Exploring the Green-BoP Nexus on NextBillion.net

Where do the interests of environmental protection and the base of the economic pyramid coincide–and where do they clash?

2008 has brought with it a significant change for NextBillion.net staff, and visitors will notice a difference in some of the ideas we explore in our posts. We will increasingly be exploring the “Green-BoP” nexus.

To start off the new discussion, here is a two-part post on how New Ventures and NextBillion.net are navigating this space, and how we address the intersection between environment and poverty.

A Nano-Sized Car Reveals Macro-Level Rifts

Here is how the interests of the BoP and the environment might collide. The launch of the Tata Nano, the ridiculously low-priced car that could open a floodgate of new drivers in India and elsewhere, is undoubtedly one of the milestone innovations marking the early years of the 21st century. This is not just because of the unprecedented feat of technological and design innovation it represents but because of the huge rift it exposes in the public debate over the linkages between two crucial concepts, poverty and environment.

Businesses Bridging the Divide

By contrast, here is how the interests of the BoP and the environment coincide well. Far away from the Nano controversy in the rural Yunnan province, the Yunnan Zhenghong Environmental Protection Company is making affordable, high-efficiency biomass ovens that improve human health and reduce stress on natural resources.