HOW TO DESIGN FOR THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID?

Of the 80 million persons, that increase the world population each year, 79 million individuals are born in less developed. According to the World Bank, 4 billion people live on an income of $3 or less per day and more than 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day. This part of the world population is nowadays often referred to as the “Base of the Pyramid” or abbreviated ‘BoP’.

The BoP concept frames this stunning fact as both a tremendous need of 4 billion people and a real opportunity for corporations to provide sustainable solution. As a result, Western companies are increasingly interested to enter this market. Their aim is to develop sustainable business that helps provide for example better health (care) solutions for the world’s poorest people while also providing access to this potential market of 4 billion customers worldwide and thus creating profitable business for the company.

But tapping into these overlooked markets will require companies to reconfigure their business assumptions, models, and products designs. As result, the Delft University of Technology has initiated a comprehensive BOP design initiative to develop human-centered design strategies and concepts for new products, services and businesses capable of generating sustainable economic improvement in the lives of people living in the vast base of the global economic pyramid.

Creating products for such specific markets requires the understanding of the needs and context of the people within it. In this situation it is clear that researchers and designers should engage with the cultures directly in order to better understand local people A unique set of design and business tools and practices adapted from social anthropology and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) to build what we call an MNC’s “native capability” are being used. This native capability consists of the ability to:

• Engage in deep listening and mutual dialogue with income-poor communities.
• Co-discover and co-create new product deisgn opportunities and business models embedded in the local cultural infrastructure.
• Co-design and launch BoP products that generate mutual value for all partners.

These approaches have been applied by Delft University of Technology in more than 30 projects in more than 10 emerging countries in collaboration with multinational corporations, medium sized enterprises and non governmental organizations.