Entrepreneurial Solutions for Prosperity in BoP Markets

01/10/2011 · No Responses

There has been immense worldwide excitement about the potential of Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) businesses to help impoverished societies escape poverty. Unfortunately, many BoP firms are locked in a “survival trap” that keeps them small, inefficient, and unprofitable. Now, Eric Kacou identifies breakthrough business models, operational techniques, and leadership approaches that can help BoP businesses grow rapidly, successfully, and profitably.

Drawing from his immense on-the-ground experience in Africa’s most challenging business environments, Kacou shows how companies can overcome the Survival Trap mindset that breeds dependence, mistrust, and failure. Next, he takes readers inside the Rwandan metamorphosis: the economic miracle that CNN’s Fareed Zakaria calls Africa’s biggest success story. Kacou shows how to address the needs of all core stakeholders. He concludes with integrated recommendations for local entrepreneurs, global businesses, governments, and international organizations: guidance that can truly launch a “virtuous cycle” of prosperity creation.

For all entrepreneurs, policymakers, NGO professionals, and leaders who want to make BoP businesses work.

From the Back Cover
Breakthrough Bottom of the Pyramid Business Strategies and Tactics That Work

“Poised to become a key reference, Entrepreneurial Solutions for Prosperity in BoP Markets will change the way we think, act, and teach about emerging markets. Kacou provides just the right blend of framework and hands-on examples to those committed to transforming the Bottom of the Pyramid.”
–Dean Thomas R. Robertson, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

“Kacou’s insight that many low-income countries are stuck in a Survival Trap whose solution lies in mindset change and entrepreneurship is a powerful one. Entrepreneurial Solutions for Prosperity in BoP Markets is a timely book that will influence development policy and business for years to come.”
–Dr. Donald Kaberuka, President, African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

“It is becoming increasingly clear that enterprise with moral purpose can be a solution to poverty. What was missing until now was a practical blueprint to make the potential of business in prosperity creation a reality. Eric Kacou, one of Africa’s emerging thought leaders, fills this important gap. This book is a must-read!”
–Dr. Manu Chandaria, Chairman, Comcraft; Founding Chairman, East African Business Council

“This book is a refreshing perspective on how business can transform Africa and the rest of the developing world. It offers practical wisdom for those who are serious about expanding prosperity in the developing world.”
–Professor Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development, Harvard Kennedy School

“Eric Kacou builds upon the ideas of Michael Porter, Larry Harrison, C.K. Prahalad, and many others. These are the eminent people we read not just because of what is
in their books, but because they wrote it. Now we will begin to study and comprehend Eric’s work.”
–From the foreword by Michael Fairbanks

Global business experts and other leaders tout the potential of Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) businesses to help impoverished societies escape poverty. Yet, many BoP firms are locked in “The Survival Trap” of managing short-term crises that keep them small, inefficient, and unprofitable. At the core of The Survival Trap are outdated mindsets perpetuating this vicious cycle. Author Eric Kacou identifies breakthrough mindsets, business models, and techniques that can help BoP businesses grow and help the communities and nations that depend on them create prosperity.

Drawing from real case studies and his on-the-ground experience in some of the world’s most challenging business environments around Africa, Kacou lays out a framework for overcoming The Survival Trap and the dependence, mistrust, and failure it breeds. To do this, he takes readers inside real case studies of entrepreneurs, firms, industries, and even countries. Featured is the Rwandan metamorphosis: the economic miracle that CNN’s Fareed Zakaria called Africa’s biggest success story.

How mindsets shape the playing field–and how to reshape it
Transforming the mindsets of employees, investors, and the community
Rwanda: from genocide to Africa’s entrepreneurial showcase
How Rwanda is making business work for everyone–and the practical lessons
Collaborative clusters and prosperity ecosystems
Improving competitiveness by pooling the resources of businesses, leaders, and customers