The BoP Project 2011 Overview

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Introduction;

» Greetings! My name is Jonathan Kalan, founder of  The (BoP) Project. I am an internationally published journalist, photographer, and social enterprise blogger who has spent the past yearliving throughout East Africa, reporting on stories of social innovations, technologies, enterprises,and entrepreneurs at the Base of the Economic Pyramid (BoP).

 This brief Executive Summary serves as a progress report for The (BoP) Project, from September2010 to June 2011, to spur interest among potential media outlets, funding sources, and socialenterprise networks. If you have received this indirectly, please feel free to contact me directly [email protected].

The (BoP) Project; East Africa;

»  The (BoP) Project seeks to report on the narrative of “potential” behind the veil of poverty inemerging economies, through the lens of social entrepreneurs, enterprises, innovations, andmarket-based opportunities to alleviating poverty.

For almost a year, The (BoP) Project traversed East Africa uncovering, documenting and sharing stories which are redefining the development field and generating significant buzz among a new generation of donors, investors,development workers, and concerned global citizens. This body of  work has produced visual narratives, independent reporting, and on-

the-ground commentary of social innovations, technologies,enterprises, and entrepreneurs, exposing the growing movementtowards more viable, effective, and innovative approaches toeconomic and human development in East Africa.

 Through intimate and in-depth photography, investigative journalism,and short narrative essays of those serving, working with, andbenefiting from social enterprises at the base of the economicpyramid in East Africa, The (BoP) Project will continue to engage andinspire readers around the globe to begin re-examining the way they   view “the poor”, poverty and its solutions. Instead of donating dollars out of a feeling of “pity,” perhaps readers may begin tounderstand the potential of investing time, skills, k nowledge, andmoney in the hope of lifting up the BoP through inno vation.

 » The (BoP) Project; East Africa has produced:

Still Photography & Photo Essays

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» High-quality photojournalistic documentation of  social enterprises & innovations,their operations, employees, customers, and real impact.

» Reflective photo essays that capture individual personal stories, create narrativesabout social enterprises, and connect themes within the social enterprise ecosystem.

  In-Depth Journalistic Articles & Reporting

» Rigorously researched, interviewed and reported stories on social enterprises &

innovations, their impact, and the social business environment across multiplesectors.

  On-The-Ground Blogging & Tweeting

» Continuously updated reflections, discoveries, ideas, connections, and informationrelayed to readers.

» Active reader engagement, discussion prompts, responding to readers comments,asking questions, investigating topics and suggestions proposed by readers.

Media Partnerships;

»   The (BoP) Project is currently continuing to seek media outlets, web and print, that may beinterested in funding, hosting, distributing, or supporting this type of content in any way.Previously, The (BoP) Project has contributed to outlets such as Stanford Social InnovationReview, NextBillion, The Christian Science Monitor, The Star (Kenya), Dowser, Beyond Profit, Triple Pundit, Causecast and “On The Ground” New York Times blog. See Appendix (1) for afull list.

 The (BoP) Project Story;

» Four billion people on this planet live in relative poverty. While each of their situations arefilled with a complexity, uniqueness, and essential suffering which is difficult to collectively define,

most of these four billion people do share a similar set of economic characteristics thatcollectively place them in a category known as the “Base of the Economic Pyramid” (BoP).

Characteristics of the BoP:

1. Significant unmet needs. Most people in the BoP have no bank account and lack access to modern 

 financial services. They live in informal settlements, with no true title to their dwelling , and lack access to

water and sanitation services, electricity, and basic health care 

2. Dependence on informal or subsistence livelihoods. Most in the BoP lack good access to

markets to sell their labor, handicrafts, or crops and have no choice but to sell to local employers or to

middlemen who exploit them.

3. Impacted by a BoP penalty. Many in the BoP, and perhaps most, pay higher prices for basic goods 

and services than do wealthier consumers—either in cash or in the effort they must expend to obtain them— 

and they often receive lower quality as well.

(World Resources Institute/International Finance Corporation’s “The Next 4 Billion” Report, 2007)

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 Traditional forms of aid and nonprofit solutions often fall short of addressing these criticalissues and providing sustainable solutions for those at the BoP to escape the poverty trap andenter the formal economy. Additionally, they often tend to reinforce a narrative of “pity”,“helplessness”, and other negative stereotypes of the poor that do not reflect the true potential of people in poverty.

 The time for pity is over.   The development narrative of the past few decades- pictures and

 videos of fly-covered street children with dirt-clotted snot dripping off their face standing next toplastic bags full of human excitement floating through flooded schoolyards, horrendous images of poverty, stories of development failure- have shown the western world a one-sided story of poverty; one that doesn’t reflect the hope, power, and potential of emerging economies on theedge of something bigger.

 Vigorous debate has been constructed around aid effectiveness, and the apparent lack of aid-leddevelopment success in many regions of the world over the past 30 years. Half-funded projects,giant bureaucratic inefficiencies, unacceptable overheads, and the perception of foreign aid workers zipping through developing countries in giant white air-conditioned SUV’s, have jadedmany donors.

On the rise, pushing for recognition and validation, are new, “sustainable” social enterprisemodels which are emerging to serve those at the Base of the Economic Pyramid. Over the past 25years, well known social enterprises pioneers like Grameen Bank (Mohammed Yunus), Ashoka(Bill Drayton), Acumen Fund (Jacqueline Novogratz), and many more have been developing oraccelerating innovative approaches to meet the needs of those in the BoP, leveraging the powersof capitalism, technology, and innovation to help entrepreneurs lift themselves out of poverty.

 These approaches, which represent a more business-centric approach to development- bring arefreshing alternative to the aid discussion table. Dozens of MBA courses, conferences, andprograms are being tailored around social entrepreneurship at the world’s most prestigiousinstitutions. Young graduates from top universities are passing up high-paying jobs andopportunities at consultancies to move to Africa and India, preferring to spend a year tinkering 

  with social business models instead of climbing the corporate ladder. In many cases, theiruniversities are helping push them along through scholarships, fellowships, competitions, andincubators. There is now a foreceful wave of young social entrepreneurs who are hoping tochange the world through the enterprise.

But what exactly is their impact?

For eleven months, I’ve spent my own savings capturing just some of these stories and images inEast Africa. Over the next 1-2 years. I would like to complete documenting in East Africa, andthen expand to construct a visual narrative that connects social enterprises, innovations,entrepreneurs and their impacts from India to Brazil, two other emerging playgrounds for thesocial innovation field.

 Are these models truly “eradicating poverty through profits?” Is the actual impact of socialenterprises worth the amount of attention, investment, and excitement that they have generated? The goal of The (BoP) Project is to let the voices of the customers, clients, and entrepreneurs working at the base of the economic pyramid speak for themselves.

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The Curator;

»   Jonathan Kalan, founder of    The (BoP) Project, is a photojournalist, journalist, and bloggerspecializing in social enterprise coverage. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara Global & International Studies program, in just 23 yearshe has traveled to over 33 countries, lived and worked in South Asia and Africa,and simultaneously pursued careers in  social business development andphotojournalism. His photography and writing has been published nationally andinternationally, covering a wide range of topics from rural energy solutions inNepal, to California wildfires, local spot news, and international social business/innovation.

Before relocating to Africa in 2010, Jonathan worked in Los Angeles for growing startup company Causecast, a "Cause-Integration Media Agency", running their Mobile Fundraising services andCorporate Social Responsibility programs.  He is currently based in East Africa, covering socialenterprises, technologies, innovations, and BoP markets. He is a Staff Writer for NextBillion.net, aregular contributor to Dowser.org, and a Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards 2011 Finalist.

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Appendix (1): The (BoP) Project Article & Photo Contributions, Sept 2010 - June 2011:

+ Stanford Social Innovation Review: “From The Field; Impact First” http://www.ssireview.org/opinion/entry/from_the_field_impact_first/

+  The New York Times (“On The Ground” Blog, NYT.com): “A Low-Impact Stove forRwanda” By Josh Ruxin. Monday, June 13th, 2011 (The (BoP) Project Photo Credit) http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/a-low-impact-stove-for-rwanda/ 

+  The Christian Science Monitor: “Barefoot Power brings solar lighting to off-the-grid areas in East

 Africa” http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2011/0519/Barefoot-Power-brings-solar-lighting-to-off-the-grid-areas-in-East-Africa 

+ NextBillion.net: “The BoP In Pictures: One Entrepreneur's Story to Market, Sell Sanitation”http://www.nextbillion.net/blog/2011/05/09/the-bop-in-pictures-mark eting-and-selling-sanitation 

+ NextBillion.net: "The BoP In Pictures: One Beekeeper, Many Hives In Kenya" http:// www.nextbillion.net/blog/2011/04/28/the-beekeeper-joyce-kavinya-motunga

+  The Christian Science Monitor: “How Mafuta Sasa is turning waste cooking oil into clean-burning biodiesel in East Africa” http://ww  w.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2011/0513/How-Mafuta-Sasa-is-turning-waste-cook ing-oil-into-clean-burning-biodiesel-in-East- Africa 

+ Dowser.org: "How Mafuta Sasa is turning waste cooking oil into clean-burning biodiesel in East Africa" http://dowser.org/bringing-biodiesel-to-africa/

+ Dowser.org: "BoP Slideshow: KOMAZA, innovations in microforestry and sustainability in Africa"http://dowser.org/bop-slideshow-komaza-innovations-in-microforestry-and-sustainablity-in-africa/

+  The New York Times (“On The Ground” Blog, NYT.com ): "Where The Grid Will Not Go", By  Josh Ruxin. Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 (The (BoP) Project Photo Credit) http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/where-the-grid-will-not-go/

+ Dowser.org: "BoP Slideshow: KOMAZA, innovations in microforestry and sustainability in Africa"http://dowser.org/bop-slideshow-komaza-innovations-in-microforestry-and-sustainablity-in-africa/

+  The Star (Kenya): "On The Coast, Money Grows On Trees" The Star Newspaper, Thursday March 17th, 2011

+  The Star (Kenya): "If There Is Sunshine, There Will Be Water" The Star Weekend Edition,Saturday, March 5th, 2011

+ Beyond Profit E-Magazine: “Door-To-Door Healthcare” http://beyondprofit.com/door-to-door- healthc are/

+  Acumen Fund: “Unexpected Uses of an Ikotoilet” http://blog.acumenfund.org/2011/01/26/photo- of- the-week-unexpected-uses-of-a n-ikotoilet/

+ NextBillion.net: "The (BoP) Project: Finding Sustainable Water Solutions" http://www.nextbillion.net/blog/2011/01/07/high-tech-solutions 

+  TriplePundit: "The (BoP) Project: Turning Wasted Vegetable Oil into Fuel for Africa" http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/01/bop-project-turning-wasted-vegetable-oil-fuel-africa/ 

+  TriplePundit: "The (BoP) Project Photo Essay: KOMAZA" http://www .triplepundit.com/2010/12/komaza-bottom-of-pyramid-photo-essay/

+ PhotoPhilanthropy: "Powering Africa: A Night in Musubiro, Uganda" http://photophilanthropy.org/2011/01/14/powering-africa-a-night-in-musubiro-uganda/

+ Causecast: "The BoP Project: Photojournalism At The Bottom Of The Pyramid" h ttp://www.causeintegration.com/2010/the-bop-project-photojournalism-at-the-bottom-of-the-pyramid/

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Appendix (2): The (BoP) Project Content Snapshot: Sept. 2010 - June 2011:

The (BoP) Project. (e): [email protected] (c): +255 68 68 99885