A ground-breaking book on social performance: The Treasure at the Bottom of the Pyramid, by C.K. Pra
C.K. Prahalad showed the business world the potential of the now called "emerging markets" -or those formed by the 2.5 billion people who live in 2 dollars a day-
He not only showed the obvious opportunities for doing good through traditional philanthropy, but, more importantly, that "doing good" and "doing well" were not only compatible but mutually dependent.
By "serving the poor, profitably" -as the title of an earlier paper published with Hammond in 2002 went-, for profit companies of all sizes -from small micro business in Mumbai or Argentina to multinational companies such as Starbucks, Citibank or Samsung- can do well and grow huge new markets.
What is the fastest-growing cell phone market in the world? Few people would get the answer right back in 2005. It was -and still is- Africa, where cell phones help farmers sell their perishable goods by negotiating with different buyers instead of walking to wholesalers and face the choice between selling at their asking price or let their goods waste under the weather.
Innovation generated in BOP (Bottom of Pyramid) markets -such as pay-per-use cell phones- also works in developed economies, growing the size of the market instead of juts the market share.
Prahalad book still stands as a must-read and one of the foundations of the field of social performance.
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