BusinessWeek dedicates this week’s issue to China and India, and, not surprisingly, did an excellent feature on some Indian BOP success stories – namely Bharti (telecom), Tata (autos), ITC (agriculture), and ICICI (finance).? Those of us following BOP trends over the past months and years will have heard those names before.
“Asking the Right Questions” highlights companies’ profits at the BOP – for instance, how Bharti can charge 2 cents per minute and still yield 1 cent profit – and the social benefit.? It reports that farmers affiliated with ITC e-choupal have increased incomes of upwards of 30 percent.? While this figure is substantially higher than what was reported in a What Works case study in 2003, the expansion of e-choupal – and other successful BOP models – may have increased margins as well.All in all, “Asking the Right Questions” is an excellent review of some business models that are helping Indian firms serve the poor, profitably.
