Publication database

This guide offers tips for Finnish SMEs interested in emerging markets, particularly serving the Base of the Pyramid, in highlighting business opportunities, tailoring products and services and showing examples of successful inclusive business models.

Esta investigación presenta casos en Guatemala, Bolivia, Perú, y Sudáfrica en los que se construyeron alianzas que desarrollaron formar innovadoras en la prestación de servicios básicos a las personas de la base de la pirámide.

This report provides insights on the successes and failures from Shell Foundation's 15-year journey in enhancing energy access for BOP consumers. It outlines six challenges to the growth of inclusive energy markets and it discusses emerging ways to blend the unique assets and preferences of ‘social investors’ to overcome them.

This comprehensive guide describes four basic types of on-and off-grid small power producers, as well as several hybrid combinations that are emerging in Africa and elsewhere. The guide highlights the ground-level regulatory and policy questions that must be answered by electricity regulators, rural energy agencies, and ministries to promote commercially sustainable investments by private operators and community organisations.

This report explores how 12 technologies can create value in India; it groups the transformative technologies in three categories: 'digitizing life and work', 'smart physical systems', and 'energy technologies' and assesses the potential impact of the 12 technologies on the economy within the following sectors: financial services, education, health, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and government services.

This study focuses on household fuels analysing the use of firewood, charcoal and liqufied petroleum gas. It considers the worldwide production, market organisation, the uses for cooking, impacts on health and the environment as well as challenges and opportunities for each type of fuel.

This study analyses the conditions under which a small-scale rural power supply business becomes viable and whether larger plants can be used to electrify a cluster of villages. It shows that serving low electricity consuming customers alone leads to part capacity utilisation of the electricity generation plant and results in a high cost of supply.

This report collates learning and best practice from the energy kiosk model in order to guide organisations that are planning to set up future projects. Common challenges identified are around the customer interface and acquisition of resources. Findings are based on analysis of 23 energy kiosk companies operating in East Africa and India of which only few have gone beyond pilot stage.

This report illustrates stories from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania in different sectors. Each case demonstrates how UNDP and its partners aim to promote private sector-led approaches to inclusive and sustainable development.

This case study focuses on the inclusive business model of Promigas, a private utility provider of natural gas in Colombia. Approximately 88% of Promigas’ residential customers in Colombia belong to the country’s lowest-income strata. Promigas offers financing to low-income families that can't afford to pay for the service upfront. The case describes the inclusive business model, the company's commercial drivers, results achieved as well as IFC's role and value add.