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This title is not from me! It is from Outlook. After 2 months out of India, I finally find again this wonderful news magazine! After a portrait of Amartya Sen, whose new book about justice will be soon launched, Debarshi Dasgupta tell us the story of these cow lovers in Kanpur (Andra Pradesh). It looks like all we are fighthing for: target the poorest, use natural ingredients, protect nature... but behind one can find racism and nationalism. A bit like in France, when I was working for local finance. You had the best, but also the worst, the ultra nationalists that was lending money only to local project. That what is exciting with social business in general, and maybe in business in general. You are always on the edge of your values. You think you are doing good, but in the global picture, are you so sure? Argumentative India, is the title of a previous book by Amartya Sen!

But back to this KGS, who is using all that it can from cow (dung, urine...) to create products and energy.

I was about to publish my feedback after having lived for the first time in my life what it was to come from your native place to this strange foreign place where you belong to a bit, because your house, your children school... are there. It is not so bad to be french, and not so bad either to be french in India!

 Before going more in details, let me just suggest you to read the story of Akash Kapur, published in New York Times the 30th of july. He is speaking about how Pondicherry is, and how it was. Not exactly Pondicherry, but Kuilapalayam, a very close place where I often pass by. It also speaks about how it is to become rich, what you gain and what you loose. It is to read there http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/world/asia/31iht-letter.html?_r=2&ref=world and has been discovered by the comprehensive Beyond Profit newsletter (a service operated by this huge Intellecap consulting company, see www.beyondprofit.com).

Well, back to Pondicherry and my feelings. Or, why you could think that being french is not only exotic but could also be an advantage in India! First, we are not so many! 0.0086% of indian population in total (or 8669 if you prefer!), out of them 3/4 are based in Pondicherry. Well, you have to include the vast franco-pondicherian population that plays Petanque and is studiying in French Lycee, but is from indian origine. And you should add all these french not registered, that spend one sabbatic year and sometimes stay longer.

Cecile Pompei, Business Developer of GAYA in Delhi (www.  gaiaenergy.co.in), is a very active and brilliant professional of energy in BOP market!

She is sending regularly interesting press review and informations. The lattest one is about a fascinating Outlook Business paper on how microfinance organizations are looking for using their network to support consumers  durable companies to penetrate rural and poor urban communities. See on http://business.outlookindia.com/newolb/article.aspx?240795

Good examples of fridges, energy or whatever products are given.

(Image is from the article, and introduce distribution of Oorja cookstove)

Microfinance is often attacked for lending people with consuming loans. As volume is growing, difference between productive and consuming loan become harder and harder to identify.

Distributing consumers good by creating a network of individual resailers coudl be a way to increase ROI for microfinance, efficiently use their network, and creating access to efficient products for end users.

Some questions remains: do MFIs  have internal staff for selection of the products, what is the cost to gain distribution, stocks... skills... ?

 But that issue is worth spending time and energy.

Monitor Group has just released an extremely comprehensive and concrete report about business models to reach bottom of the pyramid markets.
This report comes at a time when it looks like microfinance has reached a more mature position on it market and when every social funds, companies, NGO... try to benefit from the financial crisis and the microfinance example to find ways to address poverty through profitable and scalable operations. Microfinance organizations being the quite only one to reach the poorest so closely and extensively, they are harassed with people trying to sell their products or services through their agents! Building a product and sending it trought local network is clearly not enough as a business model to succeed! This report may contribute to formalize and clarify efficient models observed recently in India.

There are quite a lot of awards in India. In France, I have been member of so many jury that I was finally a bit fed up with these high growth prevision (typically -50, +10 and +1000 K$ for Y1, Y2 and Y3!!), these "strong management profile" and "no competitor or maybe this small microsoft player, who is so big he won't move (you bet!)".

I'm now on the other side. I'll have to go next week in front of a jury of investors to introduce Prakti Design. I didn't realized how important it is to be supported and trust by this type of organization. You'll find below some further details about Sankalp. If you go by Mumbai on tuesday, register and support us!!

Note that we don't speak of BOP now, but of "inclusive capitalism"!

Our new intern in Prakti, Eloise, has to write an article about innovations in social entrepreneurship in India! As soon as her great report will be achieved, I'll publish it in this blog!

For the moment, I try to help here with some documentation gathered by the reading of the "bible" of every BOP-guy, the C.K. Prahalad "The Fortune at the bottom of the Pyramid" (or how eradicating poverty through profits).

First episode today: about BOP and CSR. More to come in days to come...