11 years ago, CK Prahalad and Stu Hart published “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.” The article and consecutive book have sparked enormous interest among companies, followed by experimentation, trials, and sometimes, success. However, it quickly became clear that developing inclusive business was far from trivial. The usual management tools did not always work in the context of poverty.
Over a decade on, there has been tremendous learning about how to build successful inclusive businesses. The WBCSD and the European BoP Learning Labs have been in the midst of this ongoing learning process, supporting companies as they venture into these new markets. We see that often, managers struggle with their task as they try with standard tools and fail.
We believe that it is time for a training offer that can avoid unnecessary delays and failures by building on a decade of experience and offering specialized management tools for BoP business. Many tools have been developed, but they are not easy for business professionals to find and use. Therefore, the WBCSD and European BoP Learning Labs are partnering to offer an executive education course designed especially for management professionals – setting them up to succeed in the unique and challenging conditions of low-income markets in developing countries.
This course will be held in a series of six modules from September to November 2013. The course will walk through the essential BoP-specific challenges, starting with an introduction to inclusive business, and then looking at marketing, distribution, financing, partnering and measuring non-financial results.
Over the span of the course, participants will be able to work on their own idea for an inclusive business venture and benefit from expert feedback on their case. They will also have the chance to network with other practitioners and exchange experiences with leading companies. A certificate is awarded at the end. For more information and to apply by August 15, please visit http://www.inclusivebusinessmgmt.com!
As we are fine-tuning the content of each session, we would like to hear from you as practitioners: What will create most value in an executive course? How would you like to interact with experts, leading companies and peers? And what do you need to get your own business idea ahead?
This blog was authored by Christina Tewes-Gradl and originally posted on Business Fights Poverty.