some.

Thanks

Moses Lee — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:54:13 -0500

Thanks Brian for your comment and the story. I do think/agree that there is such an emphasis on political correctness that is often blinds us from the reality on the ground.

God at the BoP

Brian McCarthy — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:36:17 -0500

We've spent a lot of time in Mexico, specifically Ciudad Juarez where the population is 94% Roman Catholic, and the living conditions are harsh. We've had numerous meetings with residents, business leaders and government officials and no one has shyed away from making Religious references, or sharing personal testimonies that have deepened their faith in God. I'm not sure if there is 'more' faith at the BoP. I truly believe that most of us westerners receive far too much coaching about what to say and not to say to remain politically correct. Subsequently, we're trained to hold back while BoPers speak with 100% honesty. They have freedom from our western 'etiquitte'. Electrical fires are common in these informal settlements. One individual shared with us that the same market had burned down three times, but the wall that bears an image of the Virgin Mary has stayed in tact through all three fires. In the US, this allusion to miracles and/or divine intervention would be as taboo as discussing an alien encounter. Where there is faith, there is hope.

Church and BoP

John Yang — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:07:42 -0500

Finally, someone has the courage to address this issue of church and BoP enterprises. Too often, western society has the idea of the separation Church and State so ingrained in their minds, that they unkowingly apply this idea to other facets of society where it holds no merit. Specifically, the potentially successful merging between church and businesses. I recognize that business and governments have a loose network, but that is not enough to say that church and BoP enterprises should not mix. If the merging of these two institutions benefits the community that the BoP enterprise is dedicated to serve, what is the debate here?

In one of CK Prahalad's lectures given at the University of Michigan, he addressed some of the opposing viewpoints and theories of the BoP initiatives by saying (paraphrased): When we look at the base of the pyramid through an ideological lens, choices become blurred....but when we look at our options through the lens of those who are at the base of the pyramid, the choice becomes crystal clear.

Prahalad points out that our perspective on this very issue is misguided. In the midst of all the theories and politics that are involved with major decisions affecting our society, Prahalad challenges us to look in the face of the individuals who are at the base of the pyramid, and make the simple and clear decision from there.

If the merging of business and churches proves to benefit and serve the communities in need, there is NO question what we should do. It is about time we stop looking at churches as just a gathering of people who share a common belief. For generations, churches have served our communities in many ways whether it be through natural disasters or other community outreach programs, but the potential of these church communities have yet to be fully realized. So why not tap into it?

God at the Base of the Pyramid?

Moses Lee — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:38:22 -0500

A key concept when operating a business at the base of the pyramid, or in any place for that matter, is contextualization. And by contextualization I mean a deep understanding and embrace of local culture. A simple example of contextualization in business can be observed by comparing the McDonald's menus in Asia and the United States. For instance, it would be impossible to find any McDonald's in the state of Michigan serving a curry burger. Why? Because people in the state of Michigan don't have a taste for curry burgers and wouldn't buy the product. Indeed, it is critical that businesses be aware of local patterns of human behavior – such as lifestyles, tastes, and social involvement – and develop products and services that suit these behaviors.

What I have mentioned thus far is nothing new and probably very elementary to the NextBillion community. However, I would like to suggest that we have left out of the conversation a very important component of culture: religion. It is a subject that is very polarizing and often taboo to discuss in business. But it is important to bring up because religion is very important to people in the communities that we in the NextBillion community are trying to serve.

Recently, this dawned upon me as I listened to a presentation by some MBA students from the Ross School of Business on improving the penetration of insecticide treated nets in Ghana. One recommendation that particularly jumped out at me was the following: leverage the church's influence. The presenters noted that in Ghana, Christianity is widely practiced, and as a result, the church is a very powerful and influential social institution.

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