Decreasing the cost of your social invention

Some inventions and technologies can change the world but in reality are too expensive for the average "Bottom of the Pyramid" consumer. 

This is the story of British Petroleum (BP) and how they decreased the cost of their clean lamps by partnering with an Ashoka Fellow--"British Petroleum wanted to enter the Indian rural market to sell liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), but faced several challenges to make it affordable and to develop appropriate distribution channels. They then started to work on a hybrid appliance integrating LPG and a biomass burner. When C.K. Prahalad began advising them on their distribution strategy, self-help groups were identified as an opportunity to build alternative distribution channels, and BP then contacted me" says Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow Muthu Velayutham.

Read the full article of Muthu's partnership with BP by clicking here.