The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid that changed how I see business and the world

I still remember the moment I came across C.K. Prahalad’s Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. I was in university, flipping through books on developmental economics and business strategy, expecting the usual case studies and market analyses.

But this one hit differently.

It made a bold claim, one that still echoes in my head to this day:

“If we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognising them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers, a whole world of opportunity opens up.”

That sentence flipped a switch.

Up until that point, most of what I understood about business was focused on margins and market share. But this was different.

Growth wasn’t just in selling more to the wealthy. Growth was in serving better, listening deeper, and building smarter for those who had long been excluded.

It wasn’t just about scaling up — it was about scaling out. To people who had always been overlooked. At the time, it felt radical: the idea that billions of underserved people, long ignored by traditional business models, weren’t just a “cost to manage” or a “market to develop.” They were the future.

Entrepreneurial. Adaptive. Value-conscious. Capable of building, buying, and shaping markets — if anyone paid attention.

That idea never left me. That book didn’t just change my career path. It shaped my worldview.

I didn’t want to just “run a company.” I wanted to create systems that could improve people’s lives, I wanted business to be a vector for change.

I’ve spent the last few years helping companies expand into new markets, and here’s what I can tell you now, not from theory, but from the ground:

The next wave of growth is already here.

Also Read: Hiring for hypergrowth? Here’s what founders keep getting wrong

Fast forward to today: Asia’s new middle class is rising

Back then, this felt a little idealistic. Today, it feels obvious.

We’re witnessing a massive shift, the rise of a digital middle class across the developing world.

And this isn’t some abstract economic theory. It’s millions of people:

• Getting online
• Up-skilling via YouTube and TikTok
• Starting businesses with a phone and a dream
• Working remotely for companies halfway across the world
• Consuming content, products, and services that speak their language

Across the region in these developing markets, change is occurring at a breakneck speed, with new opportunities made available to them with the internet. These are first-generation digital natives with rising purchasing power and global cultural fluency.

They are young, ambitious, and ready to participate — with a desire for brands that see them. To platforms that include them. To products designed with them, not just adapted for them.

We’re talking about consumption patterns of a new, connected, rising middle class:

• Smartphones over bank branches
• Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop over malls
• Remote work over local job scarcity
• Entrepreneurship over employment security

Here’s the strategic opportunity: Most Western or regional brands still overlook these markets, or enter late, slow, and with the wrong assumptions.

Also Read: The hidden growth engine: How offshore creative teams are powering global marketing innovation

Which means the field is wide open.

If you’re the first to enter, you get:

• Lower customer acquisition costs
• Loyal early adopters
• Brand recognition before the market gets crowded
• Partnerships and infrastructure shaped in your favour
• A head start on adapting your product to local needs

You’re not just selling into a market — you’re helping define it.

Final thought: Don’t wait for the market to “mature”

If you’re waiting for these markets to look like yours, you’ve already missed it.

They’re not just catching up — they’re leapfrogging. New behaviours. New tools. New infrastructure. Entire economies are being built on WhatsApp, GCash, Shopee, and TikTok — not email and Excel.

But what we do try to do is spot the gaps — the invisible disconnections between:

• A great product and its next market
• A skilled worker and the team that needs them
• A local founder and the tools that could help them scale
• A small business and a big vision

We’re not here to “export solutions.” We’re here to co-build.

To listen. To test. To adapt. To help brands and startups navigate new markets with respect and relevance — and help people access the global economy on their terms.

The question is: will your brand be part of this new story — or will you read about it later?

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