core sector communique

LOYOLA  INSTITUTE  OF  BUSINESS  ADMINISTRATION

MEET THE PRESS

on

“Prof. C.K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India :

Helping Entrepreneurship among the Base of the Pyramid”

Rationale

India is a country of extremes - on the one hand it has a rapidly increasing number of billionaires, while on the other over 40% of its population live below the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day. Almost all products and services created and delivered both within the country and outside cater to the affluent or middle class. Until C. K. Prahalad's much acclaimed book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits (2004), inspired a new thinking wherein he explained the market potential that remains untapped at the Base of the Pyramid (BOP). His book created waves across global corporations that considered this population an unviable market.

Prof. C. K. Prahalad's premise that business models can mobilise socio-economic change by engaging the poor in the marketplace profitably is the inspiration behind the 'Prof. C. K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India'.

Overview

Prof. C. K. Prahalad, an eminent management guru and an illustrious alumnus of Loyola  College, had three outstanding tenets:

1.         An immense passion for India.

2.                 A firm belief that India could become a superpower if it includes the base of the pyramid in its socio-economic development.

3.                 A strong faith that lack of resources is not a constraint for innovation and ambition.

Taking a cue from this eminent son of India, LIBA intends to establish a centre for entrepreneurship, research and innovation, the 'Prof. C. K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India'. The centre seeks to promote entrepreneurial ideas produced by and more importantly for the BOP. The centre will endeavour to encourage and equip entrepreneurs to engage in BOP market development. To place India on its socio-economic growth-track, out-of-the-box methods to spread the benefits of innovation to millions of Indians below the poverty line. Research is necessary to create products and services that will make life better for the base of the pyramid. Research output from the centre should create a support system that will provide innovators access to funding, expertise and resources, and help them transform their ideas into action.

Mission

·        To foster thought-leadership by bringing together research and academic contributions.

·        To provide a resource base for other institutions, corporations and individuals who are working with the Base of the Pyramid.

·        To foster entrepreneurship by knowledge and resource transfer.

Objectives

•           To undertake research in the areas of strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship, appropriate to the Base of the Pyramid.

•           To create a global knowledge base of ideas, practices and experiences for sustainable development.

•           To promote entrepreneurship, especially among women and the marginalised, to further social change.

•           To connect social entrepreneurs with though-leaders and key players in business, government and non-governmental organisations to enhance social impact.

Activities

•           Identify through research, various innovative marketing opportunities, strategies, practices that are sustainable for the Base of the Pyramid.

•           Incubate entrepreneurial ideas focusing on the BOP.

•           Research and publish best case practices, articles and books relating to BOP market development, innovative models identified across the globe on inclusive growth.

•           Conduct seminars and conferences relevant to the aim and objectives of the centre.

•           Liaison with international bodies to enrich the centre’s knowledge base.

•           Recognise and celebrate the success of small and medium scale entrepreneurs through the presentation of awards annually.

•           Promote Social Venture Capital.

Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad (1941-2010), the author of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits (2004) was an illustrious alumnus of Loyola College, Chennai. Prahalad graduated in Physics from Loyola College, and then pursued his Masters in Management at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He later went to Harvard Business School to obtain a Doctoral degree in Business Administration. Prahalad then worked as a distinguished professor at the Stephen M Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

A visionary, management guru, academician, a creative and influential business thinker, Prahalad was most famous for pioneering the concepts of ‘core competencies’ and ‘the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid’. His path-breaking books, Competing for the Future (1994) and The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value With Customers (2004) challenged conventional thought and redefined management practices. His conviction revolved around radical solutions to alleviate poverty not by governments and NGOs alone, but by corporations. In his book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Prahalad identified the world’s poor (the “Bottom of the Pyramid “) as a potential market untapped by companies, worth anything up to $13 trillion a year.

Advisory Board

•           Fr N. Casimir Raj, SJ, Director, Prof. C. K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India

•           Mr Aun Maira, Member, Planning Commission, Govt. of India

•           Mr Bhadrashyam H. Kothari, Chairman, H. C. Kothari Group of Companies

•           Fr P. Christie, SJ, Director of LIBA

•           Ms Deepa Prahalad, CEO Anuvaa LCC

•           Mr Gopal Srinivasan, CMD, TVS Capital Funds Ltd

•           Mr R. Gopalan, lAS, Secretary, Economic Affairs, Govt. of India

•           Mr Jaithirth Rao, Chairman, Value & Budget Housing Corporation

•           Prof. Jay Amaran, Vice President, Global Determinants, Inc. USA

•           Mr Joseph Raj, CMD, Oceanna Group

•           Mr Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice Chairman, Cognizant Technology Solutions

•           Mr R. Ramaraj, Senior Advisor, Sequoia Capital India

•           Ms Shikha Shamra, MD & CEO, Axis Bank

•           Mr Xavier Britto, CMD, Indev Group of Companies

Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai, established in 1979, is a premier Jesuit institution, consistently ranked among the best business schools in the country. The institute lays stress on holistic learning with particular emphasis on excellence and ethics. It seeks to achieve the same by forming men and women imbued with a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Considered as a rich resource centre for research and innovation, LIBA has several international collaborations and many centres of excellence to ensure that cutting-edge business ideas and practices and introduced and infused in its students. One more noble effort to achieve this vision is the launch of the Prof. C. K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India.