On the forty-second page of “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits” author CK Prahalad wrote (hyperlinks & some emphasis added):
![The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits [cover]](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/imageDB.cgi?isbn=0131877291)
catchy jingles that attract crowds in villages. In the case of Aravind Eye Hospital, well-publicized eye camps in villages conducted wit the cooperation of local enterprises, NGOs, and schools, are a good way to educate people on eye care and access patients who need surgery. Aravind has developed a strict procedure for holding these eye camps. They are used for preliminary examination of patients. All surgery is performed in specially designed hospitals.
9. Designing for Hostile Infrastructure
The BOP markets exist in a hostile infrastructure. Design of products and services must take this into account.
Consider the designs of PCs for a rural network application in northern India. ITC was building this network for connecting Indian villages in a seamless supply chain. E-Choupal, literally "the village meeting place," was designed to enable the farm community and ITS to collaborate and have a constant dialogue. The PCs placed in the village had to work under conditions unthinkable in the West. For example, the voltage fluctuated between 90 and 350 volts against a rated 220-volt transmission. Sudden surges in the current were quite the norm. Early installations were burned out and rendered useless in a very short time. Further, the supply of electricity was very uneven, often available for only two or three hours per day. ITC engineers had to add to the installation an uninterruptible power supply system, include surge protectors and a solar panel that would allow at least three to four hours of uninterrupted, quality electricity to operate the system. For communication, they had to depend on the satellite network rather than regular landlines. All this added to the cost. However, without this complete system that can operate in the "hostile" village environment, the entire project would have failed.
Consider the provision of good-quality water for the BOP market. Water treatment must eliminate particulate pollution, microbes, viruses and cysts, and organic and inorganic compounds. In addition, if we can supply improved taste and nutrition, it could be a welcome benefit. Systems have been developed to eliminate the "bad stuff" from water, including simple filters to complex systems. However, "purified" water from these systems can still be parceled out in unhygienic containers and touched by unclean hands. The benefits of water purification can be totally offset by what can best be described as the "last step" problem: the last step from the purifier system to consumption. Part of the system
(I don't think I own any electrical device that could long withstand fluctuations from 90 to 350 volts. Ouch.)
More information about “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits” (and the book itself) is available from:
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