Management Education and the Base of the Pyramid

Doing business at the base of the pyramid is a topic of increasing interest to business practitioners and academics. Base of the pyramid business offers the promise of great economic gains for companies and the possibility of a powerful new approach to alleviate poverty. At the same time, it may threaten local culture and independence while providing nowhere near the economic or societal advantages that some suggest. Business schools need to expose students to these issues, given their implications for business and society. Field-based education offers great potential for students to explore such issues. This article describes a program offering field-based education at base of the pyramid locations throughout the world and a means for extending the experience to other students through video-based electronic case simulations.