Four billion low-income consumers, a majority of the world’s population, constitute the base of the economic pyramid (BOP). New empirical measures of their aggregate purchasing power and their behavior as consumers suggest significant opportunities for market-based approaches to: better meet their needs, increase their productivity and incomes, and empower their entry into the formal economy.

Four billion low-income consumers, a majority of the world’s population, constitute the base of the economic pyramid (BOP).

New empirical measures of their aggregate purchasing power and their behavior as consumers suggest significant opportunities for market-based approaches to:

better meet their needs,

increase their productivity and incomes, and

empower their entry into the formal economy.

The Information and Communications Market The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid http://www.wri.org/thenext4billion

Asia has the largest measured regional BOP market for ICT, $14.3 billion, reflecting the region’s significant BOP population of 1.49 billion.

Clearly, lack of access to ICT services in rural areas can be a significant BOP penalty, one that keeps rural households disconnected from markets and broader information sources and thus reinforces rural isolation and poverty. The combination of powerful phones, inexpensive networks and voice-accessible applications may open up the Internet to large numbers of new users.