BRINQ is a venture based on a single powerful belief: The world's 4+ billion poor represent a huge untapped source of innovation! Among these billions are geniuses, innovators and entrepreneurs waiting to be discovered, local equivalents of Einstein, Edison, and Ford. Their strong and varied cultural perspectives mean a different way of looking at the world, a different way of solving problems, and a different type of innovation. When it comes to innovation, different is a must! Plus you'd be hard pressed to find a more entrepreneurial bunch with stronger incentives to succeed.

BRINQ seeks to sow and gather the innovations of the world’s "poor", focusing less on the traditional invention of technology and more on the innovation of utility, the novel and unexpected ways in which people use technology. Our primary focus is on innovation in toys and play (we ask the toy industry, Where are all the children?), but we also emphasize systems to enable and propagate all types of innovation. This innovative spirit is best captured by the BRINQ question and credo,
“Do the poor dream brighter sheep?” [5]

This latter emphasis has led to our involvement in the Pilot test of the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) Protocol in Kenya [6]. For the unfamiliar, the BoP Protocol - a collaborative effort guided by the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University, the University of Michigan Business School, and the World Resources Institute and supported by SC Johnson, Hewlett-Packard, TetraPak, and Dupont - seeks to answer this: "How can the multinational company become the driver of an inclusive capitalism?"

After months of preparation, a team of six expert ignorants [7] heads to Kenya on June 1 for the first test of the Protocol; we're seeking out local partnerships, business opportunities, and innovation... and more than a little internal change as well. Can we join all our world views, local with foreign, "rich" with "poor", expert with ignorant, to create new opportunities and innovations? Stay tuned, we'll share our experiences with that question over the next several months, here on NextBillion.

More on the Protocol and the Pilot can be found at the Kenya Pilot project page [8].

Further articles on innovation, toys, and the Base of the Pyramid can be found at the BRINQ Workshop [9]. [10]

And welcome to the BRINQ,

the view is fantastic!