the rising billion

How multinational businesses can keep up with the new global consumer

The RisingBillion

Big EntrepreneurshipThe way businesses need to organize and behave has fundamentally shifted. Across industries, companies, and organizational functions, we have heard many of the world’s most innovative companies echo the same challenge: businesses must urgently embrace a more nimble and entrepreneurial approach in order to stay competitive. We call this challenge of how big companies can leverage scale while staying innovative “big entrepreneurship.” This report aims to deconstruct some of the complex challenges around big entrepreneurship and provide actionable insights for business leaders.

Fahrenheit 212Fahrenheit 212 is a global innovation strategy and design firm. We define innovation strategies and develop new products, services, and experiences that create sustainable, profitable growth for our clients. We challenge the belief that innovation is inherently unreliable and have spent the last decade designing the method, building the model, and assembling the minds to make innovation a predictable driver of growth for our clients’ businesses.

www.fahrenheit-212.com | [email protected]

@fahrenheit212 | #bigentrepreneurship

5Big Entrepreneurship

http://www.fahrenheit-212.com

3xEmerging market economies are expected to grow three times faster than developed ones over the next few years. These consumers from Asia, Africa, and South America are arriving in the global marketplace, enabled by technology and inspired by exposure to the brands we all know so well. They are driven by a desire to live the lifestyle they’ve seen streaming through their TV sets and smartphones.

2Big Entrepreneurship The Rising Billion


The emerging middle class is ambitious and aspirational, and they are compelling businesses that have traditionally underserved developing markets to action.

This market has seen a major shift, from aid-givers pouring money and resources into charity work to platforms that bring together local expertise, organizations, and money to deliver home-grown solutions that are scalable and deliver long-term impact. Unlike the non-profit model, these enterprises have the commercial acumen, financial resources, and brand reach to build and sustain their innovation platforms.

Multinationals are quickly becoming significant players in the world of social innovation as they come to terms with the massive opportunity that lies in solving challenges in developing markets. But, introducing innovations that truly help those in need while ensuring they’re self-sustaining requires an approach that looks at the Rising Billion

as customers and their own role as more than Corporate Social Responsibility or charity. They need to solve for both commercial and consumer needs, which is the bedrock of the two-sided approach to innovation.

Disruptive innovation typically happens at the intersection of constraints and a compelling need. Because of this, markets at the end of the socio-economic spectrum are prime for disruption and growth.

As this consumer group strengthens its spending power, it is also developing products and services that have the ability to not only disrupt—but replace—how business happens elsewhere. Leading this imperative are four major opportunities for business.

0201Future customers are at stake. The emerging middle class in BRIC

countries is expected to add US $3.3 trillion to their consumer spending by 2020, and improving infrastructure and technology have lowered the barriers for these consumers to get access to basic necessities for survival. Facebook’s investment in world connectivity under the initiative Internet.org is equal parts virtuous and sensible. Two-thirds of the world is not connected to the internet, which means that they don’t have the same access to learn, enjoy, and socialize that the rest of the developed world has. It also means that until this is solved, two-thirds of the world will not have access to use Facebook.

Reverse innovation can build advantage in mature markets. The challenges and constraints of developing markets can provide solutions and insights that can improve and innovate products with global appeal. For instance, GE Healthcare built a portable, ultra-low cost, battery operated, easy-to-use, electrocardiograph machine built for doctors in India and China that is now disrupting the global market. Sold in over 90 countries, the machine is 80% cheaper than similar products in developed markets like the U.S.


“ People actually confuse Facebook and the internet in some places.”Sheryl Sandberg Chief Operating Officer, Facebook

http://monitor.icef.com/2014/03/the-role-of-emerging-markets-in-shaping-global-demand/

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Social responsibility impacts global reputation. In addition to building credibility for companies around their global mission and role in society, social responsibility is important for attracting the next generation of innovators into a company’s workforce. Particularly with younger generations, 62% of Millennials want to work for a company that makes a positive impact on the world. Half of Millennials would prefer working at a company that has a mission that they believe in over a higher salary.

Big problems have big markets. There are untapped and unsolved markets for global challenges. Annually, US $54 billion is spent to provide basic education in 46 low income countries globally. Even with the success of M-Pesa, over 2.5 billion potential customers worldwide don’t use or have easy access to financial services or banks. Launched by Vodafone, M-Pesa is the most successful mobile phone based financial service in the developing world, and as of 2012, 17 million M-Pesa accounts had been registered in Kenya alone. In addition to giving millions of people access to financial services, it has also contributed to the reduction of crime in a society that has otherwise been cash-based.

https://www.google.com/url%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26cad%3Drja%26uact%3D8%26ved%3D0CB0QFjAAahUKEwj7zrDT4pfJAhXEcT4KHel7DAY%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.brookings.edu%252Fblogs%252Feducation-plus-development%252Fposts%252F2014%252F02%252F20-global-education-financing-steer%26usg%3DAFQjCNEL9O81waEqGHlHrHLV8hciwoOBXw%26bvm%3Dbv.107467506%2Cd.cWw


As many multinationals have learned the hard way by not following a two-sided innovation approach, it does not simply work to take a successful innovation from a developed market and drop it into an emerging one. From education and healthcare to hygiene and clean water, developing economies represent multi-billion dollar markets and areas for huge impact. These emerging consumers are as diverse as they are large. Yet while they vary geographically, culturally, in religion, and in language, there are some shared fundamental environmental and emotional needs.

Driving Forces


This is an aspirational group

Driving Forces

They do not want cheap things; they desire the affordable version of the essentials they have seen other consumers access. When Unilever entered developing markets, they met this need by recognizing that the typical consumer could not afford to buy the full-size version of a product, but they were willing to buy single-use sachets of popular products at much cheaper prices. This approach later proved successful for declining markets as well, such as Greece and Spain.


Familymatters

Driving Forces

Around the world, multi-generational households are still the norm. Every purchase made attributes to household wealth accumulation, so those decisions are made collectively.


Every item is used until it breaks

Driving Forces

To avoid wastage and often because of the size of the investment, people will use products over and over until it can no longer function. Ink cartridges will be locally refilled and disposables such as plastic bottles and diapers are constantly reused.


Women’s roles are evolving

Driving Forces

While the role of women in these markets has evolved, it remains complicated; often despite being primary breadwinners they aren’t heads of the household. While education and economic growth are all contributors to change, new models like Coca-Cola’s Splash Bar are empowering women to sell products that were previously out of reach. By providing a kiosk where women can sell various serving sizes of Coca-Cola, Splash Bar enables women to sell products where many locals may not have been able to afford an entire bottle.

* In full disclosure, Coca-Cola is a client of Fahrenheit 212

http://www.blogher.com/women-verge-helping-women-india-come-their-own?page=0,1

http://www.blogher.com/women-verge-helping-women-india-come-their-own?page=0,1

“”BlogHer

The [Splash Bar] kiosk becomes a kind of community center where locals gather, and the woman is not far from her home. It’s this baby-step approach that stays with me most:

And in a country with long-held gender roles and expectations, this is perhaps a smart strategy: Move forward by evolution, not revolution.

All of these programs are nudging progress ahead at a pace the communities can accept.


http://www.blogher.com/women-verge-helping-women-india-come-their-own%3Fpage%3D0%2C1

Note: US data from Pew Research Center SurveysSource: Spring 2014 Global Attitudes survey. Q66 PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Cell phone penetration in Africa (%)

100%

50%

0%Cell phone

penetration

2002 2007 2014Year

United States 89South Africa 89

Ghana 83 Kenya 82

Tanzania 73

Uganda 6564

33

101098


The speed of change is more rapid

Driving Forces

The speed of technological change is enabling consumers to leapfrog from technologies and systems that have been the standard of operation for the developed world. Because there are few existing infrastructure constraints, the speed of adoption and change in emerging markets can be much more rapid than in developed ones. For instance, in Africa, landlines never hit critical mass, enabling consumers to move straight to mobile phones.

http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/04/15/cell-phones-in-africa-communication-lifeline/


It’s not just low income, it’s also volatile income

Driving Forces

Because this consumer is unlikely to be earning a steady paycheck, business models cannot just account for affordability; they have to expect inconsistency in payment and purchase. With increased wealth volatility in developed markets, this may be a new normal for businesses to have to address globally. Building materials company, Cemex, addressed this by providing products on credit to help consumers finish building their houses and avoid the waste of raw material.


Customer journey planning must be end-to-end

Driving Forces

Businesses will have to think beyond the sale and find ways to integrate with the behaviors and lifestyle of consumers. From training and education to reuse and next purchase, brands will need to help consumers understand the benefits and how to get the most out of the product or service. In India, e-commerce has taken off because of cash-on-delivery models, which enable avoiding the need for consumers to pay in advance via credit card, which has low penetration and little trust.

It’s clear that the challenges emerging markets face are not just for non-profits and aid agencies to solve. In fact, businesses are very well positioned to address these challenges in a manner that will have bigger and more sustainable consumer impact while also improving their bottom line. However, to ensure they do both, companies must take a two-sided innovation approach. Drawing from an understanding for consumer and commercial requirements, businesses entering this market must do the following.

Taking Action


Tap into aspiration01 Make products more affordable while still providing full value. As the 3rd largest smartphone distributor, Xiaomi has quickly captured the Asian market with smartphones that compete with the iPhone, but at around one third of the price of one.


Be prepared for customers to hack your products

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Build for a lifetime

Engage the entire family

Don’t assume one size-fits all

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Engage the entire family02

01 Big buying decisions affect everyone, so take into account how the product or service will impact the family, not just the individual.

In Argentina, 77% of people over the age of 65 live with family. In India, while this number is declining in Urban areas, 60% of households are multigenerational in rural areas.


Tap into aspiration


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http://www.cello-ilc.cz/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Global_Alliance_Intergenerational_Relations_March_2012.pdf



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Tap into aspiration01 Commit to developing products and services that are meant to last and withstand multiple uses, because it will be used and reused anyway.

BOP consumers in Latin America are careful in their use of diapers. They use one or two changes per day compared to the five or six changes per day common among the top of the pyramid consumers. Because they can afford only one or two changes, they expect a higher level of absorbency in the diapers and an improved construction of the diaper that will accommodate additional load.”

Excerpt from Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits by C.K. Prahalad



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http://www.ftpress.com/articles/article.aspx%3Fp%3D1396559

http://www.ftpress.com/articles/article.aspx%3Fp%3D1396559




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Tap into aspiration01 Expect that consumers will customize products to fit their unique needs. Instead of locking things down, find ways to create mechanisms for enabling customization or supporting it.

In India, car batteries are often converted into backup power sources, giving rise to companies such as Su-Kam, which develop power backup solutions and are now moving into solar.



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01 Take the time to understand and localize to each culture and their unique needs. McDonald’s customizes menus to meet local preferences, serving a lamb burger in India, and using rice instead of bread buns in Asia. Because of how well McDonald’s localizes, The Economist has created the Big Mac Index to gauge currency exchange rates.




Tap into aspiration

www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

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03Are we designing our products and services with a full understanding of how they will be used in context?

Do we truly understand the needs and desires of the market we are entering?

Are we tapping into the aspirational nature of this demographic?

Have we localized to the unique needs of each culture and market?

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Do we understand the broader ecosystem we exist in and how we fit in it?


Key considerations for big companies

The Paradox of Scale

Incubating Innovation

Winning the Next Generation of Innovators

The Rising Billion

The Chief Innovation Officer, Redefined

Big Entrepreneurship

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Sid is an Engagement Manager with Fahrenheit 212’s Commercial Strategy team. Originally from India, Sid brings with him a passion for building businesses and developing breakthrough innovations that solve big problems. He has worked with both Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurs to develop and launch innovation programs.

Sid’s career started at Citi in London on their Mergers & Acquisitions team. He also launched his own brand of healthy yogurt smoothies in the UK, modeled after popular Indian lassi drinks, which were sold in Whole Foods Market as well as Waitrose and Ocado. Prior to joining Fahrenheit 212, Sid was India Program Director at STIR Education, an incubator of grassroots micro-innovators in education.

As a Senior Strategist on Fahrenheit 212’s New Business team, Eric works to pair Fahrenheit’s innovation capabilities with companies seeking sustainable, profitable growth. Eric was a founding member of Ruder Finn’s RF Radius, the agency’s integrated communications and marketing arm, which drove a four-fold increase in practice revenue and headcount in just twelve months. Eric has led engagements with Fortune 500 companies across financial services, food & beverage, healthcare, and technology, to craft and execute global campaigns that delivered tangible results.


About the authors

Siddharth SinghEngagement Manager [email protected]

Eric TurkingtonSenior New Business Strategist [email protected]

Fahrenheit 212 defines innovation strategies and develops new products, services, and experiences that create sustainable, profitable growth for our clients.

We challenge the belief that innovation is inherently unreliable and have spent the last decade designing the method, building the model, and assembling the minds to make innovation a predictable driver of growth for our clients’ businesses.

www.fahrenheit-212.com [email protected]@fahrenheit212#bigentrepreneurship

New York665 Broadway, New York, NY 10012+1 (646) 654 1212

London31 Great Sutton St, London EC1V 0NA+44 0 20 3567 0820

Copyright © 2015 Fahrenheit 212.

Flickr, “India - Janmashtami celebrations in Mumbai” https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandeepachetan/14972177962/

ICEF Monitor, “The growing role of emerging markets in shaping global demand” (2015) http://monitor.icef.com/2014/03/the-role-of-emerging-markets-in-shaping-global-demand/

Brookings, “Seven Facts about Global Education Financing” (2015) http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/education-plus-development/posts/2014/02/20-global-education-financing-steer

Flickr, “India - Daughter is a big help at Parkachik, Kargil” https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandeepachetan/9692219718/

Flickr, “5D3_5024” https://www.flickr.com/photos/kagen33/10719603576/in/photostream/

Flickr, “India - Colours of India - Popularity of single-serving packaging” https://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysavage/2508068648/in/photostream/

Flickr, “Family from Anmu village en route Phuktal monastery, Zanskar, India” https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandeepachetan/15146861455/in/album-72157633380473233/

Facebook, “A Liter of Light” https://www.facebook.com/aliteroflight/photos/pb.181127878593329.-2207520000.1447820832./962034357169340/?type=3&theater

Pew Research Center, “Cell Phones in Africa: Communication Lifeline” (2015) http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/04/15/cell-phones-in-africa-communication-lifeline/

Flickr, “SRG” https://www.flickr.com/photos/ravindrasingh/8447398647/

Flickr, “Spatial Maximisation III” https://www.flickr.com/photos/meanestindian/4230164734/in/album-72157625534710020/

Flickr, “Fish market in Mumbai, India” https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandeepachetan/16314544264/

The Wall Street Journal Digits, “Facebook Touts Its ‘Economic Impact’ but Economists Question Numbers” (2015) http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/01/20/facebook-touts-its-economic-impact-but-economists-question-numbers/

Xiaomi, Mi Note, http://xiaomi-mi.com/company/about/

ILC Global Alliance Report, “Global Perspectives on Multigenerational Households and Intergenerational Relations” (2012) http://www.cello-ilc.cz/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Global_Alliance_Intergenerational_Relations_March_2012.pdf

FT Press, “Engaging the Bottom of the Pyramid” (2009) http://www.ftpress.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1396559

The Economist, “The Big Mac index” (2015) http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

References