After 4 weeks in India, it feels like I finally have the hang of things- I've settled into an apartment, have a morning work-out routine, and have been able to have regular meetings about interesting topics related to BOP. It has been fascinating!
I don't know if I would say that things are progressing as I expected. The ways that people tackle BOP design and marketing is extremely unique to each market segment and fascinating in so many more aspects than I had really thought about before. There is so much that goes into every aspect that it seems at times that I would need a lifetime to understand everything. I wouldn't say that my project plans have changed since I've got here but my knowledge has definitely grown tremendously. One aspect that I've been thinking about recently and though I had a firm grasp on but really didn't was means of funding and money complications. . Some of the most interesting things I've been discussing recently is ability to pay, how to sell a product or service. It seems like in BOP so much focuses on money and that funding is such a huge driver in so many areas. As a total there is a lot of money, because of the huge number of people, but tapping it is very difficult.
One interesting case study is with energy. It turns out that in rural villages that the main source of electricity is kerosene lamps- this is a huge expense and when the total money spent is added up, it is more than regular electricity would cost, more than solar, and just as a total, a significant investment for the village person. The huge advantage that is has is that the user can pay whenever they can- or not when they don't have the money. The regular payments of electricity are something they can't afford to do (even though they are cheaper- although extending the grid to the smaller villages is a cost that at least at this point electric companies won't do because the profit is not there). That same issue of regular payments is why a lot of companies have trouble operating in rural villages. One organization decided to tackle that problem by basing their business model for solar energy to mimic that of kerosene's. They a few payment options they are working with
1. pay as you go (utility bills) where the company owns the hardware (solar panels etc)
2. pay slowly off the cost of the initial set-up with irregular small payments until you eventually own the solar powered unit (and pay a regular maintenance fee throughout).
3. A combination of the two that works like a utility system but will allow the villager to eventually own the unit.
Embrace is also so driven by cost. They also want to sell to a village mother but don't seem to have a system completely worked out yet for their incubator that is heated with boiling water.They have been planning on a single-use product that they are selling for individual babies, but have had to recently think about buy-backs of different components, possibilities of renting (which actually turns out not to be wanted by the doctors), for a cost how long the device has to be operational for. It's been fascinating and the medical aspect adds a very interesting twist. I won't say more now- it's too much to write but ask me if you are interested or wait for my research paper!
Another interesting topic is micro-loans, and here is a perspective I had never considered before: With micro-loans I've always felt a little unsure about the ethics of the huge interest prices; however if you think about a lot of it, as a friend put it, the profit margin for the coconut seller on the side of the road is probably huge; however it is the scale that he is lacking in order to make enough money to be able to make investments. If you can increase his capacity to sell more coconuts, it is often easy for him to pay back even those high interest rates do to the steep increase in his income.
Anyways- a few examples of many.
The classes I've taken - especially cross disciplinary classes in organizational studies and the business school, as well as the support and resources U of M have afforded me have given me a fantastic foundation and ability to talk intelligently on all these topics, but the longer I am here the more I realize I have to learn. I know that by the end of the summer I'll have built a strong structure of knowledge over that foundation. I can't wait to see what the next week will bring!
I don't know if I would say that things are progressing as I expected. The ways that people tackle BOP design and marketing is extremely unique to each market segment and fascinating in so many more aspects than I had really thought about before. There is so much that goes into every aspect that it seems at times that I would need a lifetime to understand everything. I wouldn't say that my project plans have changed since I've got here but my knowledge has definitely grown tremendously. One aspect that I've been thinking about recently and though I had a firm grasp on but really didn't was means of funding and money complications. . Some of the most interesting things I've been discussing recently is ability to pay, how to sell a product or service. It seems like in BOP so much focuses on money and that funding is such a huge driver in so many areas. As a total there is a lot of money, because of the huge number of people, but tapping it is very difficult.
One interesting case study is with energy. It turns out that in rural villages that the main source of electricity is kerosene lamps- this is a huge expense and when the total money spent is added up, it is more than regular electricity would cost, more than solar, and just as a total, a significant investment for the village person. The huge advantage that is has is that the user can pay whenever they can- or not when they don't have the money. The regular payments of electricity are something they can't afford to do (even though they are cheaper- although extending the grid to the smaller villages is a cost that at least at this point electric companies won't do because the profit is not there). That same issue of regular payments is why a lot of companies have trouble operating in rural villages. One organization decided to tackle that problem by basing their business model for solar energy to mimic that of kerosene's. They a few payment options they are working with
1. pay as you go (utility bills) where the company owns the hardware (solar panels etc)
2. pay slowly off the cost of the initial set-up with irregular small payments until you eventually own the solar powered unit (and pay a regular maintenance fee throughout).
3. A combination of the two that works like a utility system but will allow the villager to eventually own the unit.
Embrace is also so driven by cost. They also want to sell to a village mother but don't seem to have a system completely worked out yet for their incubator that is heated with boiling water.They have been planning on a single-use product that they are selling for individual babies, but have had to recently think about buy-backs of different components, possibilities of renting (which actually turns out not to be wanted by the doctors), for a cost how long the device has to be operational for. It's been fascinating and the medical aspect adds a very interesting twist. I won't say more now- it's too much to write but ask me if you are interested or wait for my research paper!
Another interesting topic is micro-loans, and here is a perspective I had never considered before: With micro-loans I've always felt a little unsure about the ethics of the huge interest prices; however if you think about a lot of it, as a friend put it, the profit margin for the coconut seller on the side of the road is probably huge; however it is the scale that he is lacking in order to make enough money to be able to make investments. If you can increase his capacity to sell more coconuts, it is often easy for him to pay back even those high interest rates do to the steep increase in his income.
Anyways- a few examples of many.
The classes I've taken - especially cross disciplinary classes in organizational studies and the business school, as well as the support and resources U of M have afforded me have given me a fantastic foundation and ability to talk intelligently on all these topics, but the longer I am here the more I realize I have to learn. I know that by the end of the summer I'll have built a strong structure of knowledge over that foundation. I can't wait to see what the next week will bring!
are you still in bangalore? I will be there in 3 days. It would be cool to meet up if possible
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