Fintech’s fortune: Transforming the bottom of the pyramid

By Samir Shah, Co-Founder & Executive Vice-Chair, Dvara Holdings

Twenty years ago, in 2004, management guru, the late Dr. CK Prahalad, wrote a seminal book titled, “Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”. Its main thesis was that there is a fortune to be made by providing goods and services to the world’s poorest people. Dr. Prahalad argued that businesses needed to re-examine their models, processes, and structures to profit from this vast, untapped market. His vision went beyond mere profit. He emphasized how businesses could simultaneously uplift impoverished communities while serving this market, integrating this vision into India’s strategy for New India@75, released by Niti Aayog before the 75th anniversary of Indian
Independence.

Dr. Prahalad’s book cited case studies from India that demonstrated how companies were profiting from supplying goods and services to the bottom of the pyramid, although such examples were limited at the ...