| About the Project |
How can the multinational company become the driver of an inclusive capitalism?
Developed by Stuart Hart and the Base of the Pyramid Learning Lab, the BOP Protocol Project is a collaborative effort to develop guidelines and business models for successful Base of the Pyramid ventures, enabling companies to meet the needs of the world’s 4 billion poorest people while discovering huge new growth and innovation opportunities.
The protocol is a best-practices methodology to discover new business opportunities, create sustainable growth, and incubate disruptive innovations; by following the protocol’s three iterative and repeating steps (see image right), a company will discover the answers to capturing and delivering value in BOP markets.
The Field Test
The first draft of the protocol was developed by a diverse group of academics and practitioners and will have its first field test this summer in Kenya, through a joint project between the BOP Lab, SC Johnson, and Approtec. The projects target community is Kenya’s pyrethrum farmers, who struggle with a global decline for their crop of natural pesticide. A series of follow up tests and organizations are also in the works and the BOP Protocol will be released with an open source development model (The protocol draft is available at www.bop-protocol.org).
The Project Team
The six member field trial team represents a variety of disciplines with backgrounds in anthropology, business strategy, English, management consulting, computer science, wildlife conservation, agricultural economics, sustainable enterprise, Spanish, financial services, marketing and international development. Interests include women's issues, innovation, creative writing, tennis, rock climbing, SCUBA, playing guitar, Vietnamese cooking, and more. Languages spoken by the team include English, Kiswahili, French, Latvian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian.
- Catherine Burnett - University of North Carolina
- Patrick Donohue - BRINQ
- Nyokabi Kiarie - University of Michigan
- Justin P. De Koszmovszky - Cornell University
- Tatiana Thieme - Cornell University
- Erik Simanis* - Cornell University
*Project Lead
Additional Participants and Contact Information
Please see the Kenya Project Participants page.
| Project Resources |
Project Forums
Kenya Project Forums at the BRINQ Boards - forums require registration and are open only to project team members and protocol participants.
Reading Material
[Erik Simanis' pre-trip reading list is available here]
BRINQ Links:
Articles:
- Prahalad and Hart, “The Fortune at the Base of the Pyramid”
- Hart and Christensen, “The Great Leap”
- Hart and Sharma, “Engaging fringe stakeholders for competitive imagination”
- London and Hart, “Reinventing Strategies for Emerging Mkts: beyond the transnational model ”
- Christensen, Craig and Hart - "The Great Disruption"
- Krishna et al, Pathways out of Poverty in Rural Kenya and the Role of Livestock
- de Jager et al, Facilitated Learning in Soil Fertility Managment
Books:
(Note: links go to Amazon.com with a BRINQ referal)
- Robert Chambers, Whose Reality Counts: Putting the First Last
- Robert Chambers, Rural Development: Putting the Last First (Amazon says this is out of print, but used copies are available and on Barnes & Noble)
- Robert Chambers, Participatory Workshops: A Sourcebook of 21 Sets of Ideas and Activities
- James Beebe, Rapid Assessment Process
- Stuart L. Hart, Capitalism at the Crossroads [for more see also "Lighting Up the Crossroads", BRINQ - the Workshop, March, 2005]
- David Anderson, Eroding the Commons: The Politics of Ecology in Baringo, Kenya 1890-1963
Newspapers:
- Daily Nation
- East African Standard
- AllAfrica.com Kenya Coverage
- Current News (Kenya) from Google News
- Current News (Nakurua) from Google News
Travel Information
- Visa Requirements and Visa Application Form - from the Kenya Embassy
- The Africa Guide - Kenya
- The Lonely Planet - Kenya
- Kenya Information Sheet and Kenya Travel Warning (November, 2004) from the U.S. State Department
- Kenya Travel Advice from the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Health Information
CDC recommends the following vaccines (as appropriate for age):
See your doctor at least 4–6 weeks before your trip to allow time for shots to take effect.
- Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG).
- Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than 6 months, or be exposed through medical treatment.
- Meningococcal (meningitis) vaccine, if you plan to visit the western half of Ethiopia (see meningitis map) from December through June.
- Rabies, if you might be exposed to wild or domestic animals through your work or recreation.
- Typhoid, particularly if you are visiting developing countries in this region.
- Yellow fever, if you travel anywhere outside urban areas.
- As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria, measles, and a one-time dose of polio vaccine for adults. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11–12 years who did not receive the series as infants
Malaria medication is also highly recommended for East Africa, but may depend on where we spend out time.
Language
From World66
English and Kiswahili (the language of the Swahili people) are the official languages of Kenya. Both are taught in school from nursery through Form 4. Neither, however is the most common language spoken at home, and most rural Kenyans speak their tribal language. In the cities, however, most Kenyans know English well enough to get by. Most Kenyans prefer Kiswahili to English, however, because it is closer to their Bantu tribal languages. Kiswahili is used extensively between tribes also, and there is hardly a place in Kenya where someone does not know a bit of Kiswahili. There are many places, however, where no one in the village knows English.
Kenyan Dialect Map and Language Information [from Kenya.com]
(click for a larger version)
Beginner's Resources:
- Tim's and Lara Beth's Kenya Page - Language - Helpful words and phrases
- Kenya Travel's Learn Swahili - more words and phrases
- Bwana Zulia's Swahili Lesson - more
- Masai Mara's Introduction to Swahili - more indepth with some grammar
- The Lonely Planet's Swahili Phrasebook - Amazon.com
NGOs in Kenya
According to the National Council of NGOs in Kenya (admin@ngocouncil.org) , there are almost 3000 NGOs registered in Kenya. Still looking for comprehensive list but here are just a couple from GEF.
Global Environmental Facility Accredited NGOs in Kenya
| Region | Country | NGO Name | Contact Person | Focal Area |
| Africa | Kenya | Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn (ASB) | Mr. Thomas Tomich | |
| Africa | Kenya | Climate Action Network-Africa | Grace Akumu | Climate Change |
| Africa | Kenya | Council for Human Ecology | Erica Mann | |
| Africa | Kenya | East Africa Natural History Society | Leon Bennun | |
| Africa | Kenya | Environment Liaison Centre International | Dr. Barbara Gemmill | |
| Africa | Kenya | Environment Liaison Centre International (ELCI) | Dr. Barbara Gemmill | Biodiversity, Climate Change |
| Africa | Kenya | Friends of Conservation | Rosemary B. Kinyanjui | |
| Africa | Kenya | International Centre for Environment, Social and Policy Studies (ICESPS) | Mr. Benjamin N. Gitoi | |
| Africa | Kenya | Kenya Energy and Environment Organization (KENGO) | Ojijo Odhiambo | |
| Africa | Kenya | Maasai Culture and Communication Centre | Mr. Simon Ole Kirraison | |
| Africa | Kenya | Majaso Human Development (MAHUDE) | Rev. Canon Zedekiah Chunge | Biodiversity |
| Africa | Kenya | OSIENALA (Friends of Lake Victoria) | Obiero Ong'ang'a | Biodiversity, International Waters |
