Market creating innovations in developing countries

Anand Laishram *

We have seen Market Creating Innovations in action in developed countries like USA and Japan. We have seen how Market Creating Innovations helped create immense prosperity in these countries. Market Creating Innovations have also created prosperity in other developed countries like France, South Korea and others.

This week let’s look at how Market Creating Innovations help developing countries today grow economically. In China, the microwave manufacturer Galanz helped millions of newly arrived immigrants in the cities solve their cooking needs, instead of focusing on just exporting low-cost microwaves to developed countries.

In Brazil, the footwear manufacturer Alpargatas made inexpensive rubber slippers available to millions, which helped alleviate a multitude of problems (especially health related) arising from not wearing footwear.

In Mexico, we have companies like Clinicas del Azucar, which have made low-cost and quick diabetes treatment available to the public. Diabetes is one of the biggest public health issues (possibly the biggest) in Mexico and innovative businesses like Clincas del Azucar are doing vital work in solving these issues.

In Nigeria, we have companies like Tomato Jos helping reduce reliance on agricultural exports whilst boosting farmer productivity and incomes. In Rwanda, Earth Enable is helping people avoid the negative consequences of not having proper flooring in houses.

In war torn Afghanistan, companies like Roshan are helping bring much needed telecommunications services to the people. In Argentina, Iguana Fix is helping bring service providers like builders & plumbers enter the formal economy, thus bringing enormous benefits to the service providers themselves as well as the larger society. In Bangladesh, Drinkwell is bringing clean, arsenic free water to the masses, through their Water ATMs.

In India, we have companies like Narayana and Aravind bringing quality, affordable healthcare to the masses.

All these companies (and more) are breaking down one or more of the barriers to consumption (Affordability, Accessibility, Time & Expertise); helping large number of non-consumers find solutions to the problems they face, thus enabling them to make progress in their lives; creating a large number of local jobs; creating lasting, sustainable infrastructure; increasing tax revenues for the Government; and, inspire a culture of innovation and problem solving.

They aren’t always successful and they face enormous challenges in their quest to build businesses in countries without well developed infrastructure and laws already in place. But when they are successful, they unlock enormous prosperity for themselves as well as for the countries they operate in. The infrastructure they build also helps new companies take root.

These companies have created shining oases of prosperity and innovation in countries which are still beset with a large number of economic and other issues. They provide inspiring examples from which to learn from and emulate.

We will study these companies in greater detail in the subsequent weeks. We will focus especially on how the companies break down barriers to consumption through innovation, how their innovative business models allow them to create and deliver value profitably and how they are able to bring prosperity.