Collaboration at the Base of the Pyramid Through Patience and Innovation

Posted: 01/24/2012 3:08 pm

Countries in the global south, like India and Ghana, are still seen by many as charity recipients. It is due to the fact that 'developing' countries like them receive a sizeable amount of aid from international donors. This long-held view is beginning to shift as nations move to middle income status and people understand that innovation and growth are possible at all levels.

What has followed has been a decade of growing investment in what has been termed the "base of the pyramid." The BoP represents the estimated 1 billion people who live on $1.50 or less a day. Although incomes are extremely low, there is an untapped market in this group that will only grow as incomes and livelihoods grow. Corporations and individuals realized that by playing a part in the growth of the BoP, they can not only improve the lives of 1 billion people but tap into a giant market of consumers.

In Next Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid researchers Ted London and Stuart Hart have complied a set of lessons learned and ideas from leading researchers and practitioners. Each chapter focuses on how to access and work with people living in the BoP. "[T]he debate is not anymore about how many are really poor; it is about how to bring the benefits of gold standards at affordable prices and increase access," write the authors in their introduction.

The book grew out of the 2009 Creating and Shared Roadmap: Collaboratively Advancing the Base of the Pyramid Community conference attended by roughly 100 people ranging from academics and NGO workers to entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Through this collaboration, the 8 authors gained insight into how to make their chapters as instructive as possible to actors looking to participate in the BoP space.

From the development perspective, the book's strength lies in its discussions of lessons learned and consistent message of patient development. Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund, is emblematic of this arch by describing her idea of 'patient capital' in her chapter co-authored by Robert Kennedy, William Davidson Institute & Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

"A patient capital investor may need to be willing to tie up money for ten years or longer," say Novogratz and Kennedy. They argue that change will be a slow process that needs consistent investment to allow change to emerge. An important lesson BoP investors, whether it may be an individual, an NGO, a corporation or USAID, should take to heart.

Nogogratz and Kennedy provide the most tempered section on the book in terms of the need to balance monetary profit with social gains.They say outright that patient capital organizations must be willing to forgo maximized profits for higher social impact.

Patient innovation is an equally important aspect in ensuring that the needs of the BoP align with investors' goals. The Chotukool mini-refrigerator exemplifies this need for patient innovation as described in Patrick Whitney, Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, in his chapter on reframing design for the BoP.

Indian manufacturer Godrej and Boyce set out to make a cheap ($50-$100) cooling unit where people could store or even freeze food. Rather than design the unit first and ask questions later, the team from G&B went directly to the people they hoped to buy the final product.

What they learned was that there was no need for freezing food, the unit did not have to get all that cool to extend the life of foo, and it had to be mobile for when items in the house are moved around or the family moves into a new home. The final product met all of the needs learned by the G&B team and came in a price point, Rs 3500, that was within the desired range and half of the price of the cheapest available refrigerator.

The book is weaker at points when it focuses too closely on markets and comes off as a 'how to get rich off the poor' guide. Those moments are few and far between, doing little to detract from the book's overall strength. I do recommend it as a whole. The chapters I highlighted are the ones that I found to be most relevant to international aid and development, but are not the only sections worth a read.

"We should not promote BoP venture development -- or indeed, any poverty-alleviation approach -- if we do not also have the ability to assess and enhance its on-the-ground impacts. By building impact assessments and community engagement into the business model from the start, BoP ventures may succeed in providing value for all stakeholders simultaneously, rather than elevating one over the other," say London and Hart in the concluding chapter. The lessons shared are simple. In order to reach and support the poor, we must first begin to work with those living in the BoP. When it is done right, innovations, like the Chotukool, can develop into successful offerings for the business and the consumer.

Disclosure: I was provided a review copy by the authors of the book. They requested that I write a fair and honest review. The thoughts here are entirely my own.

 

 

Sitting All Day: Worse For You Than You Might Think

by Patti Neighmond

April 25, 2011

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April 25, 2011

Yes, exercise is good for you. This we know. Heaps of evidence point to the countless benefits of regular physical activity. Federal health officials recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, like brisk walking, every day.

Studies show that when you adhere to an exercise regimen, you can improve your cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure and improve metabolism and levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. You can reduce diabetes risk and the risk of certain cancers. And, finally, exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, which can boost all of these benefits even more.

But now, researchers are beginning to suspect that even if you engage in regular exercise daily, it may not be enough to counteract the effects of too much sitting during the rest of the day.

Epidemiologist Steven Blair, a professor of public health at the University of South Carolina, has spent 40 years investigating physical activity and health.

"Let's say you do 30 minutes of walking five days a week (as recommended by federal health officials), and let's say you sleep for eight hours," Blair says. "Well, that still leaves 15.5 hours" in the day.

Fighting That 'Chained To The Desk' Feeling

People who regularly break up their sedentary time with movement as small as taking one step had healthier waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), and triglycerides than people who didn't take breaks during long periods of sitting. That's what Australian researchers found in a 2008 study.

But how to make a habit out of taking breaks? Toni Yancey's Instant Recess book offers the following suggestions for people who feel chained to their office desks:

• Take a 10-minute activity break at a scheduled time every day.
• Park farther away from the places where you work, shop, play, study and worship
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Put printers a short walking distance away from your work or study space instead of right next to it.
• Replace desk chairs with stability balls — or use a standing desk to get rid of the chair entirely — to burn more calories while working.
• Fidget, stand up and stretch at intervals during meetings.

—Eliza Barclay

Many of us, he points out, have sedentary jobs and engage in sedentary activities after work, like watching television or sitting around a dinner table talking. When you add it all up, Blair says, "it's a lot more sitting than moving."

Blair recently headed a study at the University of South Carolina that looked at adult men and their risk of dying from heart disease. He calculated how much time the men spent sitting — in their cars, at their desks, in front of the TV.

"Those who were sitting more were substantially more likely to die," Blair says.

Specifically, he found that men who reported more than 23 hours a week of sedentary activity had a 64 percent greater risk of dying from heart disease than those who reported less than 11 hours a week of sedentary activity. And many of these men routinely exercised. Blair says scientists are just beginning to learn about the risks of a mostly sedentary day.

"If you're sitting, your muscles are not contracting, perhaps except to type. But the big muscles, like in your legs and back, are sitting there pretty quietly," Blair says. And because the major muscles aren't moving, metabolism slows down.

"We're finding that people who sit more have less desirable levels" of cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides and even waist size, he says, which increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and a number of health problems.

'Our Body Just Kind Of Goes Into Shutdown'

Dr. Toni Yancey, a professor in the health services department and co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity at the University of California, Los Angeles, has worked for years on developing programs to motivate people to get up and move.

"We just aren't really structured to be sitting for such long periods of time, and when we do that, our body just kind of goes into shutdown," Yancey says.

She recommends routine breaks during a full day of sitting. Her book, Instant Recess: Building a Fit Nation 10 Minutes at a Time, offers readers a guide to integrating such activity into the corporate boardroom, school classroom and even at sporting events.

But even if your work site doesn't engage in routine hourly breaks, there are things individuals can do at their desks to break up a day of inactivity and get moving, even if just for a few minutes. Yancey recommends a few minutes of movement every hour.

And she suggests sitting on an exercise ball instead of a desk chair, adding that it helps strengthen the core while improving balance and flexibility. It also requires more energy, so a few calories will be burned.

It may not sound like much, but an Australian study found that these types of mini-breaks, just one minute long throughout the day, can actually make a difference. You can simply stand up, dance about, wiggle around, take a few steps back and forth, march in place. These simple movements can help lower blood sugar, triglycerides, cholesterol and waist size.

"If there's a fountain of youth, it is probably physical activity," says Yancey, noting that research has shown benefits to every organ system in the body.

"So the problem isn't whether it's a good idea," she says. "The problem is how to get people to do more of it."

Small Lifestyle Changes for a Longer, Healthier Life

Living a long life may be a lot easier than you think. That's according to a report from Harvard Medical School. The report starts by saying that middle-aged and older women need to worry about particular health concerns -- osteoporosis, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and heart disease. That's no surprise. But what makes this report special is the attention it gives to the small lifestyle changes women can make to create significant health improvement.

 

According to the report, healthy eating habits -- like replacing animal fats with vegetable oils -- can cut the risk of heart attack almost in half. Four lifestyle changes -- stopping smoking, becoming more active, reducing blood pressure and controlling diabetes -- greatly reduce the chances of a woman landing in a nursing home.

10 Natural Supplements that Lower Cholesterol

Dr. Celeste Robb-Nicholson, medical editor of the report, says "one thing I'm learning from my patients is that every woman is unique, not only in her genetic endowment but in her life experiences as well. And each woman ages differently. As a result, your health concerns aren't likely to be the same as they were 30 years ago, nor are they likely to be identical to those of your friends."

Among the most interesting sections in the book is one labeled "managing bothersome problems."

These include persistent menopausal symptoms. And while estrogen was prescribed for decades for these problems, by the late 1990s studies were showing the hormone therapy might actually increase the risk of heart attacks.

Learning to Manage Everyday Anxiety

Non-hormonal approaches to menopausal symptoms the study suggests include:

• Dressing in layers to easily shed clothes and alleviate hot flashes.
• Sleeping in a cool room to avoid sleep disturbances from hot flashes.
• Using lubricants and moisturizers to relieve dryness and vaginal itching.
• Using prescription antidepressants to relieve depression and hot flashes.
• Regular exercise, such as brisk walking, has been shown to improve memory and help sleep problems in women 50-63 years old.

Of course, the report also includes understanding such health risks as Alzheimer's and stroke. Meanwhile, for all women -- even those beyond menopause -- the report suggests 10 steps to a longer and healthier life.

16 Ways to Give Yourself Happiness

They are:

1. Shun cigarette smoke, separate yourself from smokers. Become a nag and tell anyone you know who smokes to stop.

2. Keep moving. The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests every adult get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. Sessions should be at least 10 minutes long.

3. Eat like an Aegean. Follow the Mediterranean diet pattern of mostly plant foods, limiting animal protein to fish and poultry, using olive oil as the principal fat and use wine in moderation.

4. Mind your body mass index. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes 20 times and substantially boosts the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and gallstones.

5. Lift a glass, but only one. Alcohol's effects become more insidious as women age because the body's water-to-fat ratio declines over the years.

6. Don't run up a sleep debt. Medical evidence suggests we need seven to nine hours of sleep daily, but more than 60 percent of women regularly fall short of that goal.

7. Be your own best advocate on health issues.

8. Keep connected. Older women who remain socially active live longer and healthier lives than their solitary counterparts.

9. Avoid stress. Find techniques to reduce stress and its effects.

10. Use supplements selectively. Experts agree the best way to get nutrients is through food. Only calcium and vitamin D, essential in preserving bone density, are recommended supplements. And that includes 1,200 mg of calcium and 1,000 mg of vitamin D.

James Gronseth, 84, From Portland, Ore. Joins Peace Corps

Posted: 03/30/11 04:50 PM ET

 

 

James Gronseth won't let potentially harsh conditions and a language barrier stand in his way of helping others. The 84-year-old has joined the Peace Corps.

Gronseth will go to Botswana, Africa to help improve treatment for HIV and AIDS patients. He tells KGW he doesn't think age is an issue.

"Life is for living, you know, and this is something I want to do. So I'm going to do it."

Gronseth has already spent much of his life making a difference. He worked for 35 years in hospital administration and has taught language skills at Portland State University for 23 years of his retirement.

He's learning the native language of Botswana and is prepared to potentially live in a mud hut for two years.

By the time Gronseth is 86 years old and his assignment is over, he'll likely have broken the age record for volunteers, according to KGW.

WATCH:

Support Gronseth and his new undertaking by clicking below to donate to Peace Corps volunteer projects in Botswana.