Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo & Derek van Bever write:
We have spent the past several years closely studying patterns of innovation success and failure in emerging markets, with a particular focus on Africa and East Asia, and we have learned from leaders of some of the world’s great companies how daunting the obstacles can be. But we have also been tracking the success of some innovators in Africa that flout the conventional wisdom—by building franchises to serve poorer segments of the population; creating markets that tap the vast opportunity represented by nonconsumption; internalizing risk to build strong, self-sufficient, low-cost enterprises; and integrating operations to avoid external nodes of corruption. Their experience paints a hopeful picture of an Africa that can indeed fulfill the promise of prosperity. One young entrepreneur summed up the lift that homegrown success can provide by observing, “When the solution comes from within, we start believing in ourselves. We start trusting that we can do this, we can go forward.”
How have these innovators, many of whom are local entrepreneurs, found a path where so many larger, better-resourced enterprises have hit a wall? In this article we outline their market-creating innovation model and describe how it generates significant growth in both revenue and employment. We also describe methods for spotting nonconsumption, the fundamental opportunity on which this model capitalizes. Finally, we offer some suggestions for policy makers, investors, and entrepreneurs about how to increase both the number and the impact of these innovative enterprises...[more]