The Base of the Pyramid (BoP) is a large market in emerging economies. In Brazil most of the population is from BoP. Most large consumer companies recognize not only the huge economic potential of this market, but also the need to well understand the aspirations and peculiar needs of this segment in order to develop successful company strategies to market to this consumer segment.
More than a market, BoP offers a possibility to rethink traditional capitalism, with a lens of more inclusivity and less social inequality. Various movements have emerged in recent years guided by the vision of rebuilding the foundations of capitalism in force, looking to innovative ways of doing business, balancing social impact and profit. This is not a new debate, since organizations have long been seeking a greater purpose, focusing on the market vision and the results logic. Whereas some of these views are in tune with the core of the business, others advocate for a new way of doing business. Different aspects, nomenclatures and concepts address and direct these issues, such as: sustainability, corporate social responsibility, social performance of organizations, shared value, conscious capitalism, and the B Corporations.
One of these trends is the concept of social business / social entreprises (SB/SE) that are organizations that offer access to basic services and reduces vulnerability of poor people, using market mechanisms. Here, social enterprises are considered in a broader view and are understood as business models that create social impact and are financially sustainable. A social entrepreneur is an entrepreneur that has as a primary objective the creation of social value and the improvement of the well-being for the society as a whole. Driven by some inspirational individuals such as Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, social entrepreneurs have become more common all over the world and represent now a reality, which is impossible to ignore.
The objective of this course is to offer a better understanding about the opportunities and characteristics of BoP markets and to explore the strategies adopted by organizations in this matket. Moreover, it will be discussed the concepts, challenges and opportunities of social enterprises in emerging markets, mainly in Brazil.
8:00 AM – 11:00 AM – Brazil Time - GMT-3:00