Related article:

• Measuring the Base of the Pyramid. A WRI/IFC Report shows for the first time how big the opportunity is to reduce proverty through private sector strategies. And it’s a bigger market than previously thought.

NextBillion.net: Development Through Enterprise

• Making the BOP Case at Georgetown, USAID. Feedback from groups in response to The Next 4 Billion indicate the report tells such a compelling story, that the N4B analysis of BOP markets and business strategies makes such a convincing case, that no one wanted to question the need for an expanded private sector role in meeting the unmet needs of the BOP.

• Tayo Akinyemi’s BOP 20 Questions. Going beyond the “who, what, where, why and how” of BOP thinking to explore alternate forms of those questions: “What for, who for, why so, and how the heck is that possible, really?”

• Focus on Health. How could the private sector provide high-quality, accessible, affordable treatment and medication to the BOP market?

• World Water Day and the BOP Penalty. Chris Monasterski over at the PSD Blog used data from The Next 4 Billion to describe the market for BOP water.

• How Mobile Phone Companies Have Cracked the BOP Code. It is still not widely appreciated that the rapid spread of mobile telephony, and the only slightly slower spread of Internet services, have over the past 6 years transformed the lives of more people at the BOP than all of the world’s development projects together.

• Focus on Energy. An excerpt from the Energy Chapter of the The Next 4 Billion report providing a comprehensive preview of much of the data and analysis available in that chapter.

• Initial news and other Next 4 Billion stories from the launch of the new WRI/IFC publication that comprehensively measures the size and scope of the Bottom of the Pyramid.

Environmental News

• SocialFunds.com. March 29, 2007. The World’s Poor: Huge Market or Just a Marketer’s Fantasy? New report from the International Finance Corporation and World Resources Institute measures the market-size of the Earth’s people who live in poverty.

• GreenBiz.com. March 23, 2007. ‘Base of the Pyramid’ Holds Key to $5 Trillion Market. Base of the pyramid markets are often rural, underserved, and dominated by the informal economy, and as a result are relatively inefficient and uncompetitive.

• PRNewswire-USNewswire. March 19, 2007. New Analysis Reveals $5 Trillion Market at Base of the Pyramid. Four billion people who live in relative poverty have purchasing power representing a $5 trillion market.

• UN Chronicle Online Edition. March 13, 2007. Business, Environmental Protection and Poverty Reduction Come Together. When the desires to earn a living and preserve the environment are combined, communities and organizations look for ways to harness market forces to protect the ecosystems and reduce poverty.