Blog #6 : How Business Can Lift People Out Of Poverty: 4 Insights From The World's Best Social Entrepreneurs

Summary

          This is a very interesting article that discusses the power that business can have on affecting, and improving poverty on a world scale.  The article starts off by asking the question "How do you profitably sell to a customer who earns less than $2 per day?".  The article discusses a new kind of entrepreneur, who is springing up and looking at things differently.  This is, with business being the best way to fight poverty.    Sam Goldman, an engineering student from Stanford, makes low-cost solar lanterns that are specifically designed for people making $2 a day.  Jordan Kassalow, who owns an eyeglass company called VisionSpring, has successfully sold over 1 million pairs to people in developing countries.  Prema Gopalan, has built a network of women entrepreneurs across rural India that sell all kinds of transformational products that can lift a rural household out of extreme poverty.  These social entrepreneurs view their customers—the world’s poorest people—as collectively comprising the world’s largest under-served market, with an annual purchasing power of over $1 trillion.  They do this through 4 steps.  Through recruiting and empowering local changemakers, building a movement and not a market share, embracing competition as a strategy to scale impact, and how it's about mission and not money.

Analysis

          This article was very inspiring and surprising.  I am so used to corporate companies taking advantage of, and exploiting the poor and less fortunate.  Whether it is through working conditions, pricing, or product.  This new "brand" of entrepreneurs, and the way they look at things is much different than your typical businesses or corporations.  They are actually designing their businesses around not only profiting off the poor, but by helping them in the process through cheap prices and products that are designed to target their needs.  Their views are very original, thoughtful, and nontraditional.  People like Sam Goldman, Jordan Kassalow, and Prema Gopalan have the potential to change the consumer world.  My favorite quote from the article stated, "If you really want to succeed in the toughest market on earth, you need more than a sales plan and a profit motive – you need a mission."  This is a very powerful and accurate message.  Especially when you are making products that target the poorest in the world.  Their mission is simple.  Make products that the poorest in the world can afford, and benefit from at the same time.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2014/03/21/how-business-can-lift-people-out-of-poverty-4-insights-from-the-worlds-best-social-entrepreneurs/