3rd EU-Africa Business Forum28 September 2009Nairobi, Kenya

Business strategies at the Base of the Pyramid:Business that Matters to the Next 4 Billion

Dr. Bérangère MagarinosDirector PartnershipsGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition

• Driven by the vision of a world without malnutrition

• GAIN’s mission is to reduce global malnutrition through food fortification and other sustainable strategies aimed at improving the health and nutrition of populations at risk, particularly women and children

• Reach 1 billion people with improved nutrition, of whom, 500 million are at risk of malnutrition

About GAIN

• Created in 2002 at the Special Session of the UN General

Assembly on Children

• Established as a Swiss Foundation in 2005

• Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland

• Regional offices in Beijing, Dhaka, New Delhi, Johannesburg

• 57 staff members worldwide

• Donors from North America, Europe, Middle East

GAIN at a Glance

Salt Iodization

National Fortification

Africa Asia South America

Infant and Young Child Nutrition

40 projects in 27countries, fortifying staple foods,

condiments, and complimentary foods

with vitamins and minerals

GAIN Country Presence

Base of the Pyramid: the rise of a new business model

BoP Business Model

Key components that define a BoP business model

• Provide unique products specific to the local community• Localize value creation throughout the supply chain• Enable access to goods and services• Partner to better understand

The Value of the Process

Key drivers of a successful BoP project

• Partnership amongst stakeholders, including local groups• Deep dialogue over a long period of time between company

and community to build mutual understanding and trust• Co-creation to decide on needs and objectives• Innovation in products and processes to ensure a high quality

product at an affordable price• Mutual value provides sustainable business and sustainable

development

Opportunity: Danone saw the opportunity to create a social business model to meet their mission statement: “Bring health through food to as many people as possible”.

New Product: ‘Shokti Doi’, a nutritious yogurt product tailored to meet the specific nutritional needs of Bangladeshi children

New Business Model: • Manufacture the product in a micro plant 50x smaller than typical

Danone plant• Design simple, easy to use equipment and train local workers• Use local suppliers and products wherever possible• Build local community awareness and understanding through

tailored nutrition programs• Pioneer techniques to save natural resources and produce

environmentally friendly packaging• Distribute locally through shops and door to door salespeople

A company working at the Base of the Pyramid: Group Danone

Danone, GAIN and Grameen Bank

Partners in Improving Nutrition in Bangladesh