5. Innovation is More than Invention
“Solutions to many of the world’s most difficult
social problems don’t need to be invented, they
need only to be found, funded, and scaled.”
Judith Rodin, in Steve Davis’
Social Innovation: A Matter of Scale
6. What is Frugal Innovation?
Dramatically minimizes costs by reducing
the use of resources in
development, production and delivery, or
leveraging resources in new ways
Dramatically reduces prices for customers
“Our Frugal Future: Lessons from India’s Innovation System,” Kirsten Bound and Ian Thornton,
NESTA Report: July 2012
7. Thinking Outside the (Ice) Box
WHAT IF your fridge
can operate without electricity?
Source: http://gizmodo.com
Source: http://www.mitticool.in/
8. The Proposition Is Simple
Cash In Cash Out
Person 2 Person Transfer
Airtime Top-Up
Merchant Payment
Bill Payment
ATM Withdrawals
Social Payments
International Transfer
Page 8
9. Dr Mohan’s Mobile Diabetes Clinic
Source: http://www.drvmohan.com/ Source: http://www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org/composite-2731.htm
17. Three Phases of Innovation
Get the idea
Develop the solution
Implement/scale it
18. Design for America and Swipe Sense
To solve problems in health
care, education, and energy in the US
Hospital acquired infections: 2 million people
100,000 deaths each year
$2-4 billion dollars in costs to the healthcare
industry
19. Penny-Wise and Pound Foolish?
Dan Pallotta in Uncharitable: How Restraints on
Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential
The nonprofit sector denies itself critical tools that
the for-profit sector uses without restraint
Donated dollars for nothing but program costs
20. Not True of BRAC Though!
Invested in human, physical and organisational
infrastructure
Selecting and training, monitoring, research and
evaluation, and learning
Huge salesforce and distribution infrastructure
21. Being Frugal is a Mindset
Market back rather than technology push
The need and the context determine the solution
Which in turn determines when to be frugal
22. Tata and the Nano
Source:http://www.examiner.com/road-driver-in-national/world-s-cheapest-car-the-tata-nano
23. Conclusions
Implementation is more important than invention
Scaling up is hard and sometimes counterproductive
Many ways to be frugal but only some are appropriate
COMPANIES COME UP WITH INNOVATIONS by ASKING THEMSELVES: “WHAT IF” – in developed nations, we ask incremental “what-if” – whereas in developing nations big WHAT IF questions are being asked like “what if we can make a fridge without electricity”(they don’t take electricity for granted as in advanced economies)What if a fridge doesn’t consume electricity: that’s a question somebody with a PhD at NASA or Whirlpool asked himself/herself, but somebody in India who didn’t finish high-school asked himself? He didn’t ask it as a theoretical question, he even came up with a solution….It’s a wise fridge because in India more than 600 million people lack access to electricity
Why should patients come see doctors: not another way around
Neusoft has developed several low-cost but high-tech solutions such as affordable MRI machines and telemedicine solutions for rural hospitals. More impressively, Neusoft has developed a cutting-edge wristwatch for chronic disease patients to use as a mobile health monitor. On a regular basis, the watch collects bio indicators from sensors attached to the patient’s body, analyzes the data and sends a warning when safe limits are exceeded (e.g., “Your glucose level is too low”). It can also help the patient make lifestyle changes. For instance, if your pulse is too low, it recommend that you go for a speed-walk and check your pulse at the end of the walk to see if the rate has improved.