One of the books I am currently reading is C.K. Prahalads, Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. The book lays out a convincing argument for how profits and western capitalism can have a meaningful, postive and impactful difference on ridding the world of poverty.
In many ways, this book captures many of the same themes and ideas that I seek to act on when it comes to my view of the relation between international development and entrepreneurship.
One of the themes that especially struck me was the idea of the poverty premium. Counter intuitively in developing countries, it is often the case where the poor pay more while the rich pay less for the same products.
I remember realizing this for the first time after a recent visit to Port au Prince, Haiti. For the research I was conducting, I wanted to buy juice for the individuals participating in the study and to my surprise, I realized that money I had allocated for the expense scarcely covered the costs of half the juice I wanted to purchase. When I asked why the juice was expensive, a local responded that this was just how it was "Things are expensive in Haiti".
Prahalad enumerates several reasons for the poverty premium including the role of local intermediaries and inefficiencies in the distribution system.
I believe that one of the hopes of the book is that by empowering local entrepreneurs in developing economies, the poverty premium can eventually be eliminated.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
International Development and Entrepreneurship
The Beginning: Recently (and only after a great deal time and thought) I have decided that the purpose of my near to medium term future will be focused on International Development and Entrepreneurship.
In a sense, this has been clear ever since I graduated New York University in 2005. After graduating, I worked in India as fellow for a microfinance NGO. Working in the most rural parts of India, I helped to bolster local businesses and entrepreneurs from the bottom up.
Later, I lived in Veracruz, Mexico, for a Microfinance Institution (MFI), delivering market solutions to improve the livelihoods of urban poor individuals. Most recently, I assisted in researching and writing a USAID report which sought to understand how inflation is affecting MFIs in four countries.
I hope to use this blog as both a forum and journal. Everyday I read, research and seek to understand the numerous components that make up international development. It is a daunting and challenging activity. I feel, as not to get lost in the sea of information, it is useful for me to keep a record of my findings and ideas.
Through the blogging process, my goal is to record my findings, spread information, relate to you my ideas and exchange new points of view. I have always valued a paradigm shift and my hope is that this blog will be a means to that end. I encourage you to participate in the dialogue with me.
To close, I would like to leave you with a clever way in which technology is bringing awareness to one of the most desperate crises in the international development arena. It is a video game called Darfur is Dying.
http://www.darfurisdying.com/
In the game, you are a Darfur villager living in a refugee camp. The game does an excellent job in highlighting the daily struggles of people in Darfur and is a good way to introduce the topic to children and individuals new to the subject.
In a sense, this has been clear ever since I graduated New York University in 2005. After graduating, I worked in India as fellow for a microfinance NGO. Working in the most rural parts of India, I helped to bolster local businesses and entrepreneurs from the bottom up.
Later, I lived in Veracruz, Mexico, for a Microfinance Institution (MFI), delivering market solutions to improve the livelihoods of urban poor individuals. Most recently, I assisted in researching and writing a USAID report which sought to understand how inflation is affecting MFIs in four countries.
I hope to use this blog as both a forum and journal. Everyday I read, research and seek to understand the numerous components that make up international development. It is a daunting and challenging activity. I feel, as not to get lost in the sea of information, it is useful for me to keep a record of my findings and ideas.
Through the blogging process, my goal is to record my findings, spread information, relate to you my ideas and exchange new points of view. I have always valued a paradigm shift and my hope is that this blog will be a means to that end. I encourage you to participate in the dialogue with me.
To close, I would like to leave you with a clever way in which technology is bringing awareness to one of the most desperate crises in the international development arena. It is a video game called Darfur is Dying.
http://www.darfurisdying.com/
In the game, you are a Darfur villager living in a refugee camp. The game does an excellent job in highlighting the daily struggles of people in Darfur and is a good way to introduce the topic to children and individuals new to the subject.
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