Description
Latin America’s chequered history with multi-national companies can make big business a hard sell.
In this episode of The Other America we look at some business projects in South America, centred on the poor to see what can happen.
“It is not about philanthropy or giving away resources,” says the boss of one of the world’s largest multinational cement companies, when asked what his company is doing lending money to the poor to build houses and supplying them with building materials. It’s turning a profit on the deal, and it’s not the only one: multinationals, growing bananas, coffee, and producing chocolate are not just selling to the poor but working with them.
One development agency sees business as crucial in the process of moving the poor from two to eight dollars a day. But can these practical solutions built on business models really deliver?
Part of a 5 x 25-minute documentary series produced for the BBC. These films can be bought individually or as a series.