The notion of creating a Base of the Pyramid (BoP) Learning Lab™ e-journal grew out of the work of the growing network of BoP Learning Labs™ and the realization that there was a need to capture the knowledge and insights in this new field of business development for the poor.

A diverse array of organizations, from universities to businesses to NGOs in the field, are trying to understand what it means to do business with the poor in ways that are culturally, environmentally and economically appropriate. As a result, a range of efforts are underway to understand how to co-develop products and services that provide value and jobs for the poor, are environmentally sustainable, and are viable for business owners. Many of these efforts are considered Base of the Pyramid (BoP) initiatives, so called because the individuals these initiatives are targeting live on less than $5 per day, in others words the base of the economic pyramid.

These BoP efforts are resulting in the emergence of streams of new information, substantive portions of which carry strong news, analysis and sharing-of-experiences elements. Executives, students, professors, NGOs and most importantly, the BoP communities themselves, have stories to tell and insights to share, propelling interactions that can lead to more learning. However, at the moment, most of this information is trapped within the projects themselves for lack of a system to process and release it.

In the meantime, a growing number of people - including business leaders, NGOs, entrepreneurs, students, and government officials -- want to inform themselves about the BoP paradigm. People with an interest in business and a more inclusive world are looking for new stories and insights that quickly bring them up to speed on what is going on, and some, such as practitioners or stakeholders, are looking for willing collaborators on BoP projects. Equally, there are already informed people who want to track the progress of BoP projects around the world, or in the regions they have a specific interest in.

Clearly, there is a need to the match the information and news needs of interested people with the rich streams of information that are emerging in the BoP sphere. As an increasing number of organizations begin to recognize the value of this new business paradigm and experiment with innovative methodologies for mutual value creation, there will be an ever increasing number of stories to record, share and dialogue on. An online journal in this area is a clear win-win for everyone, as there is none that currently specializes in critical reporting on the overall BoP sphere.

At present, some organizations working in the sustainable enterprise arena use their websites to publish project specific information and experiences. On occasion, their work is covered in the media. University professors regularly publish journal articles. Clearinghouses of information and news exist for very niche purposes like green energy, microfinance, ICTs, etc. Online communities that discuss BoP projects and the general theme of sustainable development are also coming into place. To some extent, all of these play a role in serving the broad information and learning needs of people interested in the BoP sphere.

However, useful and valuable as these elements of dissemination are, they are disaggregated and by design are not setup to to cover the broad spectrum of emerging realities in the BoP space itself.

There is a strong need for a news and analysis journal on the BoP sphere with a built in collaborative space for interested individuals. A key mission of this website is to work with BoP Learning Labs™, BoP Protocol™ projects, and other BoP and BoP-like initiatives around the world to track and report news and information from regions where the action and learning is unfolding.

As this happens week after week, and month after month, it will provide readers and stakeholders a true, engaging and educative reflection of the realities as they evolve.

In this backdrop, the BoP Learning Lab™ Network is uniquely positioned to launch a journal-cum-community website to report and track developments the BoP sphere, bridging this information gap. The Learning Lab’s collaborative work with other groups worldwide gives it access to credible information about noteworthy developments and research -- continuously.

If you would like to contribute to the journal please send an email to BOP@johnson.cornell.edu.