Companies Are Beginning To The Recognize Profit Potential Among World’s Poorest Multitudes

With the right product and the right price, companies that normally market to richer, more developed countries can also market profitably to poorer countries, according to this report. Globally, the market is huge, researchers say. The four billion people with individual purchasing power of less than US$3,000 a year comprise a US$5 trillion consumer market. One impressive success story is from Canadian company DataWind Ltd., which manufactures wireless devices. It began selling simplified tablet computers in the Indian market in the $30 to $60 price range – about what a cell phone costs there. DataWind has sold 100,000 units at $47 each to the Indian government, which sold them at $35 to students. The company says it expects to sell many millions more.