Fortune-Creating (Not Fortune-Finding): BoP Strategy with Prof. Ted London

Professor Ted London, the Ford Motor Company Clinical Professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, shares key insights from his acclaimed book, “The Base of the Pyramid: Promise Building Businesses with Impact and Scale.” In this episode of Business Talk, Professor Ted London explains how “Base of the Pyramid” thinking has evolved from a fortune-finding mindset, treating low-income communities as untapped markets, to a “fortune-creating” approach that builds solutions with communities as essential stakeholders and partners. Drawing on examples such as micro-insurance for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, he shows how enterprises can co-create new markets by tackling demand, trust, and awareness barriers, unlocking scalable models that improve resilience and livelihoods. He also challenges the assumed trade-off between financial sustainability and social impact, arguing that scalable ventures must design business models that achieve both, supported by the CIE framework (Co-Creation/Envisioning, Innovation/Piloting, Embedding/Scaling), stronger partnership ecosystems, and impact measurement that reflects poverty’s multidimensional nature (economic capability, financial well-being, and relationship well-being). This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com. Disclaimer: A. The background music used in this video is the property of its respective developer and is protected by Copyright. Although it is a free version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy and Deepak Bhatt do not hold the rights to this music. B. Dr. Ted London offered thoughtful perspectives from his acclaimed book, “The Base of the Pyramid: Promise Building Businesses with Impact and Scale”, in his conversation on the Business Talk podcast channel. The uploaded video contains copyrighted material; therefore, any modifications to graphics, music, or the presence of the author or host are strictly prohibited.