Our Base of the Pyramid Initiative explores the implications of the intersection between organizational strategy and poverty alleviation. Our expertise lies in a deep understanding of the unique dimensions of poverty and business strategy, an ability to evaluate the full range of poverty alleviation impacts of BoP ventures, and a collaborative approach to creating business models that incorporate the voices of those at the base of the pyramid.

Given our range of faculty and student resources, WDI’s BoP Initiative is uniquely positioned to work with a broad range of partners. Being part of a major research university and having a strong emphasis on influencing practice, WDI is well positioned to contribute to both theory and practice. Our efforts to create intellectual capital and influence the domain's development include opportunities to work with partners on the following:

Research

We collaborate with partners to develop targeted proposals to interested funders. Recently-funded projects address key BOP issues such as enhancing cross-sector collaborations, facilitating market creation and improving understanding of the BoP opportunity.

Advising

We also provide advice through our three program areas: Next Generation BoP Leadership Program, Centers of Excellence and Assessing and Enhancing Poverty Alleviation Impacts.

Training

The William Davidson Institute is a premier provider of executive education programs in emerging markets. We offer customized BoP-oriented executive education programs for organizations interested in enhancing their understanding of and capability in market-entry strategies, poverty alleviation assessments, business model development, and cross-sector partnerships. We also offer impact assessment workshops.

Thought Leadership

We have a growing library of teaching cases on various BoP topics on GlobaLens. We also share knowledge through blogs on NextBillion. We recently published a new book about the next generation of BoP strategies. We have authored a number of award-winning papers that provide cutting-edge approaches to cross-sector partnerships, sustaining and scaling BoP ventures and enhancing poverty alleviation outcomes. Additionally, we work to develop a deep understanding of the poverty alleviation implications of different business models and to generate frameworks to enhance the ability of business strategies to create mutual value with the poor. Our team also regular presents our latest thinking at conferences in international settings.

Engagement with Students

We offer Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) in conjunction with the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Through the MAP program, teams of 4-6 MBA students work full-time with a partner organization during March and April. Unlike traditional internships, MAP is integrated into the core curriculum for academic credit and is conducted with faculty advisors. In past years, BoP MAP teams have worked in the field in a variety of countries with global companies, local enterprises, and nonprofit organizations.

We also offer Global Impact Summer Internships to connect top-notch University of Michigan graduate students with organizations needing support on BoP-related ventures. Based on a competitive process, WDI provides funding to facilitate a number of 12-week student internships with selected partner organizations.

Other Student Opportunities:

As part of our close affiliation with the Ross School of Business, we offer a BoP course that integrate concepts of strategy, international business, non-profit management, and poverty alleviation to stimulate the leadership skills and competitive imagination needed to design successful ventures.

WDI collaborates with and offers resources to student groups on campus in order to prepare them to address the complex issues facing emerging economies today. In particular Ted London serves as the faculty advisor for the Emerging Markets Club.