The Greening of Industry Network: BOP Conference 2008

International Conference
Sustainable Innovations at the Base of the Pyramid

September 26-27, 2008, Helsinki, Finland

Organized by
Helsinki School of Economics
in cooperation with
The Greening of Industry Network

An increasing number of companies are developing innovative business concepts for low-income markets in developing countries with the aim of combatting poverty in an economically profitable way. At the same time, non-governmental organizations and development agencies are becoming interested in this"Base-of-the-Pyramid" (BOP) approach to poverty alleviation.

The conference on Sustainable Innovations at the Base of the Pyramid, organized by Helsinki School of Economics in cooperation with the Greening of Industry Network, attempts to increase BOP knowledge by bringing together practitioners and academics from developing and developed countries. The conference addresses the topic of innovations in the underprivileged markets within the context of socially, ecologically, and economically sustainable development.

The speakers include international experts of BOP business from academia, NGOs, the public sector, and companies such as Nokia, GrameenPhone, Phillips Design, and Vestergaard-Frandsen. In addition, there will be interactive workshops on current themes on sustainability and innovations at the BOP.

The conference will coincide with the publication of the book, Sustainability Challenges and Solutions at the Base of the Pyramid: Business, Technology and the Poor, (Greenleaf) edited by Prabhu Kandachar and Minna Halme.
Go to Greenleaf Publishing.

Conference registration is now open at www.hse.fi/bop. The Web site also includes the draft program with speaker introductions and plenty of other information. Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid is a long-standing theme within the Greening of Industry Network, and this is our third conference that highlights new developments in the field.

Please join us in Helsinki. You are welcome to participate!

Minna Halme, Associate Professor, Helsinki School of Economics, Member of the GIN Advisory Board, Conference Chair.
Risto Tainio, Professor, Helsinki School of Economics, Director of HSE's Globalization and Competitiveness research programme.
Raimo Lovio, Professsor of Sustainability and Innovations, Helsinki School of Economics.

Theo de Bruijn, European Coordinator Greening of Industry Network, and Senior Researcher, School of Management and Governance, CSTM, University of Twente.

The conference location is the Helsinki School of Economics. The conference will be of interest to researchers and educators, business practitioners and entrepreneurs, and policy makers and civil society organizations.

Please register early as we have a limited number of seats.

Contact: bop@hse.fi

More information is available at www.hse.fi/bop.

{18 June 2008}