On June 6 and 7, the Second Forum on the Base of the Pyramid, organized by the IDB, took place in the city of Medellín. Titled “Toward the Development of Base of the Pyramid Markets in Latin America,” the main objective of the event was to share how the productive sector and financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean are successfully serving low-income populations through business models for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP).
As concluded at the forum, these are economically profitable and mutually beneficial ventures through which the private sector is helping to address major development challenges in the region. The potential of low-income market segments is among the greatest today: annually, more than 5 trillion dollars in income comes from households at the base of the economic pyramid. This income is accessible to companies capable of offering innovative products and services to this underserved population.
The agenda began with opening remarks by Aníbal Gaviria Correa (Mayor of Medellín), María Inés Restrepo de Arango (Director of Confama), and Luis Alberto Moreno (President of the Inter-American Development Bank). During this first session, the country’s lessons learned over the past 10 years were presented, and “next-generation” strategies were shared to help businesses serving the Base of the Pyramid evolve to the next level in the coming decade.
Below is the channel featuring all the presentations from the two-day forum:
The Key to Success in Empowering the Grassroots
During the forum discussions, it became clear that, globally, there are several models that have established themselves as benchmarks for those seeking to enter the BdP markets. These include countries in Africa and Asia, such as India.
The secret to their success? It’s not just creativity and the ability to identify needs, distribution platforms, and strategic partners. Among the keys to success, the presenters also highlighted that opening new lines of business to serve underserved markets is crucial when considering Base of the Pyramid models.
Plenary Session Two focused on this topic: “The Great Leap into Base-of-the-Pyramid Markets: Strategy or Coincidence?” During this session, leaders from national and multinational companies discussed how the BoP has become a strategic pillar of their businesses. Participants included Professor Stuart L. Hart as moderator and panelists José María Ayuso (Regional Product Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at VISA), Carlos Mejía (Manager at DuPont Colombia), Andrés Peñate (Vice President of Corporate Affairs at SABMiller Latin America), Gonzalo Alberto Pérez (President of Suramericana S.A.), and Roberto Salas Guzmán (General Manager of Masisa).
One of the parallel sessions that drew the most participation was the one on “Affordable Housing: Implementing New Financing Mechanisms.” During the presentations, it was revealed that the BdP allocates most of its revenue to meeting housing-related needs.
Homeownership is the primary vehicle for building individual and family wealth. This session explored different types of affordable housing financing solutions for the BdP, including loans for self-construction and rent-to-own programs. The session was moderated by César Bouillon, an economist and head of the IDB’s research department, and featured the following panelists: Luis Daniel Albuquerque (Director of Operations at Terra Nova), Dmitry Bayakhchev (Ashoka), Sofía Botero Uribe (Deputy Director of National and International Cooperation at Confama), and María Teresa Morales (Habitat for Humanity).
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On June 6 and 7, the Second Forum on the Base of the Pyramid, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank, took place in Medellín, Colombia. Entitled “For the Development of Markets at the Base of the Pyramid in Latin America,” the main goal of the meeting was to exchange ideas on how the manufacturing sector and financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean have successfully supported low-income populations through business models for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP).
According to the conclusions reached at the Forum, all of this revolves around economically profitable and mutually beneficial business ventures, through which the private sector is contributing to solving major development challenges in the region. The potential of low-income market segments is among the largest today: annually, more than 5 trillion dollars in income comes from families at the base of the pyramid. Companies can tap into this income as long as they are able to provide this underserved population with innovative products and services.
The agenda began with opening remarks by Aníbal Gaviria Correa (Mayor of Medellín), María Inés Restrepo de Arango (Director of Confama), and Luis Alberto Moreno (President of the Inter-American Development Bank). During this first session, the lessons learned over the past 10 years in the country were presented, and “new generation” strategies were shared to help businesses targeting the Base of the Pyramid evolve to the next level in the coming decade.
Below are all the presentations given during the two-day forum:
The key to success in empowering the grassroots
During the forum discussions, it was noted that, at the global level, there are many models that have become benchmarks for those seeking to explore new markets in the BoD, including African and Asian countries such as India.
What is the secret to their success? It is not only creativity but also the ability to identify needs, distribution channels, and strategic partners. Among the keys to success, the presenters also noted that launching new lines of business that serve underserved markets becomes increasingly important when considering Base of the Pyramid models.
A second plenary session was held on this topic: “The Big Jump to Markets at the Base of the Pyramid: Strategy or Just Chance?” During this plenary, leaders of national and multinational companies discussed how the BoD has become a strategic pillar of their businesses. The plenary was moderated by Professor Stuart L. Hart, and the panelists were José María Ayuso (Regional Director of Products for Latin America and the Caribbean at Visa), Carlos Mejía (General Manager of DuPont Colombia), Andrés Peñate (Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Latin America at SABMiller), Gonzalo Alberto Pérez (President of Suramericana S.A.), and Roberto Salas Guzmán (General Manager of Masisa).
One of the sessions with the most participants was the one on “Affordable Housing: Implementing New Financing Arrangements.” During the presentations, it was noted that the BoP allocates the largest portion of its revenues to cover housing-related needs.
Housing is the primary means of generating individual and family wealth. In this session, various financing solutions for affordable housing for the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) were explored, including loans for self-construction and rent-to-own arrangements. The session was moderated by César Bouillon, an economist and head of the BoD Research Department; the panelists were Luis Daniel Albuquerque (Director of Operations at Terra Nova), Dmitry Bayakhchev (Ashoka), Sofía Botero Uribe (Deputy Director of National and International Cooperation at Confama), and María Teresa Morales (Habitat for Humanity).
Would you like to take a look at any presentation? Click here.