Bottom of the pyramid is the group of people that belongs to the lowest strata of the pyramid consisting of four billion people living in extreme poverty. Out of these four billion people, there are around 400 million in India. And to cater to their needs, there are several policies framed, wherein one of them is doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. For many, this seems to be a questionable and fake promise but let us see the positives in case it becomes a reality.
As we can see from the pyramid (image above), maximum people lie at the bottom. So, if their income gets doubled, it will be affecting everyone in the chain – from bottom to the top of the pyramid- positively. There might be a question in everyone’s mind of how this will help the upper section of the pyramid? So, let us assume a farmer who was selling tomatos at Rs. 40 per Kg (earlier) in order to make his or her income double, will have to sell at a rate of Rs. 80 per Kg. Now, the consumers should be able to pay Rs. 80 to enable the farmer to double his or her income. In that case, there would be four times the growth in the consumer’s income. These consumers are predominantly from the middle class (middle section of the pyramid) who work at managerial, engineering, and other such high paying jobs. So, in case these people have their income quadrupled, it means that the people at the top of the pyramid would have their income increased by eight times. Thus, this is the benefit of working for the bottom of the pyramid.
There are many other private and social enterprises which have displayed a profitable and sustainable working model by using this large section of people at the bottom of the pyramid as their consumers. Some classic examples are Jaipur Rugs, Arvind Eye Card, HUL-Lifebuoy, and Jaipur Foot.
To conclude, it can be inferred that whenever there is growth of the people at the bottom of the pyramid, development will be holistic, including each and every individual in the society. And if this continues, the pyramid will be morphed into diamond as shown in the cover image.
The source of the cover image is: Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (CK Prahalad)