Grameen Koota (GK) is a micro finance institution (MFI) that offers several socially focused loans for poor and low income households. Its collateral-free loans and other services are targeted at women from poor and low-income households to improve their economic opportunities for inclusive development. Udaya, CEO had set GK on a strong foundation for growth after a period of consolidation and was planning to accelerate growth. GK was growing at 2x but needed to grow at 4x. CEO was facing a dilemma as to whether GK should set up new branches and increase the customer base for lending operations or mine their existing branches. GK had started expanding beyond South and Western India by setting up operations in Central India. The case describes the strategies adopted by GK to consolidate and grow. It raises potential issues and opportunities including transitioning from microfinance to broader financial services, growing through rapid acquisition and expansion of customer base as well as lending operations. Should they retain borrowers merely as customers of a commercial, financial service or aim to make these poor borrowers financially self-reliant? The case also highlights the strategic options for GK to achieve its 2020 aspirations.

Aravind Eye Care Systems (Aravind) had started setting up vision centers (VC) in 2006 and 51 VCs were operational by March 2015. The location for each VC was chosen to ensure easy access for about 50,000 people across 15 to 20 villages within a 5-7 km radial distance. Each VC had a target of reaching at least 10% of the population, that is, around 5,000 patients, which served as a benchmark for penetration. Consultations related to eye care were provided at the VC. They also dispensed medicines and spectacles. The VC would facilitate arrangements for patients requiring surgeries at the base hospital, including their transport, food and any other reimbursement. Each VC had three key personnel - coordinator, ophthalmic technician, and field worker. The VC was equipped with basic ophthalmic equipment and internet connectivity. The presence of a permanent establishment, in the form of a VC, motivated people in rural areas to seek earlier treatment for vision problems. This helped in eliminating vision care problems and enabled them to get back to earning their livelihoods. The permanent setup also positively influenced the healthcare seeking behavior of the people. Most VCs had performed well, however some VCs were not attracting enough patients, thus not enabling Aravind's classic, volume-driven model, to work and support self-sustainable operations. Thulsiraj, Director of Aravind, was analyzing the performance of all VCs. How should he analyze the performance of VCs from a marketing perspective? Should he change the marketing strategies for those VCs which had attracted a very low number of patients and if yes, how will it be be designed, considering the unique market in which VC operates? Were the VCs innovative in their approach to reach out to patients? Were the VCs self-sustainable? What parameters should he use to evaluate the performance of VCs? How should he increase the number of patients at VCs?

The case focuses on the dilemma faced by Dipak Mane, Bühler's President, South Asia as he pursues opportunities for sustainable growth in India's rapidly growing but competitive food processing industry. Buhler's corporate objectives, innovative technologies, superior quality, positioning as a premium global brand, competition and value chain requirements, determined its product - market strategies in India. Bühler was traditionally focused on the top-level market in several geographies that it served around the world. However, the company had experienced rapid growth during the last decade after it entered the mid-level market with new offerings and a value proposition tailored to the needs of the mill owners. Dipak's dilemma revolved around growing the business in India by consolidating in the mid-level market and/or targeting a new segment, namely the entry-level segment. The key issues relate to - Should Bühler target the entry-level segment? If yes, what adaptations will be needed to target customers in the entry-level segment? What will be the potential cannibalization in the mid-level segment where Bühler enjoyed a sizeable presence and reputation? What should be the differentiation strategy in the entry-level segment? What would be the go-to-market strategy for the entry level?

Grameen Koota had escaped any direct impact of the crisis faced by the microfinance industry due to new legislations introduced by the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 2010. External sources of funds had dried up for the microfinance sector thus impacting growth. While evaluating his organization's performance during the last two years, Suresh Krishna, Managing Director of Grameen Koota was concerned about the imminent shortfall in the growth envisioned in 2010. The tumultuous industry condition was accompanied by an uncertain regulatory environment. While exploring options for growth, Krishna wanted to assess whether to expand operations to new districts and new states or consolidate and grow in the existing regions of operations. Concentrating operations implied risking too much in too few states in a shaky regulatory environment while expansion to nascent geographies could potentially erode the low margins. It was a difficult choice, so Krishna wanted to make sure that he arrived at the decision after a thorough evaluation of the opportunities, costs, and risks associated with expanding the distribution reach.

Global Development Network (GDN), an international public organization, supports research in developing and transition economies to advance social and economic development. During April 2011 -August 2013, it conducted a communication project titled ''Supporting Policy Research to Inform Agricultural Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia''. The project group was tasked to design and deliver a communication program to inform policymakers and other relevant target audiences across a vast geography covering Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and the world at large. Now the team at GDN was evaluating the experience to learn and improve their communication program for the next project. Tuhin Sen, the lead strategist at GDN was wondering if the outreach strategy was appropriate and how it could have been better given the intangibility of a research output that was to be disseminated to unique users such as policymakers across a diverse geography of Asia and Africa.