Publication database

Between November 2018 and November 2019, Gates Foundation and Mars Edge discussed collaboration opportunities to accelerate the urban go-to-market strategy of Mars Edge’s nutritious savory snack GoMo™, specifically designed to help address nutritional deficiencies of 6-18 year olds in India, with a focus on reaching low-income consumers. The Growth for Growth (G4G) network of service providers set up by the Foundation’s PSP program co-designed this strategy to reach lower-income urban areas. In December 2019, the PSP approved a grant to assess and adapt the model during a market test. As part of the grant, the collaboration between G4G and Mars then continued until December 2020. This case study aims to share the lessons learned throughout this journey, in terms of public-private collaboration and innovation process.

Based on an analysis of the CGAP’s data from national surveys of smallholder households and smallholder diaries, this paper outlines the profile and needs of smallholder families and their various subgroups. Firstly, the paper looks at the relationship between financial activities and the different livelihood strategies employed by smallholder families. Further, it highlights the characteristics and behaviors that are common to large groups of smallholders, discusses how the overall market can be segmented most effectively, and presents a nuanced picture of the different types of smallholder households. Finally, the paper discusses opportunities available for various stakeholders serving smallholder families.

This report sheds light on one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world - ASEAN. Countries within ASEAN are in themselves diverse, with economic, political, and cultural nuances. Over the next years, the confluence of favorable demographics, rising income levels, geopolitical shifts, and digital inter-connectedness will create tremendous opportunities in the region to advance inclusive and responsible consumption for decades to come. This report builds on in-depth consumer surveys conducted across over 1,740 households in 22 cities and towns in ASEAN. It also draws from over 35 in-depth interviews with private and public-sector leaders. This research leads to insights on ASEAN’s present and future outlook on consumption. The report highlights the most significant implications for businesses that aim to thrive in the ASEAN economies over the next decade. It also lays out a call to action for all stakeholders in ASEAN’s growth to build an inclusive future for the region in a post-Covid world.

The report takes customer-led view of the impact of the off-grid energy sector, as well as the relative performance of the sub-sectors within it.

The Bhungroo system helps smallholder farmers harvest rainwater throughout the monsoon season so they can use it during the dry season. This report details monitoring and evaluation of the recent installation of 52 Bhungroo systems among the poorest smallholder farmers of Harij in Gujarat’s Patan district.

What lies behind a successful customer-centric organization? This case study looks at the process by which customer centricity has evolved and has been shaped over time within AMK, a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI). It shows the crucial role that leadership and upper management play in building and sustaining a customer-centric culture and practice. 

Meeting the mobile money needs of the unbanked in emerging markets is a vast opportunity. However, firms seeking to tap the mobile money opportunity are faced with a landscape of unknowns. How will the mobile money value chain work in practice? What do we know about consumer behavior? To answer some of these questions, and understand how digital payments providers can capture the opportunities while benefiting those without access to financial services, this report looks at the actual financial data of a sample of mobile money providers, all on a blinded basis. 

This Policy Brief summarises a literature review that explored the costs of various sanitation technologies.

Sanitation businesses can improve services for all urban residents – including the poorest – but this requires carefully designed pricing strategies and measures to reduce risk.

This publication outlines WSUP’s approach to incentivising the private sector to target low-income customers, and how this is being applied to achieve commercial viability, affordability and equity of FSM service provision in Bangladesh.