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

BOP water markets tend to be predominantly urban even where most BOP households are rural. Growth has been particularly rapid in peri-urban areas, which often lie beyond municipal supply networks.

Urban BOP households spend significantly more on water than do rural BOP households.

While BOP households are more likely to use surface water and less likely to have access to piped water, a third alternative, especially in peri-urban areas, is to buy from mobile water vendors.