The Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three Billion New Customers - Softcover

Warwick, Paul Polak And Mal

9781459667013: The Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three Billion New Customers

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1459667018 ISBN 13: 9781459667013

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant, 2013

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One of the most hopeful propositions to come along in a long time. Paul Polak and Mal Warwick's approach is original, ambitious, and practical and it just may be the key to reducing the number of people in poverty on a very large scale. They propose to harness the power of free enterprise to begin meeting the most basic needs of the poor while making a profit. Though market - based approaches aren't new, Polak and Warwick lay out a practical and systematic way to work on a global scale, transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of poor people. (President Bill Clinton). The fact is none of the well - meaning anti - poverty initiatives to date have achieved much - there are 2.7 billion people today living on 2 dollars a day or less, more than the entire population of the world in 1950. Paul Polak and Mal Warwick argue that the way to help these people is not to view them as victims or as charity cases, but as customers whose needs the market can serve effectively and profitably, without exploitation. In fact, Polak has been doing it for years. The key is to design products and services explicitly for this market - not cheapened versions of products designed for more affluent markets - an approach called Zero - Based Design. Polak and Warwick spell out, step by step, the guidelines and principles of this approach, and show how it has already been able to supply the very poor with clean drinking water, electricity, irrigation, housing, education, healthcare, and other necessities at a fraction of the usual cost and at profit margins comparable to the more developed world. This approach can be scaled up to reach a virtually untouched market of millions or even billions - this is an extraordinary opportunity for nimble entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate executives that will result in tremendous good for the world's poorest people.

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About the Author

""Paul Polak is founder and CEO of Windhorse International, a for-profit social venture to provide safe drinking water and the latest of three organizations he has founded. He is the winner of numerous awards, including being named one of the Atlantic's twenty-seven ''Brave Thinkers'' in 2009. Mal Warwick is founder and chairman of Mal Warwick and Associates, a direct-marketing fund-raising firm for nonprofits and progressive political candidates. He is one of four partners in the One World Futbol Project and was formerly chairman of the Social Venture Network.""

Review

"One of the most hopeful propositions to come along in a long time . . . original, ambitious, and practical." (President Bill Clinton)

"[This] inspiring manifesto . . . features a comprehensive roadmap for executives and entrepreneurs who wish to address the needs of the 'bottom billions' who live on $2 a day or less." (Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

"In 'The Business Solution to Poverty', Prahalad's big idea has evolved into practical advice for anyone minded to take up the challenge." (The Economist)

"If you're an entrepreneur looking to break into emerging markets . . . or if you are a corporate executive seeking to get beyond glossy 'Corporate Social Responsibility' reports and actually get things done that make a difference, buy this book, read it and share it." (Don Richardson, Managing Partner, Shared Value Solutions Ltd.)

"Let's hope that this book finds its way into the hands of CEOs who will seize this opportunity--not only because it will make money, but also because it's the right thing to do." (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

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