Friday 4 April 2014

The Next Great Market Opportunity- Sanitation for India's Poor [From the Blog of Bill Gates]


From the blog of Mr.Gates :  "According to a recent World Bank report, inadequate sanitation costs India nearly $54 billion a year – equivalent to 6.4% of India’s GDP. Some smart people are starting to realize that on the flip side of this economic penalty is a big economic opportunity. As the World Bank report notes, improving India’s sanitation infrastructure could be a $152 billion market." 

Phew ! That's a huge sum of money coming off and for the poop.

Mr. Gates is certainly not interested in the money or the market opportunity that the sanitation market provides. He is interested in the societal, health and environmental benefits that an affordable, safe and a hygienic toilet can provide. By throwing an anchor of opportunity, he is nudging people to work on world class but affordable solutions which can cure the ills the sanitation market suffers from. 

"Four out of 10 people worldwide don't have a safe way to poop. Find out why we need a toilet revolution. We need new ideas to help reduce disease and find new ways to turn crap into valuable stuff, like fuel, fertilizer, and fresh water." And what a way better to solve than to throw a problem; and challenge people to come up with innovative ideas having the potential to be turned into nice pile of dollars.

Where does Cera Sanitary fit into this ?

Well, with around 63 crore people in India not having access to affordable sanitation, there is a long runaway ahead for Cera and other companies involved in the sanitation industry.

But the 63 crore people will probably be the first time owners of a toilet in their homes. Will they be the potential customers for Cera ?

Some of them would be immediate customers, especially people who can afford to have Cera's products but never had the willingness to have a toilet at home. Others will follow suit with the passage of time, increase in the purchasing power, enhancement of aspirations and social proof.

What does Cera need to do in order to cash the opportunity ?

Cera ought to keep a laser focus on its operations, remain alert to the changes in the technologies
[toilets consuming less water, waterless urinals etc.] even though the rate of change is expected to be small and have enough supply in time to meet the demand.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Has cera become a story of giving away profits to make topline growth?
Its showing commodity nature?

Regards

Amit