15
Another reason to focus efforts at the base of the pyramid, as discussed elsewhere in this volume by van der Velde and coauthors in Chap. 6, is that the actual
growth of the African middle class has been much less robust than forecast
(Christensen et al. 2017).
An example that illustrates how this principle works in action is the development
of sweetpotato cultivars enriched in vitamin A, known as Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) by the International Potato Center, which explicitly examined the
unmet needs of end-users, many of whom were living in poverty. Such cultivars
represent a rich, affordable source of beta-carotene, which the body converts into
vitamin A (Low et al. 2017). Scientists at the International Potato Center challenged
the conventional wisdom concerning food-based approaches and institutional barriers, to address the unmet need of having a diet with proper levels of vitamin A,
particularly in children and lactating mothers. To date, a multi-partner, multi-donor
initiative based on OFSP has already reached over 6 million households in subSaharan Africa, most of them representing the base of the pyramid.
Box 1.4 Tapping into New Markets: Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Malaria
Malaria is a severe public health issue. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), in 2016 there were over 215 million cases of malaria
globally, which claimed nearly 450,000 deaths each year, out of which nearly
200 million cases and 400,000 casualties occurred in Africa. It remains as the
single most deadly global health disease.
Blood tests are unaffordable for many Africans. Others are reluctant to go
to hospital and be tested for malaria using traditional diagnostics. Instead,
they rely on self-medication to treat potential cases. This creates yet another
public health burden because many of the misdiagnosed cases are treated with
antibiotics. This unneeded treatment accelerates the building up of antibiotic
resistance, which has already rendered unsuccessful, previously highly effective drugs such as chloroquine and artemisinin.
The Baltimore, USA-based startup company Fyodor Biotechnologies saw
an opportunity in this problem and developed a low-cost urine test for malaria.
For less than $2 and without the need for access to health workers, this test
provides an accurate diagnosis in less than 30 minutes. It is simpler to use
than testing blood samples. It has already been launched in Kenya, and plans
are in place for its commercialization in other markets.
Source: https://www.who.int/malaria/media/world-malaria-day-2018/en/
[verified on October 11th, 2019], https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/
innovators-creating-prosperity-fyodor-biotechnologies/ [verified on October
11
th
, 2019]
1 The Quest for Innovation: Addressing User Needs and Value Creation
Another reason to focus efforts at the base of the pyramid, as discussed elsewhere in this volume by van der Velde and coauthors in Chap. 6, is that the actual
growth of the African middle class has been much less robust than forecast
(Christensen et al. 2017).
An example that illustrates how this principle works in action is the development
of sweetpotato cultivars enriched in vitamin A, known as Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) by the International Potato Center, which explicitly examined the
unmet needs of end-users, many of whom were living in poverty. Such cultivars
represent a rich, affordable source of beta-carotene, which the body converts into
vitamin A (Low et al. 2017). Scientists at the International Potato Center challenged
the conventional wisdom concerning food-based approaches and institutional barriers, to address the unmet need of having a diet with proper levels of vitamin A,
particularly in children and lactating mothers. To date, a multi-partner, multi-donor
initiative based on OFSP has already reached over 6 million households in subSaharan Africa, most of them representing the base of the pyramid.
Box 1.4 Tapping into New Markets: Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Malaria
Malaria is a severe public health issue. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), in 2016 there were over 215 million cases of malaria
globally, which claimed nearly 450,000 deaths each year, out of which nearly
200 million cases and 400,000 casualties occurred in Africa. It remains as the
single most deadly global health disease.
Blood tests are unaffordable for many Africans. Others are reluctant to go
to hospital and be tested for malaria using traditional diagnostics. Instead,
they rely on self-medication to treat potential cases. This creates yet another
public health burden because many of the misdiagnosed cases are treated with
antibiotics. This unneeded treatment accelerates the building up of antibiotic
resistance, which has already rendered unsuccessful, previously highly effective drugs such as chloroquine and artemisinin.
The Baltimore, USA-based startup company Fyodor Biotechnologies saw
an opportunity in this problem and developed a low-cost urine test for malaria.
For less than $2 and without the need for access to health workers, this test
provides an accurate diagnosis in less than 30 minutes. It is simpler to use
than testing blood samples. It has already been launched in Kenya, and plans
are in place for its commercialization in other markets.
Source: https://www.who.int/malaria/media/world-malaria-day-2018/en/
[verified on October 11th, 2019], https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/
innovators-creating-prosperity-fyodor-biotechnologies/ [verified on October
11
th
, 2019]
1 The Quest for Innovation: Addressing User Needs and Value Creation