A better bike for the world’s poor
May 9, 2009
Affordable and reliable transportation facilitates economic activity and improves access to services like education and healthcare. For BoP communities, the lack of public transit systems and the high price of private transportation cause a significant reliance on informal forms of transportation such as bicycling.
The most prevalent bicycle in African, Asian and Latin American BoP communities is the Roadster. Designed in early 20th century Britain, this bicycle is intended for weekend pleasure riding and is ill-suited to the heavy loads and poor roads of the developing world. The importation of these bikes from Asia nearly triples their price, rendering them unaffordable to the poorest segments of the BoP.
Research shows that as BoP incomes rise, spending for transportation increases rapidly and disproportionably. This illustrates the importance with which transportation is viewed and speaks to an underlying desire for improved products and services in this sector.
Sources:
The Next Four Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid, The World Resource Institute
The Bamboo Bike Project
