Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Finally, tell us about Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.
CK Prahalad, who was a brilliant Michigan business school professor, argues that the billions at the bottom of the [socio-economic] pyramid can be helped profitably. He goes through a series of case studies which show that very poor people around the world often pay a lot of money for some very basic things. That means small entrepreneurs and big companies can design and sell products and services to the poor that will both improve lives and help business. To take one example, in Kibera, which is outside Nairobi and one of the largest slums in East Africa, people actually pay quite a lot for clean water. If you can invent and sell water purification systems or purification packets, you can save lives, improve the quality of life for that community and make enough money to at least sustain business operations. It's those kind of opportunities, which people don't normally think of, that are currently transforming parts of the poor world.
How does USAID put Prahalad’s teachings into practice?
We've done a number of things. One example is that we've launched a Development Innovation Venture Fund to support these types of entrepreneur. For instance, people who might have a new technology that can diagnose malaria by cell phone in a cheap and effective way, or people who are developing new, accessible, off-grid energy sources that can provide light where there is no electricity architecture. We're now funding these entrepreneurs all around the world so they can create the next set of solutions to save lives and raise living standards.
The subtitle, Eradicating Poverty Through Profits, over-promises a bit, doesn’t it? What is the best we can hope for in terms of reduction of destitution?
The reason I like these books is that they talk about specific innovations that transformed the lives of millions within mere decades. They all give me a sense of how much can be accomplished in our lifetimes. The authors of these books probably would agree that eradicating extreme poverty and human suffering is within our reach. We all need to aim high to make the world a better place.
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Dr Rajiv Shah has led America’s international development agency since 2010. Prior to heading USAID, Shah was undersecretary and chief scientist at the US Department of Agriculture. Before joining the Obama administration, Shah piloted the Gates Foundation’s public health and agricultural development programmes. He received his medical degree and a master’s degree in health economics from the University of Pennsylvania
