The number of people now living on $2 a day or less is greater than the world’s total population in 1950, when the global fight against poverty began. Only business can marshal the resources (human and financial) and the incentives (profits and wages) to address this tragic reality at scale, and sustain the effort for as long as it takes. This article explains how a new breed of multinational business can root out poverty.
Becky Willmoth's insight:
Within this article, Mal Warwick, author of The Business Solution to Poverty outlines the role of business in addressing poverty by providing products or services to the 2.7 billion un-served customers who live on $2 a day or less. He highlights examples of businesses that have been developed through zero based design, creating products and services from the ground up, that realise generous profits while fulfilling their social mission. The article also includes a great list of resources to learn more about this fascinating opportunity.
What is clear through the article is the intimate contextual knowledge required to create, market and distribute relevant and affordable products and services. Therefore, it is fundamental for businesses wishing to operate within these markets to first experience them, in order to understand their potential customers — their needs, their wants, their fears, their aspirations.