bottom of the pyramid

From a press release dated March 31, 2010:

MOVIRTU COLLABORATES WITH FROG DESIGN ON USER INTERFACE INNOVATION

Global innovation firm frog design will assist Movirtu to ensure quick navigation and ease of use of their MX series of products for a population in need

Movirtu, a supplier of innovative network infrastructure solutions for mobile operators servicing rural poor communities in Africa and South Asia, will collaborate with global innovation firm frog design on user interface design for Movirtu’s MX series of products.

...

Image source: Gizmag

Here's another one from our friends at Gizmag:

ChotuKool: the $69 fridge for rural India

"Is this the world’s cheapest refrigerator? Launched by Indian conglomerate Godrej and Boyce, ChotuKool's $69 price tag is not the only reason it can be called super economical. The portable, top-opening unit weighs only 7.8kg, uses high-end insulation to stay cool for hours without power and consumes half the energy used by regular refrigerators. This is a product that has crossed several technological barriers and is designed to cross several social barriers as well."

This little fridge cools with a system like a fan in a computer and can be powered by batteries, which means it can be mobile.  It has way fewer parts than a traditional refrigerator--about 20, compared to 200--which could have positive durability and repair implications.  And its design and color choices were heavily influenced by its end-users.

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.

Each week we feature an Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow on our online group. For the next two weeks we will be featuring Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Association. The topic: Jack wants to restructure the field of sanitation worldwide. Providing humanity with clean, safe, and convenient toilets is a familiar goal, but it remains a distant one as the field struggles with cultural taboos, poor funding, and lack of political will.

Click here to join the conversation, or to ask Jack questions.

Here are five of our favorite blogs on invention and technology for social good in Africa:

1. Afrigadget

2. Timbuktu Chronicles

3. Appfrica

4. White African

5. the African Uptimist

What are your favorite blogs? Let us know.

Image of locally invented welding maching by flickr/whiteafrican