A new managing director of Microsoft South Africa was appointed in 2007 at a low point in Microsoft South Africa’s dominance of the software industry. He set out to address the issues by focusing on four pillars: people (employees), partnerships, revenue and local relevance. The latter included regulatory compliance requirements regarding social transformation and meeting the stringent Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment codes. The managing director knew that targets had to be met in order to build the relationship with head office and that once this was in place, it would be easier to manage the requests that were to come related to local relevance.

A new managing director of Microsoft South Africa was appointed in 2007 at a low point in Microsoft South Africa's dominance of the software industry. He set out to address the issues by focusing on four pillars: people (employees), partnerships, revenue and local relevance. The latter included regulatory compliance requirements regarding social transformation and meeting the stringent Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment codes. The managing director knew that targets had to be met in order to build the relationship with head office and that once this was in place, it would be easier to manage the requests that were to come related to local relevance.

Capitec Bank was a new bank established at the end of apartheid to offer banking services and loans to the large numbers of low-income potential customers newly opened to economic progress and aspiration by the end of the discriminatory system. The banking context was dominated by four major and long-established banks characterized by conservative legacy practices. Capitec planned to create an innovative offering to serve the low-income market and to migrate this offering into higher income groups. At the same time, the competitive context began to change, as other banks sought to attract lower-income clients as well. The case examines Capitec's strategic options for survival and expansion in this context.

Capitec Bank was a new bank established at the end of apartheid to offer banking services and loans to the large numbers of low-income potential customers newly opened to economic progress and aspiration by the end of the discriminatory system. The banking context was dominated by four major and long-established banks characterized by conservative legacy practices. Capitec planned to create an innovative offering to serve the low-income market and to migrate this offering into higher income groups. At the same time, the competitive context began to change, as other banks sought to attract lower-income clients as well. The case examines Capitec’s strategic options for survival and expansion in this context.

This case focuses on management innovation in the South African dairy industry, describing how an innovative new yoghurt product, Danimal, was created specifically for the market at the base of the pyramid. It explains how management of the product line embodied the various innovation opportunities and challenges presented. The concept was initially introduced in order to assess the feasibility of profitably servicing this market. However, the project was not simply about introducing a cheap brand to the poor but was more about creating brand awareness in the market at the base of the pyramid. The new product took into consideration the nutritional shortcomings in the diet of children in this market and also allowed for the lack of available infrastructure — electricity and refrigeration. <br><br>The case illustrates the importance of a product being affordable, relevant, and available to its market. Innovation went further than product design and also took into account the necessity of a lean distribution channel. This took the form of micro-distributors, referred to as Danimamas, who comprised township residents that were unemployed or part-time employed. The case offers insights into the complexity of doing business in developing countries. It concludes with the challenge of how to ensure that the project continued on its upward trajectory.

The case focuses on management innovation in the South African dairy industry, describing how an innovative new yoghurt product, Danimal, was created specifically for the market at the base of the pyramid. It explains how management of the product line embodied the various innovation opportunities and challenges presented. The concept was initially introduced in order to assess the feasibility of profitably servicing this market. However, the project was not simply about introducing a cheap brand to poor people but was more about creating brand awareness in the market at the base of the pyramid. The new product took into consideration the nutritional shortcomings in the diet of children in this market and also allowed for the lack of available infrastructure - electricity and refrigeration. The case illustrates the importance of a product being affordable, relevant and available for this market. Innovation went further than product design and also took into account the necessity of a lean distribution channel. This took the form of micro-distributers, referred to as Danimamas, who comprised township residents, unemployed or part-time employed individuals. The case offers insights into the complexity of doing business in developing countries. The company admits that it has not been a sustainable business model in terms of current profitability but the value that has been gained from social marketing and long-term brand development has been great. The case concludes with the challenge of how to ensure that the project continues on its upward trajectory. The objectives of the case are to encourage students to have a better understanding of the strategies required to successfully impact on low-income markets in developing countries, the different metrics that one could consider when assessing the impact of interventions on the base of the pyramid market, and the importance of harnessing opportunities and overcoming the challenges of management innovation.

The South-African founder of Yola, a San Francisco-based company that provides simple website creation software, has developed a vibrant business that went from eight to more than 40 employees in only a year. He has secured two rounds of funding from a South African venture capitalist, and the growth in the Yola user base has been exceeding that predicted in the business plan. Yet the business faces multiple challenges. There are offices in both Cape Town (because of both personal ties and a substantial cost advantage) and San Francisco (because of the need to be connected to the heart of the industry), but managing across a 10-hour time difference is challenging. The rapid growth in employees is also placing demands on the company in terms of integrating people into the culture, and in finding an appropriate organization structure. The business model for online offerings is also not yet established, and Yola has to deal with substantial complexity in terms of its revenue models. In addition, the market place is heating up, and Yola may be losing its relative position in the market place.The case maps the challenges of managing a successful company in an emerging and fast-growing industry, and specifically focuses on the integrated decisions that an entrepreneur has to take.

The South-African founder of Yola, a San Francisco-based company that provides simple website creation software, has developed a vibrant business that went from eight to more than 40 employees in only a year. He has secured two rounds of funding from a South African venture capitalist, and the growth in the Yola user base has been exceeding that predicted in the business plan. Yet the business faces multiple challenges. There are offices in both Cape Town (because of both personal ties and a substantial cost advantage) and San Francisco (because of the need to be connected to the heart of the industry), but managing across a 10-hour time difference is challenging. The rapid growth in employees is also placing demands on the company in terms of integrating people into the culture, and in finding an appropriate organization structure. The business model for online offerings is also not yet established, and Yola has to deal with substantial complexity in terms of its revenue models. In addition, the market place is heating up, and Yola may be losing its relative position in the market place.The case maps the challenges of managing a successful company in an emerging and fast-growing industry, and specifically focuses on the integrated decisions that an entrepreneur has to take.

Post-Apartheid South Africa has been characterized by high levels of crime, but also by sustained increases in the income levels of the previously disadvantaged black community. Cash is the preferred method of payment for new entrants into an economy, but it is also an attractive target for criminals. Deposita has seized the business opportunity presented by this tension, and developed an automated banking machine, basically an ATM in reverse. As soon as businesses feed their cash into the machine on their premises, information about the deposit is relayed via a cellphone network to the Deposita database. With the realization that Deposita offers a cash management system that not only eliminates the time, cost and inaccuracies of manual cash counting, but also gives businesses remote visibility into the movement of cash, interest in Deposita grew rapidly, both within South Africa and internationally. The case highlights the systemic nature of innovation, technology-enabled innovation at the base of the pyramid, hyper-mediation, and the tension between product and geographic expansion as the owners of Deposita redirect their strategic focus to the entire cash value chain in South Africa or to international markets or both.

Post-Apartheid South Africa has been characterized by high levels of crime, but also by sustained increases in the income levels of the previously disadvantaged black community. Cash is the preferred method of payment for new entrants into an economy, but it is also an attractive target for criminals. Deposita has seized the business opportunity presented by this tension, and developed an automated banking machine, basically an "ATM in reverse." As soon as businesses feed their cash into the machine on their premises, information about the deposit is relayed via a cellphone network to the Deposita database. With the realization that Deposita offers a cash management system that not only eliminates the time, cost and inaccuracies of manual cash counting, but also gives businesses remote visibility into the movement of cash, interest in Deposita grew rapidly, both within South Africa and internationally. The case highlights the systemic nature of innovation, technology-enabled innovation at the base of the pyramid, hyper-mediation, and the tension between product and geographic expansion as the owners of Deposita redirect their strategic focus to the entire cash value chain in South Africa or to international markets or both.