Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1Y3c1TT. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. “Emerging markets throw up all sorts of surprises. Roughly 20 percent of the planet simultaneously use mobile phones (20 year old technology) and candles for lighting (2000 year old technology). But don’t be fooled – the same consumer aspirations exist everywhere and the last 20% represent a new and rapidly developing market for the latest technologies,” explains Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO of Azuri Technologies. Simon has been doing business in Africa for 30 years and has made some interesting observations about selling to the people living at the base of the pyramid. 1. Aspiration is the same, regardless of income: In rural Africa, Azuri is providing affordable solar power. In stages, households add lighting, radio, TV, fan and productive devices enabling households to earn their way to a higher standard of living. The knowledge economy is not the destination but the enabler of the ‘energy escalator’ path. 2. Its not just California where you find tech innovation: Tech has traditionally been thought of as the enabler of the rich. But we are seeing “reverse innovation” where the latest tech is finding its first volume home in emerging markets. Solar power, LED lights, mobile money, are all taking root at scale in rural Africa, long before the West. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1Y3c1TT. Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.
#416: The New Market for the Latest Tech: Base of the Pyramid