the new bottom of the pyramid - the washing machine line

In the article  "The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid," Hammond discusses how we need to expand the bottom of the pyramid economic base to encompass the bottom 4 billion individuals in this world. However, what if we increase this base to the bottom 5 billion? This group would comprise of consumption of under $40 a day.  Hans Rosling, a Swedish medical doctor and statistician, classifies this new benchmark as the washing machine line.

Hans Rosling: The Washing Machine


If 5 out of the 7 billion people do not have access to a washing machine in this world, how do they efficiently wash their clothes on a daily/weekly basis? More importantly, will significant innovation for laundry come from large multi-national organizations like Proctor & Gamble, or will it arise from an innovative social entrepreneur?

Currently, Proctor & Gamble relies on 37% of their annual revenues from emerging markets. This percent of total revenue is only expected to increase with the rise of the middle class in these developing economies.  With access to large advertising agencies and almost unlimited cash, large multi-nationals may have the upper edge when it comes to marketing, but they may not be at an advantage when it comes to design.

Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS)  is an organization comprised of design schools and design-oriented universities that seek to find solutions for sustainable change.  With a cohort of inspired students and professors placing design as a their primary solution in lieu of profits, perhaps the bottom 5 billion will efficiently learn to clean their laundry from a small group of students, not by a fortune 500 company.