Journal of Management for Global Sustainability 2 (2013): 63–82

Frugal Innovation © 2013 International Association of Jesuit Business Schools

63

FRUGAL INNOVATION
CORE COMPETENCIES TO ADDRESS
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY

RADHA R. BASU
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California, U.S.A.
[email protected]

PREETA M. BANERJEE
Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
[email protected]

ELIZABETH G. SWEENY
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California, U.S.A.
[email protected]

Abstract. The call for global sustainability is echoed by societal,

environmental, and economic needs across the globe. In answering this
call, a design innovation process that properly considers the needs and
context of citizens in the developing world is necessary in order to develop
appropriate, adaptable, affordable, and accessible solutions, products and
services. This process, called “Frugal Innovation,” is rapidly becoming a
standard against which sustainable solutions are assessed. Through an
exploration of Frugal Innovation Core Competencies (Frugal Innovation Lab,
Santa Clara University), and corresponding case studies of field solutions, a
model is presented to begin sustainably addressing global human needs.
64 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

INTRODUCTION: A CALL FOR GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY

Global sustainability is intimately related to societal, environmen-

tal, and economic equity. When seeking sustainable solutions to global
challenges, it is critical that all inhabitants be treated with equity. From
a moral or a business standpoint, equity is inextricably linked to sustain-
able, globalized solutions. World hunger, poverty, social injustice, and
general lack of resources that afflict billions of people are all important as-
pects to consider when ideating for large-scale sustainability solutions.

In answering the call for global sustainability, we present the concept

of Frugal Innovation. Frugal Innovation is a design innovation process
in which the needs and context of citizens in the developing world are
put first in order to develop appropriate, adaptable, affordable, and ac-
cessible services and products for emerging markets. Social enterprises
are built around the idea of Frugal Innovation and entrepreneurship to
solve sustainability challenges in Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) markets.
In the past, the BOP—or those 4 billion people who live on less than
an average of $5 a day—have not been the focus of innovative energies.
Frugal Innovation inverts conventional views to empower and enable the
BOP (see Figure 1). The balance of economic power is expected to shift
dramatically over the next half century, with fast-growing emerging mar-
ket economies accounting for an ever-increasing share of global output
(Johansson et al., 2012). The United States is expected to cede its place
as the world’s largest economy to China as early as 2016. India’s GDP is
also expected to pass that of the United States over the long term. These
two Asian giants combined will soon surpass the collective economy
of the G7 nations. Fast-aging economic heavyweights, such as Japan
and the Euro area, will gradually lose ground on the global GDP table
to countries with younger populations like Indonesia and Brazil. Given
this seemingly indisputable trend, Frugal Innovation has blossomed to
target these underserved populations, encouraging entrepreneurship and
sustainable growth for all participants. Most developed countries have
failed to embrace a frugal approach in the past, and the world is seeing
resource shortages, environmental damage, and a plethora of other nega-
tive consequences as a result of the conventional approaches to product
and service innovation.
Frugal Innovation 65

The
“Bop” Tier 4
Customer ~4 billion
<$1,800/yr

Tier 2&3
~1.5 billion
$2,000–
$15,000/yr

Tier 1
~800 million
>$15,000/yr

Figure 1: Inverted Pyramid

The 10 Core Competencies of Frugal Innovation were developed

by the Frugal Innovation Lab at Santa Clara University. The 10 Core
Competencies are:

1. Ruggedization

2. Lightweight: portable for varying transportation options

3. Mobile Enabled Solutions : connectivity anytime,

anywhere
4. Human Centric Design: easy-to-use, intuitive designs that
require little to no prior knowledge or training to utilize

5. Simplif ication : minimalist features and functional

requirements

6. New Distribution Models: non-conventional channels

and access.

7. Adaptation: leveraging existing products, inputs and

services
66 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

8. Use of Local Resources: sourcing without importing

equipment or materials

9. Green Technologies: powered by renewable resources

10. Affordability: low input and operation costs

These 10 core competencies are rapidly becoming a standard for

developing appropriate, affordable, adaptable, and accessible solutions
and assessing an innovation’s adequacy and readiness for successful
market penetration. The competencies form the basis for making pow-
erful contributions to a more global sustainability, including greater
inclusiveness and social equity. Their role in evaluating new technologies
and processes for consumers in emerging economies will enable them
to become increasingly important and influential in the global market
landscape within the next 5–10 years.

To illustrate each of these competencies, we present brief case studies

that depict tangibly how each one of the competencies has been applied
to product and service innovation. These innovations were all created
with the intention of developing sustainable solutions that address im-
mediate needs while integrating a long-term outlook. When scaled, these
solutions can contribute to a more sustainable world by aiding the efforts
to end global poverty, world hunger, and social injustice, and to protect-
ing the capacity of the planet to support our own and other species.
Initially, direct benefit will be readily apparent; however, the potential
for far-reaching, positive domino effects as a result of the proper imple-
mentation of these innovations is also tremendous.

The following cases explain the process of generating positive change

via Frugal Innovation; we hope they will also motivate readers to take
action by engaging with—and embracing—the opportunities to make
similar innovative and valuable contributions in emerging markets.
Frugal Innovation prioritizes the needs of all stakeholders of business,
including the end consumers, the environment, and future generations.
By focusing on how we produce and consume, social, environmental,
and economic sustainability can become a global reality.

THE 10 CORE COMPETENCIES OF FRUGAL INNOVATION

The importance of Frugal Innovation lies partly in its ability to

be economically efficient under conditions of severe scarcity. Frugal
Innovation opens a door for developing country entrepreneurship
and innovation through its recognition of, and emphasis on, the im-
Frugal Innovation 67

portance of home-country involvement. By restructuring traditional

business models, designs that are frugally innovated meet demand
that is already present, ensuring a certain amount of viability from the
initiation of a project (Zeschky, Widenmayer, & Gassman, 2011). Frugal
Innovation uses innumerable aspects of the domestic marketplace to
generate affordable and applicable innovations for use by consumers,
including those who are at the BOP.

Conventional
Characteristics Frugal Innovation
Innovation
What would be nice
Driver What do they need
to have
Process Bottom-up Top-down
Functionality—
Core Capabilities rugged, lightweight, Desirability and design
adaptable, simple
Developing, Emerging
Location Developed Markets
Markets
Figure 2: Alternative Models of Innovation

The idea of “Reverse Innovation” is a crucial one to consider in re-

sponding to global sustainability goals. While related to Frugal Innova-
tion, Reverse Innovation is the concept of taking ideas that have been
developed in an emerging market and coaxing them to flow uphill to
Western markets. Implicitly, Reverse Innovation can be seen as benefit-
ing primarily consumers in developed countries who benefit from less
expensive products and services pioneered in developing countries. Fru-
gal Innovation emphasizes how innovations can be created for resource-
constrained environments, the direct benefits to BOP members, and
the role that can be played by the populations at the BOP. Those BOP
innovators seek opportunities for growth and advancement and become
an important source of the innovations from which they will benefit
and that may also be transferred to more developed countries. Given this
potential for knowledge and technology acquisition sourced from the
developing world, developed countries’ business leaders have begun to
adjust their existing business models to incorporate value-adding intel-
ligence from these emerging economies (Baiyere, 2011).

Health care is a prime example of how options generated for emerg-

ing markets can play a significant role in reshaping how health care is
administered in developed nations. For instance, such reverse innova-
tions include GE’s electrocardiograph (ECG) machine, which typically
weighed 15 lbs. and cost $5.4 million. In 18 months, GE was able to
68 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

engineer the same functionalities to fit into a portable handheld device

for about 60% of its wholesale cost. Combining their technical know-
how with existing parts, GE engineers were able to adapt a printer that
is used in bus terminal kiosks across India to serve the needs of the new
ECG machine. The net effect is a reduction from $2,000 to $800 for an
ECG machine, which translates to under $1 per patient per scan. This
lower cost ECG is not only relevant to the audience that it was developed
for—expanded access to affordable ECGs in the developed world is criti-
cal as well. There is a broadening two-way avenue of innovative ideas
being built between the developed and developing world that holds the
potential to elevate both in a positive direction.

Generally speaking, developing countries have lower living standards,

less developed industrial bases, and a low Human Development Index
(HDI) when compared with developed countries (Sullivan & Sheffrin,
2003). Populations in developing countries have restricted access to prod-
ucts and processes that are readily available in developed countries, and
for many reasons, including general misconceptions and immense market
barriers (Prahalad, 2005). Addressing market demand through a Frugal
Innovation approach improves BOP living conditions, creates new sources
of growth and cost-saving opportunities, and provides access to innova-
tion (Hart & Christensen, 2002). Frugal Innovation has the potential to
elevate humanity as a whole by giving all individuals opportunities to be
entrepreneurs and value-demanding consumers at the same time.

Given that global sustainability is so entwined with equity, it is

significant that Frugal Innovation is so focused on inclusive innovation
(defined as the inclusion of fundamental social responsibilities in strat-
egy and operations management [Nijhof, Fisscher, & Looise, 2002]). In
other words, Frugal Innovation has the potential for inclusiveness, start-
ing with the area from which it originates. Innovation is truly inclusive
when it is intended for the benefit of people universally, and is exclusive
when it is aimed only at a particular segment of the population—i.e., a
specific socioeconomic group (Prahalad & Mashelkar, 2010). Examples
such as Gandhian engineering follow the purpose of “more from less
for many” by moving from “low price, low performance” to “low price,
high performance” (Altenburg & Lundvall, 2009). Alternately, Jugaad
engineering focuses on utilizing makeshift materials that are available in
the context of extremely limited resources (Tiwari & Herstatt, 2012).

Frugal Innovation is readily apparent in the 10 cases presented below.

All of them are true examples of progress toward global sustainability,
with Frugal Innovation lending an important helping hand in the suc-
cess of the enterprises described therein.
Frugal Innovation 69

Key Innovation
Author(s) Year Example
Concept Outcome
Add bells and whistles
to developing country
Reverse Govindarajan
2011 GE’s ECG innovation that
Innovation & Ramamurti
competes in developed
countries
Break down a complex
Gandhian Prahalad & Tata’s process/product and
2010
Engineering Mashelkar Nano rebuild in the most
economical way
Innovate with an eye
Radjou, YES toward economical
Jugaad Prabhu, & 2012 BANK’s efficiency but also social
Ahuja CAT and environmental
bottom-lines
Figure 3: Frugal Innovation Models

CORE COMPETENCIES & CASE STUDIES

Ruggedization: designed for harsh physical environments (e.g., heat,

moisture, pests)—ToughStuff: Durable Solar Panel Charging System
The founders of ToughStuff International, Andrew Tanswell and Adri-
aan Mol, were inspired to help low-income families in the developing
world by creating technologies that would assist in eliminating energy
poverty (ToughStuff, 2010). ToughStuff’s various solar-powered products,
like its solar panel charging system, provide accessible, inexpensive solu-
tions to energy poverty and allow for a better standard of living. Human
development and emergency relief are two particularly important areas
of focus for ToughStuff, and their products have been extremely effective
in aiding progress in both arenas.

The solar panel charging system that ToughStuff developed can

power LED lamps, mobile phones, and radios (Marlow, 2009). The system
not only eliminates the recurring cost necessary to charge these critical,
livelihood sustaining devices, but also the extensive time that is neces-
sary to travel to charging stations. Able to charge at night from energy
gathered and stored during sunlight hours, capable of withstanding
extreme temperatures, and tested in deplorable conditions, the system
has proven to be incredibly durable in all environments. Developing
70 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

world economies are fully able to use ToughStuff’s systems reliably, eas-
ily, and effectively.

Engineering these solutions to be rugged required a conscious effort.

Design and materials both contribute to the system’s ability to operate
in extreme environments. A thin sheet of amorphous silicon that uses
sunlight to generate electricity makes the product both nearly indestruc-
tible, resulting in minimal maintenance costs, and incredibly easy to
use, making it easier to market to lower income consumers (Trickle Out
Project, 2012). The solar panels are flexible, waterproof, and relatively
small, all of which address target customers’ needs. These aspects are the
essence of Frugal Innovation at its very core.

While ToughStuff has not encountered many road blocks in the

development of its systems, ideas on how to disseminate their product
in targeted areas of high need have been more challenging. However,
despite various barriers to entry, over 125,000 units were sold in the
first two months following the product’s introduction, and it is now
sold in more than 25 African countries (Ashden Award Judges, 2011).
A large factor in ToughStuff’s success has been the knowledge that its
products can withstand the tribulations of the environments for which
they were designed.

Lightweight: portable for varying transportation options—Cisco and

NetHope: Emergency NetReliefKit
Working together, NetHope and Cisco have developed an emergency
NetReliefKit (NRK), which can best be thought of as a “communica-
tions hub in a box” for NGOs operating in the field. The kit provides
both voice communication and Internet links via satellite, and can be
powered solely by a car battery. With built-in Wi-Fi, it is possible for a
single NRK to effectively serve an entire facility. This has proven to be of
incredible benefit during natural disasters by helping victims in remote
areas (Musich, 2007), and is made possible by the NRK’s light weight and
consequent ability of NGOs to transport it easily.

One NRK contains all the equipment needed to coordinate the trans-
port of large groups of people from one location to another in the event
of an emergency, yet still fits in a backpack or small suitcase (Peck, 2010).
It includes a Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) satellite terminal,
a fold-flat 48-watt solar power kit, a small laptop, an 8-hour battery, a
carrying case, various cables, power adapters, and controllers. While it
was designed with emergency relief in mind, some NGOs have adopted
Frugal Innovation 71

the NRKs because of their incredible versatility and convenience for all
communications needs. The NRK has revolutionized the way NGOs are
able to operate on a day-to-day basis.

Given the quantity of equipment condensed into one unit, ensur-

ing that the NRK was lightweight was a challenge (Wavelength, 2009).
However, the joint experiences of both partners allowed for a progressive
design process. NetHope, a nonprofit association of more than 25 NGOs
(including Red Cross, World Vision, and Mercy Corps), relies on network-
ing technology and Internet-based applications to keep in contact with
each other during international emergencies, coordinate their responses
more accurately, and quickly gather and disseminate critical information.
Cisco in turn relies on networking technologies in an enterprise-wide
fashion to ensure the safety of its employees on a global scale.

NRKs fuse these two areas of expertise together into a highly func-
tional, four pound device that brings the larger world to the most remote
and disconnected places on the globe (Nunziata, 2010). Units have already
been critical in first response for disaster relief efforts in developing coun-
tries that have suffered major crises—the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile,
and the cyclone that hit Bangladesh are three examples (Carless, 2007).

Mobile Enabled Solutions: connectivity and effective instrumentation—

Kopo Kopo: Mobile Money Platform
The US-based software company Kopo Kopo partnered with Hope
Micro and Splash Mobile Money in East Africa to invent a mobile money
platform that allows customers to use mobile money services (Kopo
Kopo, 2011). It is through this service that customers of the top three
mobile networks can load money onto their mobile devices and send
money, pay bills, withdraw money, and buy goods. These services re-
lease consumers from the constraints of having to travel long distances
for financial transactions rather than investing their time in activities
that will generate income for them. To do so, the services make use of a
resource that already exists locally—mobile phones.

The Executive Director of Hope Micro, SD Kanu, realized that his

customers were struggling with the opportunity cost of leaving their
businesses for up to a full day to make payments for his mobile services
(Microfinance Africa, 2011). The mobile money platform makes use of
both Hope Micro and Splash Mobile Money services and is very conve-
72 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

nient for consumers. Kopo Kopo incorporates the transactions of these

customers into its accounting software to enable analysis of buying
trends, and sends SMSs to interact with customers. Though its target
is East Africa, Kopo Kopo intends to expand its service outside of Sub-
Saharan Africa where competition is minimal (Sandell, 2012).

The Kopo Kopo mobile money platform has done very well in Sierra
Leone, Kenya, and the rest of East Africa. The platform is becoming a
disruptive technology for traditional currency as more customers are
turning to this mobile money service. Despite its success, however, Kopo
Kopo has been led to develop plans for market expansion to various other
locations due to extreme competition from other mobile money service
providers. Kopo Kopo estimates that the market for mobile money sys-
tems will be roughly $630 billion by 2014 (Sinsky, 2011).

Human Centric Design: easy-to-use, intuitive designs that require little

to no prior knowledge or training to utilize—Naandi: Jerry Can for Safe
Water Program
Naandi, a charity working towards better health, basic education,
and sustainable livelihoods for underprivileged people, has developed a
Community Services Safe Water Program that allows villagers to drink
and use clean water on a daily basis. By setting up a system that delivers
safe drinking water at relatively low cost, villagers in Andhra Pradesh
(Southeast India) are able to take responsibility for their attainment of
clean water via an infrastructure that is easy-to-use. The jerry-can style
container is a critical part of this infrastructure for clean water, as are
the additional programmatic elements of the Naandi system that make
the proposed solutions sustainable ones (Matthews, 2008).

To create a long-term reduction in exposure to environmental risks

that lead to waterborne diseases, it is essential to market the importance
of safe water. To that end, Naandi has developed intensive campaigns
on health and personal hygiene to educate rural communities on the
need to store water carefully, and to follow sanitation practices that avoid
contaminating water resources. By influencing the integration of safe
water practices into conventional behaviors, demand is created in other
villages for adopting the SafeWater Program, which results in spreading
the program to those new communities. Naandi also encourages the
use of food-grade 20-liter jerry cans which they sell to customers at cost
(~150 rupees or about $3). In some cases, Naandi will offer an installment
payment plan for the jerry can to ease the upfront cash requirement
(William Davidson Institute, 2009).
Frugal Innovation 73

Each safe water operation employs a Safe Water Promoter (SWP),

typically a woman from the local village community, who ensures that
the villagers are aware of the services offered and who encourages transi-
tion to practices that make clean drinking water available. SWPs are also
responsible for promoting hygienic sanitation practices among villagers
through an Information, Education, and Communication campaign
(IEC). When combined, these programs—SWP and IEC—develop a
community-scale water infrastructure in which villagers have access
to clean water at reasonable prices. In 2010, Naandi Community Water
Services was present in over 400 villages, providing safe drinking water
to 2.4 million people and distributing about 30 million liters each month
at only $0.2 cents per liter (Vousvouras & Heierli, 2010). The program-
matic and technological elements of Naandi’s innovative approach are
human-centric from every angle.

Simplification: minimalist features and functional requirements—TATA

Chemical: Rice Husk Water Filter
In 2006, an innovation team started by R. Gopalakrishnan, the VP of
Tata Chemicals, set out to develop a water purifier that was accessible, in-
expensive, and highly effective (Lavallee & Veach, 2010). What emerged
out of this team’s collaboration was the Tata Chemical rice husk water
filter (Swach) which purifies water without electricity in an inexpensive
manner, making drinking water safe and accessible to households that
have no access to power (Subbu, 2009).

While the technology was based on previous water-purifiers (mak-

ing this water purifier an example of adaptability as well; see core com-
petency #7), the team aimed to make it the “world’s lowest-cost water
purifier.” Inspired by Edison’s light bulb, the water purifier is made up
of a composite of rice-husk ash and nano-silver particles, which together
inhibit bacterial growth (Chang, 2010). It has a cartridge with a fuse that
prevents water from passing through once the purifying capacity limit is
reached, making it straightforward for users to generate safe water. The
purifier is simple, makes use of local resources in harmony with high-
tech, and is easy to use—a highly relevant innovation.

The water filter originated from and benefits poor households in India,
and thus required the following elements: ease of assembly, ease of main-
tenance (filter replacement), high usability, reliability, and acceptability.
Launched in December 2009, the sea-green filters sold over 400,000 units
in India in the first two years. Current plans exist for reaching other mar-
kets such as Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America (Singh, 2011).
74 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

New Distribution Models: non-conventional channels and access—

Solar Sister: Avon Style Solar Product Distribution
Solar Sister’s Avon-style solar product distribution is an innovative
method of spreading solar technology to benefit communities and si-
multaneously empower the women who are trained to participate. The
business model provides rural customers with solar products to which
they would otherwise not have access. It is a revolutionary approach to
energy distribution in Africa as well as in other parts of the globe.

Katherine Lucey, the founder and CEO of Solar Sister, sought to de-
crease energy poverty in Africa while enabling rural women to develop
economically (Huffington Post, 2011). Other business models did not
account for the highly rural nature of these targeted areas, and lack
of existing infrastructure did not allow for the sharing of technology,
goods, services, or education. Lucey’s development of this re-thought
distribution model creates an avenue for rural women to network, spread
information to their communities, and reduce energy poverty in the
process (Misra, 2011).

Inspired by the Avon style of delivering products to local customers

through fellow community members, women are trained and provided
with an inventory of solar technology which they sell in rural regions
(Making It, 2011). This system addresses many challenges at once: it cre-
ates an efficient and sustainable delivery system, promotes technology
innovations, reduces the gender-technology gap, and makes women a key
factor in entrepreneurial livelihood development (Solar Sister, 2012).

Adaptation: leveraging existing products, inputs and services—Awaaz.

De: Voice Message Board for Education
Awaaz.De (which means “Give Your Voice”) is a software platform
that leverages low-end mobile phones and Internet access for aggregat-
ing, responding to, and routing voice messages. Created by Neil Patel
and Tapan Parikh for use in India, Awaaz.De shares information through
voice content and provides services that overcome language barriers
and literacy constraints (Neil, 2011). Awaaz.De provides services such as
interactive voice response voting, data collection, surveys, polling, ac-
cess to mobile social networks, peer-to-peer information resources, and
information databases—all on phones that are readily accessible.

The Awaaz.De platform exemplifies several core competencies, in-

cluding use of local resources, human-centric design, and adaptation.
The platform was developed from an existing technology that had been
developed by Avaaj Otalo (AO). AO provided services for farmers to access
Frugal Innovation 75

relevant and timely agricultural information over their mobile phones.

Developed as a collaboration between UC Berkeley School of Information,
Stanford HCI Group, and the IBM India Research Laboratory and Develop-
ment Support Center (DSC), AO sought a highly relevant communications
service for rural farmers (Heatwole, 2011). Using just mobile phones and
(even intermittent) Internet access, both AO and Awaaz.De have been able
to focus on the essence of problems which their target communities face.
Awaaz.De re-tasks AO technology to support a customized set of voice
message boards with configurable posting and browsing settings.

Complementing their voice interface is a web-based administration

interface that allows for the creation of sub-forums around specific topics
that are of particular relevance to users. Community managers—typically
members of a local organization that have access to the Internet—use the
Awaaz.De interface to moderate message boards, annotate voice messages
with author information and content tags, route messages to respond-
ers, and broadcast messages to reach wider audiences. An integration of
existing technologies occurred between information pull voice forums
and information push broadcasting in order to reach broader audiences.
The “Internet for a few, voice for the rest” model reflects a now common
scenario for rural information delivery systems.

The open-ended structure of the Awaaz.De platform allows for con-

tinued adaptation by different organizations that have followed in their
footsteps as they had done with AO’s platform. As of 2011, Awwaz.De
served over 100,000 calls from more than 10,000 unique callers, and
catered to 8 social development organizations and enterprises working in
areas such as agriculture, education, women’s empowerment, labor rights,
and rural product manufacturing/distribution across 6 states in India
(Devi, 2012). The applications of such a service are nearly limitless, pro-
viding another reason to describe the innovation as being adaptable.

Use of Local Resources: Sourcing without importing equipment or materials—

Husk Power Systems: Rice Husk Gasification
Husk Power Systems (HPS) is a social enterprise that has developed a
process to generate clean, safe, and efficient electricity by sourcing a lo-
cal waste—rice husks. Rice husks are a waste product of rice hullers, ma-
chines that separate the husks as chaff from rice, which is a staple food
in the regions where HPS operates. It is estimated that 4 billion pounds
of rice husks are left over from rice processing in Bihar alone every year, a
quantity large enough to allow the HPS founders to develop an electricity
generation process based on this raw material (Greene, 2011).
76 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

Since its founding in 2007, HPS has built 75 operational plants in

Bihar which serve 150 villages, or a total of more than 150,000 people.
The domino effects of bringing electricity to these areas are tremendous.
HPS allows for villagers’ activities to extend beyond daylight hours—
economic development and microenterprise is promoted and the amount
of time children can study is increased. The reduction in pollution im-
proves both air quality and overall health, and women spend less time
collecting firewood, thus providing them with more time to participate
in tasks that close gender inequality gaps. Reducing emissions and pre-
venting deforestation protect both global and local environments, and
improves overall health of local populations as well as increases the ease
with which healthcare is administered.

In rural India, 45% of households—nearly 400 million people—lack

access to electricity, and in states like Bihar, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh
(among the poorest in India), 80%–90 % of households have no elec-
tricity (Rohatgi, 2010). Villagers rely on kerosene lanterns for household
light and diesel generators for irrigation and commercial power, but these
traditional options are expensive and destructive to people’s health and
the wellbeing of the environment. Most of the units developed by HPS
generate 32 kilowatts of electricity from 50kg (110lb) of husks per hour,
enough to provide the basic needs of a village of about 500 (Hanson,
2012). The cost of the service is about 80 rupees per month (less than
$2.00), about half the cost of the kerosene that most villagers use to
power lamps that provide far less light than the 15-watt compact fluo-
rescent lamps (CFL) bulbs distributed by the company (Boyle, 2010).

HPS has a goal: to provide electricity to 10 million people in over

10,000 villages by installing 3,000 plants by 2017. If this goal is achieved,
HPS will in the process give rise to 2,500 small entrepreneurs, and over
7,000 jobs will be generated in the communities it serves (Nadres, 2012).
Utilizing existing local resources is both cost effective and a holistic way
to approach the business product cycle.

Green Technologies: powered by renewable resources—WE CARE

Solar Suitcase: Lighting Delivery Rooms
The WE CARE Solar Suitcase was developed after Laura Stachel, a
doctor traveling in Nigeria, became aware of disturbingly high mater-
nal and infant mortality rates in various areas of the country (Stachel,
2009). Doctors and midwives in developing countries often lack access
to many of the essentials needed to properly care for patients—one of
these is good lighting. Responding to this situation, a team of UC Berke-
Frugal Innovation 77

ley researchers from the Blum Center (along with Dr. Stachel) developed
the “Solar Suitcase” as a viable solution.

Powered entirely by solar panels, the WE CARE Solar Suitcase con-

tains the following equipment: bright LED lights, rechargeable walkie-
talkies and cell phone charger, and LED headlamps with rechargeable
batteries (Dornhelm, 2010). In addition to significantly lowering the
maternal mortality rate in rural regions of Africa, these elements have
also proven to be absolutely critical in natural disasters such as the
earthquakes in Haiti and Chile (Meehan, 2011).

While the WE CARE Solar Suitcases have saved thousands of lives

during natural disasters and helped to lower maternal and infant mortal-
ity rates, the suitcase is quite heavy and requires several hours of direct
sunlight to recharge the equipment (Erickson, 2010). Improvements are
being made to make the suitcase lighter, more flexible, and even more
durable so it can be a feasible solution for a deluge of other applications.
Though the Solar Suitcase has been successfully assisting clinics after
natural disasters and reducing mortality rates, and has proven to be
revolutionary in developing countries all around the world, its potential
has still not yet been fully realized (Callais, 2012). Demand for this tech-
nology is on a steady upward curve, and when supply becomes accessible
to all populations that demand it, potential can be realized.

Affordability: low input and operation costs—Jaipur Foot: $30 Prosthetics

The Jaipur Foot is one of the best examples of embodying the core
competencies of Frugal Innovation to address global sustainability. The
Jaipur Foot’s main product offering is a rubber-based prosthetic leg for
people with below-the-knee amputations. Originally distributed by
the NGO Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), the
Jaipur Foot is now being used by the VA hospital in Palo Alto, CA and
is also offered by Kaiser Permanente as an alternative to traditional
prosthetics (Diaz, 2008).

The Jaipur Foot was developed in 1968 by Ram Chander (Sharma,

2011), and BMVSS was established in early 1975 by Mr. D. R. Mehta. In the
first seven years after the development of the Jaipur Foot, 50 individuals
were fitted with prosthetic legs and feet. Now, over 1.3 million beneficia-
ries of BMVSS—primarily in India but including 26 countries in Asia, Af-
rica and Latin America—have been fitted with a Jaipur Foot prosthetic.

The biggest issue that the Jaipur foot takes into account is the need
to be affordable—not cheapest in terms of cost, but highest in value-to-
78 Radha R. Basu, Preeta M. Banerjee, & Elizabeth G. Sweeny

cost ratio (Craig, 2005). Victims of war crimes, patients who have suf-
fered from infectious diseases, and people who have been in accidents
who are now missing part or all of their leg(s) can now pursue lives that
resemble normalcy. The Jaipur foot resembles a natural foot and leg, is
able to be fully submerged in water (e.g., for working in rice fields), and
is lighter in weight to allow for ease of movement and travel. Relative
to a comparable prosthetic in the United States that costs $8,000 and
requires up to a year of recovery time, the Jaipur foot costs $30 and has
a rehabilitation time of 3–6 months (Chopra, 2004).

When considering how to address global sustainability issues via the

core competencies of Frugal Innovation, the Jaipur foot is a wonderful
example to keep in mind. Elements of all ten can be found in this one
example, and it is prudent to hope that more examples will embody the
excellence of Jaipur Foot’s success (Co, 2008).

CONCLUSION: APPLYING FRUGAL INNOVATION AND

ITS CORE COMPETENCIES

The first notions that typically come to mind when thinking about
the term “Frugal Innovation” for the first time are “affordability” or
“cheapness.” In reality, however, the term refers to addressing the es-
sence of a problem, and this focus on the essence of a problem is where
the core competencies allow for truly novel innovations. If a solution is
developed in alignment with the competencies depicted in this article,
the solution will more properly address the needs of those targeted.
Frugal Innovation, when pursued thoughtfully, results in high quality,
applicable, accessible, and affordable services and products for consumers
in emerging markets—and elsewhere.

Each competency opens a window of opportunity for those who ex-

ist in resource-constrained areas of the world. The cases discussed above
illustrate clearly how these competencies can be brought to life; they are
also examples of organizations, enterprises, and individuals that have cre-
ated new standards for others to aspire to. The universality of benefit gen-
erated by these examples is what ties them all to the same theme—that
of global sustainability and the role of social enterprises—and to all other
organizations as well in contributing to a more sustainable world.

We urge people from all backgrounds and disciplines, regardless

of profession, to seek an understanding of the needs of the developing
world. By doing so, we can all move synergistically toward a more sus-
tainable world. Frugal Innovation, when it is fully embraced, can be a
firm driver of progress in achieving sustainable solutions.
Frugal Innovation 79

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