Publications

June 2017
Case

MIA: Profit at the Base of the Pyramid

By: Lynda M. Applegate, José Antonio Dávila Castilla, Sarah Mehta and Aldo Sesia

In January 2016, Guillermo Jaime had just returned home to Mexico City after attending a Harvard Business School executive education program. Jaime was the founder and CEO of Mejoramiento Integral Asistido (MIA), a company providing affordable housing to low-income... View Details

Keywords: Base Of The Pyramid; Social Capitalism; Housing; Emerging Markets; Social Enterprise; Society; Wealth and Poverty; Social Entrepreneurship; Construction Industry; Mexico

01 Mar 2007
News

The Plight of the Global Poor

growth and with the top tiers in emerging markets relatively small, business is beginning to eye this huge population at the bottom of View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; bottom of the pyramid (BOP); Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance

June 2011
Article

Segmenting the Base of the Pyramid

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael Chu and Djorjiji Petkoski

The bottom of the economic pyramid is a risky place for business, but decent profits can be made there if companies link their financial success with their constituencies' well-being. To do that effectively, you must understand the nuances of people's daily lives, say... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Risk and Uncertainty; Value Creation; Human Needs; Income; Poverty; Profit; Relationships; Economics; Segmentation

Find at Harvard

01 Dec 2004
News

Pyramid Scheme

(historically accurate, by the way), exploring secret chambers, and making fateful, action-determining decisions while seeking clues to an archaeologist’s mysterious disappearance. It’s called TOMB, its plot line was developed from... View Details

Keywords: Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

Research Summary

Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Rangan is studying how businesses create value for the 4.2 billion low income, and poorer income residents at the base of the global income pyramid. These are individuals who live on less than $5/day. Providing food, water, sanitation, healthcare, education, skills... View Details

February 2015 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Edyficar and Mibanco: The Emergence of M&A in Microfinance

By: Michael Chu

Mibanco, a microfinance icon, is for sale, and Edyficar, owned by Banco del Credito (BCP), Peru's largest bank, is evaluating its acquisition. Until recently, such a transaction would have been fanciful given Mibanco's preeminent role in Peruvian microfinance, which... View Details

Keywords: Base Of The Pyramid; Peru; Latin America; Microfinance; Commercial Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Banking Industry; Latin America; Peru

Article

Commercial Returns at the Base of the Pyramid

By: Michael Chu

Keywords: Profit

Find at Harvard

Video

Business at the Base of the Pyramid Knowledge Center

March 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

TOTO: The Bottom Line

TOTO, the leading manufacturer of toilets in Japan, is struggling to penetrate the U.S. market with its premier bidet-toilets, which are present in 63% of homes in Japan. The case examines the behavioral, cultural, and institutional barriers that TOTO faces in gaining... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Disruptive Innovation; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Culture; Consumer Products Industry; Japan; United States

April 2011 (Revised March 2021)
Case

BANEX and the No Pago Movement (A)

By: Shawn Cole and Baily Blair Kempner

This case examines Grassroots Capital's decision of whether or not to continue investing in a Bolivian microfinance bank that is suffering financial distress. View Details

Keywords: Base Of The Pyramid; Political Risk; Microfinance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Government and Politics; Investment; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry; Bolivia

Web

Business at the Base of the Pyramid - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Business at the Base of the Pyramid Course Number 1908 Associate Professor Benjamin N. Roth Associate Professor Natalia Rigol... View Details

September 2010
Case

Aaron's: Household Goods for the U.S. Base of the Pyramid

By: Michael Chu and Charles Augustus Smithgall IV

With $2.5 billion system-wide revenues, Aaron's, a major rent-to-own supplier to the U.S. base of the pyramid, continues to grow in the recession, but CEO R.C. Loudermilk, Jr. wonders how long the company can sustain the fast growth rate of its past. Founded in 1955,... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; For-Profit Firms; Renting or Rental; Financial Crisis; Demand and Consumers; Social Enterprise; Income; Goods and Commodities; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; United States

June 2017
Case

Guillermo Jaime—An Endeavor Entrepreneur

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Sarah Mehta and Aldo Sesia

Guillermo Jaime was the founder and CEO of Mejoramiento Integral Asistido (MIA), a for-profit company providing affordable housing to low-income Mexicans living at the base of the pyramid (BOP). This case tells the story of Jaime and Endeavor, a nonprofit dedicated to... View Details

Keywords: Base Of The Pyramid; Social Capitalism; Housing; Emerging Markets; Social Enterprise; Society; Wealth and Poverty; Social Entrepreneurship; Construction Industry; Mexico

March 2019 (Revised October 2020)
Case

GENTERA: Facing the Digital Age

By: Michael Chu and Carla Larangeira

After long dominating Mexican microfinance, Compartamos Banco faces the emergence of fintech, just as for the first time its loan portfolio and clients have declined. Enrique Majós, CEO of GENTERA, the bank´s parent company, is keenly aware of the profound changes... View Details

Keywords: Micro Finance; Base Of The Pyramid; Fintech; Microfinance; Disruption; Innovation and Management; Competitive Strategy; North America; Mexico

01 Dec 1996
News

Meditations on the Bottom Line

For many managers today, the greatest business challenges are no longer technical; rather, they involve figuring out how to put more "soul" into the workplace. For Belinda L. Bothwick (MBA '77), however,... View Details

fall 2002
Article

The Great Leap: Driving Innovation from the Base of the Global Pyramid

By: Stuart L. Hart and Clayton M. Christensen

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Global Range

Find at Harvard

January 2013 (Revised March 2013)
Course Overview Note

'Made in India': Human Capital at the Base of the Pyramid (TN)

By: Michel Anteby, Felicia Khan and John Ng

This teaching note, used in conjunction with excerpts from the 2010 documentary film "Made in India" (directed and produced by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha) provides students with an opportunity to explore what constitutes human capital and the moral issues... View Details

Keywords: Human Capital; India; United States