New Markets New Mindsets

New Markets, New Mindsets

Doing business with low-income communities — which academics and practitioners have christened the base of the pyramid (BoP) — now includes a focus on creating sustainable markets with the potential to realise future profit — simply milking a market for the next quarters profits is seen as short-sighted. The status quo is shifting, and the rules of both commercial and social engagement with middle- and lower-end markets in developing economies are transforming. There is keen interest from both local and global businesses and institutions to be involved in these markets. And they care about the practical detail of doing it effectively, and ethically. This new view accords that doing business in a healthier economy benefits firms by lowering transaction costs and the long-term cost of capital.

In South Africa, around 60% of the population is unserved or underserved by current business (and many other providers of support and services). Thats a significant new market, and in the South African context, doing business in this market can achieve a great deal more than simply finding new customers. Regardless of global trends or government pressures, accessing these markets is challenging. Often, customers who survive on minimal incomes seek and will value different market offerings from those traditional customers have purchased. They have unique needs and identities requiring innovative, non-traditional business models and approaches. 

New Markets, New Mindsets showcases pioneering businesses and their BoP champions, as well as their experiments, successes, failures and best practices in creating new AND sustainable markets in previously underserved communities. 

The book includes top tips for those wishing to tap into these communities in ethical and effective ways, interviews with over 40 role players, and case studies including Nestl, Danone, Massmart/Walmart, Nedbank, Blue Label Technologies and Capitec, among others.
About the Authors
Dr Tashmia Ismail is a fellow at UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology, and a senior lecturer at the University of Pretorias Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) where she teaches innovation and BoP strategy.  Ismail heads the GIBS BoP Hub, which offers a collaborative multi-stakeholder platform for firms interested in developing and executing BoP strategies. She is interested in how innovative and sustainable business models can be shaped for firms in developing markets. Currently, her research is directed at understanding internal innovation management and the external networks firms must engage with to ensure success in low income contexts. 

Dr Nicola Kleyn is a senior lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science where she lectures and researches in the fields of marketing, branding and reputation management. She is both passionate and curious about how organisations can best manage the dynamic tensions that arise when individuals and companies seek to create win-win-win solutions that concurrently enable people, profit and planet. She was instrumental in initiating a stream of BoP focused research and teaching at GIBS and plays an active role in the BoP Hub at GIBS.

Gwen Ansell is a veteran writer, editor and writing trainer. She has written several textbooks, including Introduction to Journalism, which is a set text for the national curriculum and trains scholars, journalists and other communicators in writing skills. As a researcher, Ansell is the author of the South African cultural history Soweto Blues, and has done extensive value-chain and innovation research on the South African music industry.

Author     Tashmia Ismail & Nicola Kleyn with Gwen Ansell
ISBN        9781920292034
Format    Paperback
Pages      252p.