Asia is home to 2.9 billion people living on less than 4 US dollars a day. This is the Base of the Pyramid (BoP). This situation is still seen despite the spectacular social and economic improvements in the region over the last few decades. The BoP approach is fundamentally the development of new and innovative products and business models that tap into the BoP and benefit the BoP by addressing their vital needs, and increasing their productivity and incomes. The Science and Technology Innovations for the Base of the Pyramid in Southeast Asia (iBoP Asia) is the project that promotes the development of science and technology (S&T) innovations that can effectively address the developmental needs of the poor and excluded in the Southeast Asian region.
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Ms.Thu Ho Thi Yen, MCD Vice Director presented in the forum
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Ecolife Café is an innovation initiated and implemented by Vietnet-ICT in partnership with MCD and Ecolife Ltd. This consortium of non-governmental organisations and social enterprise builds Ecolife Café as a hub-place in a coastal commune in Vietnam where, besides serving the local and popular drinks and foods, the local people can have free access to internet and to a library that provides knowledge and information about environment, biodiversity and climate change. Ecolife Café is also where the visitors can interact with the locals and their daily lives, adding values to the ecotourism products that are marketed as supplementary livelihoods. The pilot Ecolife Café in community based ecotourism of Giao Xuan commune (Giao Thuy, Nam Dinh) is partially financed by the iBoP Asia under its 2009 small grant program. After its official opening in June 6, 2010, the Ecolife Café has been running well and proved to be a workable concept.
In the Manila forum, besides Ecolife Café, other 15 projects bringing S&T for the BoP and funded by iBoP Asia during 2008 and 2009 were presented and discussed. These are innovations in the fields of climate change, health, water and sanitation. The forum was also the place where about 80 participants including researchers, community developers, social entrepreneurs and government officers interacted and shared experiences, opinions and visions for supporting the BoP.