The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)

It is being done-profitably. Whether you're a business leader or an anti-poverty activist, business guru Prahalad shows why you can't afford to ignore "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BOP) markets.

In the book and accompanying CD videos, Prahalad presents...

Why what you know about BOP markets is wrong A world of surprises-from spending patterns to distribution and marketing

Unlocking the "poverty penalty"

The most enduring contributions your company can make Delivering dignity, empowerment, and choice-not just products

Corporations and BOP entrepreneurs Profiting together from an inclusive new capitalism

"C. K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they dobusiness in developing countries if both sides of that economic equation areto prosper. Drawing on a wealth of case studies, his compelling new bookoffers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability." Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect,Microsoft

"The Bottom of the Pyramid belongs at the top of the reading list forbusiness people, academics, and experts pursuing the elusive goal ofsustainable growth in the developing world. C. K. Prahalad writes withuncommon insight about consumer needs in poor societies andopportunities for the private sector to serve important public purposes whileenhancing its own bottom line. If you are looking for fresh thinking aboutemerging markets, your search is ended. This is the book for you." Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State

"Prahalad challenges readers to re-evaluate their pre-conceived notionsabout the commercial opportunities in serving the relatively poor nations ofthe world. The Bottom of the Pyramid highlights the way to commercialsuccess and societal improvement--but only if the developed worldreconceives the way it delivers products and services to the developingworld." Christopher Rodrigues, CEO, Visa International

"An important and insightful work showing persuasively how the privatesector can be put at the center of development, not just as a rhetoricalflourish but as a real engine of jobs and services for the poor." Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Interesting and insightful read, not just for business people, 2008-06-23
I learned about CK Prahalad and the BOP about two years ago doing a school project. I'm a graphic designer, so my approach is far removed from the typical business person's. After this project, I used this book to guide my senior project (design equivalent of a thesis), in which I made up a company that served the BOP in Venezuela and created a brand and packaging system for it. As a non-business person, it was sometimes challenging to follow the book, but it was not overwhelming. I agree with other comments that say that it was a bit technical (especially with all the abbreviations), but it was still approachable.

I'd recommend this not just for business people and entrepreneurs. Poverty is a world-wide issue and this book shows new and innovative ways of dealing with it. We can find uses for this theory in many different realms and disciplines and the theory forces us to think outside of the box. I was especially appreciative of the non-subsidies and the notion that poverty alleviation can come from sustainably profitable operations. I also like the idea of environmental sustainability as a must when dealing with the vast majority of the world as consumers.

I would also recommend "Out of Poverty" by Paul Polack. I liked Prahalad's position better, as Polack falls short in addressing exclusively money as a poverty factor and disregards life quality as something we should address; something that Prahalad does address. But Polack addresses an even poorer segment of the world and we can learn from both theories.


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Great book for any serious business person, 2008-04-04
This is a great book for anyone serious about expanding their business, or starting their own business. It gives a real look at the world's poor. Every stereotype is wrong.


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Suspicious, 2008-02-23
The author has noble intentions and some of the arguments are persuasive. But something does not quite add for me:

Solve third world poverty by making everyone consumers? Buy more plastic goods?

Some of the cases are good stories and I am not against the idea...but something is missing here. What about the mass environmental impact?
What about eradicating poverty but increasing impoverishment? Make everyone a consumer, eradicate their customs and culture, Americanize every Third World country by turning its native peoples into consumers. Sounds like a profitable enterprise for the MNCs--but not sure how much "Fortune" will be redistributed to the native peoples. I doubt much.







1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Another good book on the forgotten people of the world, 2007-12-04
The author, C.K. Prahalad gives outstanding evidence that working to develop marketing strategies at the bottom of the social pyramid is a profitable business, besides of providing meaningful and practical ways to incorporate millions of excluded people on the modern world economy.

The stories Prahalad includes on his book have more force and prove to be more succesful than the wasteful, gigantic and bureaucratic government programs that have been highly publicized in the past that have resulted as complete failures.

In that sense the idea that Jeffrey Sachs explores on his book "The end of poverty" does not make any sense at all in practical terms, because only piecemeal solutions such as the one developed by Grameen Bank, for example, are the right answers to the quest for economic development.

Prahalad's work goes in tandem with the magnifecent work done by William Easterly on his book "The elusive quest for growth".

Let the people to be free to choose their own exit door from poverty, give them the means to do it by themselves, and not from the world development agencies desks.



1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Saving the World, 2007-10-02
The author loves his TLA's (3 letter acronyms)! I wish someone had told me how technical this book was; those with an MBA will get the most out of it. But I love Prahalad's outlook and creativity. Perhaps with a little advice I can take my ideas and come up with a formal business plan.

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