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The learning outcomes of this study are as follows:▪ to explain the marketing of products that fall under “stigmatised” products;▪ to develop a multi-segmentation strategy and identify variables used in segmentation;▪ to identify the target segments;▪ to draw a value proposition canvas;▪ to construct positioning statements; and▪ to decide the product portfolio based on segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP).

This case considers the dilemma faced by Deep Bajaj, CEO of Sirona Hygiene Pvt. Ltd., a company in the female menstrual and intimate hygiene products space, in May 2021. During an investor meeting, an investor questions Sirona’s focus on menstrual cups (MCs) and advises Deep to expand instead the sanitary pads category. While the company has been growing at more than 100% year-on-year and has also been profitable for the last three years, the case considers how Deep can better participate in the bull run in the Indian menstrual hygiene market. Should he discard menstrual cups from Sirona’s product portfolio and concentrate on sanitary pads – India’s most highly accepted menstrual hygiene product? Alternatively, should he discard sanitary pads from his product portfolio and focus on MCs – his flagship product? Or, could he tap the large and growing menstrual hygiene market to “have his cup and pad too”?

This case is suitable for a class of 90 min in an undergraduate course or an extended session of two 90-min classes in a graduate MBA course. It can be studied as part of the STP module in a Marketing Management course. It may also be used in a strategic management course within a graduate MBA program to provide an understanding of the value proposition canvas as part of the module on business model canvas.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

MBA/MS level programs.

Social entrepreneurship, sustainability and business strategy.

The case discusses about how social entrepreneur Katerina Kimmorley founded Pollinate Energy with five of her friends to provide solar lights to the urban slum dwellers in Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka, a state in the Southern part of India. The company recruited people known as “Pollinators” for distributing their solar lights to the communities on installments making it affordable to them. To scale-up its sustainable energy initiatives and expand its global reach, Pollinate Energy merged with the US-based solar energy company Empower Generation in 2018 to form Pollinate Group. Since the company was making losses and was a nonprofit organization, the new CEO of Pollinate Group Sujatha Ramani and the senior management team had to tackle the challenge of scaling up the company while financially empowering women microentrepreneurs from marginalized communities.

Study Pollinate Energy’s business model and explore ways in which it can be made sustainable. Discuss the personality traits of Kimmorley which contributed to her success. Discuss how the merger with Empower Generation will help Pollinate Group in expanding its global reach. Explore ways in which the venture can be scaled up further.

Pollinate Group focused on women empowerment to tackle the gender inequality challenge. The company provided equal opportunities for men and women, thereby removing discrimination from access to opportunities, sources, services and promotion of equal rights.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

The learning outcomes are as follows: Understand the concept and characteristics of Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) markets; understand the concept and characteristics of frugal innovations; understand the Design Thinking approach to product design and how it might be useful to develop frugal innovations for BoP markets.

The case details the journey of a group of students at a premier engineering college in India. The group aimed to develop and implement a social innovation that addressed a serious and important health issue – menstrual hygiene practices among urban slum dwellers in India. The case begins with how a chance visit to an NGO inspired a pair of students to take up this issue, how the project unfolded at their college, the challenges faced in their journey and, finally, an outcome that was only a partial success. It raises important questions of challenges that are specific to bottom of pyramid markets in emerging economies. The case can provide a context for discussions on approaching frugal innovations from a Design Thinking perspective.

This case can be used in social innovation courses/modules at an undergraduate or graduate level in social innovation and social entrepreneurship courses. The case is best positioned towards the beginning of the course as an overview of the process of Social Innovation, and to discuss the relevance of concepts of BoP markets and frugal innovation.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management Science.

The case covers several topics such as social entrepreneurship, social innovation, green startups, their marketing and growth. The learning outcomes are as follows: identify the characteristics of social entrepreneurs; learn about the concept of social innovation, its challenges and opportunities; apply the concepts environmental sustainability to possible growth strategies; and evaluate the different growth opportunities available to the company in the region.

The case tells the story of a recently established technology and agriculture startup, Schaduf, founded in Egypt. Their concept mixes tradition with technology to improve the quality of life for city dwellers. Research and development (R&D) plays a big role in this company’s success. Schaduf uses the concepts of soilless farming to grow rooftop crops for low-income households. The company also provides aesthetic solutions for businesses and homes to increase their green spaces. Driven by a desire to transform the monochrome city to a green paradise, two Egyptian entrepreneurs founded Schaduf, an urban micro-farming and eco-friendly venture. The founders of the startup, brothers Sherif and Tarek Hosny, are in the process of expanding their business. They are faced by the dilemma of staying true to their original business concept in developing markets or pursuing other lucrative ventures in more affluent economies. This case offers learners insight into the growth strategy of a social enterprise that relies heavily on R&D to stay ahead of the game. Learners should evaluate the different growth strategies available to the company.

The case can be used for senior undergraduate students and at the graduate level in MBA, management, innovation, entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship programs.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This case will help students to understand the following: Develop a basic understanding of competency building processes. Learn about the mentoring process and its application in leadership development. Develop awareness about the methodology for assessment of the effectiveness of training.

Dr A. R. K. Pillai founded the Indian Leprosy Foundation in 1970 in response to the national call by late Mrs Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India, to the public-spirited people to take up leprosy eradication. It collaborated with international agencies to reduce leprosy drastically in India from four million, in 1982 to around a hundred thousand cases in 2006. In 2006, the Indian Leprosy Foundation was renamed as Indian Development Foundation (IDF) as the trustees decided to expand the work of IDF in the areas of health, children’s education and women’s empowerment. Dr Narayan Iyer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDF initiated a leadership development intervention called the Students’ leadership programme (SLP) for children in the age group of 12 to 14, from the urban poor households in 2014. It was a structured mentoring programme spanning over three months in collaboration with the schools. It aimed at incubating skills in the areas of leadership, teamwork, personality, behavioural traits and provided career guidance. It had a humble beginning in 2014 with a coverage of 50 students. Initially, IDF welcomed executives from the corporate sector as mentors. As there was a need to rapidly expand the scope of SLP to the other cities of India, IDF tied up with the graduate colleges and invited the students to be the mentors. The other objective behind this move was to create social awareness among the students from more affluent strata of society. IDF was able to dramatically increase the participation of the students through SLP by approximately up to 100,000 by 2020. However, rapid progress threw up multiple challenges. The teachers complained about the non-availability of the students for regular classes to teach the syllabus as the students were busy with SLP. The schools forced IDF to shorten the duration of SLP to two months. Also, many undergraduate mentors were unable to coach the participants due to lack of maturity and found wanting to strike a rapport with them. There was a shortage of corporate executives who volunteered for the mentoring, due to work pressures. Dr Narayan, CEO & National Coordinator and Ms Mallika Ramchandran, the project head of SLP at IDF, were worried about the desired impact of SLP on the participants and its sustainability due to these challenges. So, with the support of Dr Narayan, she initiated a detailed survey to assess the ground-level impact of SLP. The objective was to get clarity about what was working for SLP and what aspects needed to improve, to make the programme more effective. Overall feedback from the survey was very positive. The mothers had seen very positive changes in the participants’ behaviour post-SLP. The teachers had specific concerns about the effectiveness of undergraduate mentors. The need for a refresher course to inculcate ethical behaviour and the inadequacy of the two-month duration of the SLP to reinforce values were highlighted. Respondents also voiced the requirement to build responsible citizenship behaviours among the participants. Mallika was all for preparing a model to further enhance the effectiveness of SLP. Dr Narayan and Mallika embraced the challenge and they were raring to go to develop SLP as a cutting-edge leadership programme and to take it to new heights.

This case can be used in courses on human resource management in postgraduate and graduate management programmes. It can also be used in the general and development management courses and during executive education programmes to teach methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of the training interventions, with emphasis on the voluntary sector.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

Management (interdisciplinary): corporate social responsibility/financial management/social entrepreneurship.

Undergraduate/MBA.

The case revolves around a Delhi-based non-governmental organization (NGO), GOONJ founded by 40-year-old social activist, Mr Anshu Gupta. Winner of several awards, this NGO is trying to highlight some ignored but basic needs of the poor by using the surplus of the cities (supply of discarded commodities: clothes, furniture, toys, waste paper, utensils stationary, etc. due to space constraints and the growing consumerism) to address scarcity of essential commodities to the poor in the rural areas and creating it as a powerful developmental resource. GOONJ has a number of collection centers across the nation through which the old clothes are collected. Thereafter, the clothes are washed, dried, repaired and packed and then reached to the far flung villages with help of partner grassroots NGO, panchayats, Indian army, etc.There are three key issues raised in the case:

• This NGO has been operating without any formal funding for last many years. With annual expenses over ten million, how does NGO operate so successfully. Also, it is interesting to find out how they are able to maintain cost of just 97 paisa (1 paisa=1/100 rupee) from the time old clothing is collected to the point where it has been delivered to a needy.

• The second issue about the synergy that is created by the NGO – corporate partnership. Further, this case also gives the audience to explore synergy between NGO and B-schools.

• To understand the problem areas of distribution management when so many different stakeholders are involved.

This NGO has been operating without any formal funding for last many years. With annual expenses over ten million, how does NGO operate so successfully. Also, it is interesting to find out how they are able to maintain cost of just 97 paisa (1 paisa=1/100 rupee) from the time old clothing is collected to the point where it has been delivered to a needy.

The second issue about the synergy that is created by the NGO – corporate partnership. Further, this case also gives the audience to explore synergy between NGO and B-schools.

To understand the problem areas of distribution management when so many different stakeholders are involved.

• To explore innovations in resource mobilization (sources of financing) and cost management.

• To appreciate the synergy created by forming partnerships between different stakeholders: NGO, corporate houses, B-schools.

• To appreciate issues and problems of distribution management – especially in the case when there are different stakeholders involved.

To explore innovations in resource mobilization (sources of financing) and cost management.

To appreciate the synergy created by forming partnerships between different stakeholders: NGO, corporate houses, B-schools.

To appreciate issues and problems of distribution management – especially in the case when there are different stakeholders involved.

This case uses the concept of social entrepreneurship to analyze the entrepreneurial journey of Mr Suraj Prakash and his social enterprise, the Swasth Foundation. It further deepens our understanding of strategic decision-making by exploring the successful use of pivots.

The case was primarily developed through a series of interviews with the leadership team over a year. Secondary sources included literature about Swasth Foundation available on the internet and those shared by the founder.

In 2008, Suraj Prakash left McKinsey & Company after six and half years in the health and development sector as an engagement manager. Along with his friends, Aman Paul and Ankur Sharma, he established Swasth with the goal of building an ecosystem that delivered high-quality, affordable and accountable health services to low-income communities in India. Right from its inception, Swasth went through many fundamental shifts in terms of its business model, team composition and even the nature of its existence; however, this did not deter Suraj from pursuing his goal.

The case brings into focus the health-care system of India, especially in the context of the urban poor and the challenges they are facing, followed by the initiatives taken by Swasth Foundation and the impact it is trying to create. The remainder of the case delves into Suraj’s entrepreneurial journey and the three pivotal decisions that changed the course of his organization over 11 years. It will also provide a transpicuous view of the entrepreneurial decision-making process through the lens of pivoting. As Suraj and his team are trying to bring about the required changes through the third pivot, there remain some challenges that need to be addressed for a successful implementation.

The case is written for business management students and can be used in general management, entrepreneurship and strategy classes. The case can be used for discussions on leadership, social entrepreneurship and strategic decision-making. It is suited for both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP); social innovation and business modeling.

Undergraduate and graduate level management/business school students. It can be taught in marketing management and entrepreneurship/innovation courses.

LifeSpring Hospitals Pvt. Ltd is an expanding chain of hospitals that provide high quality health care to lower-income women and children across Andhra Pradesh. It is a 50-50 equity partnership between Hindustan Latex Ltd and the Acumen Fund. LifeSpring has demonstrated exceptional management principles, some of them being the most innovative and attractive ones. The entire focus of LifeSpring is on one particular niche: maternal care. Some argue about its strategy of not adopting diversification, but LifeSpring has proved its point by actually turning out to be a profitable business. The strategy of focusing on one niche has led to reduction in cost in terms of specialized doctors and the range of equipment needed to serve. Adding to the strategic strength of LifeSpring, its operations (management) is perfectly aligned with the organization's vision and quality is achieved via highly standardized procedures for maternal care service.

This case will cover two important aspects of BOP and social innovation. MBA students will investigate an innovative business model and apply their analytical skills to analyse the sustainability of the model.

Teaching notes and exercise for class-based discussion.

The learning outcomes are as follows. Students can assess effective business strategies, determine the role of business in shaping informal institutions, understand managing issues in social enterprises, from talent management to expansion to mission drift, and develop deeper understanding of the African context.

The case presents the challenges facing the award-winning CEO/Founder of Tanzanian social enterprise Girls’ Technical Education (GTE). GTE provides technology and coding skills in Tanzania, focussing on educating women and girls. GTE has experienced significant success – expanding into neighbouring Malawi. GTE has a strong vision and mission, clearly articulated and prioritised by the Founder and his Board. Hybrid organisations, blending a social and financial mission, are expected to experience management tensions or mission drift, yet GTE seems to have avoided this. As an emerging organisational form, social enterprises – like GTE – often face hurdles regarding legitimacy and acceptance in the markets in which they operate. GTE is working to understand the Tanzanian and regional contexts and challenges in these ecosystems, seeking to influence norms and bring about positive impact.

Postgraduate courses including MBA, Executive Education and courses focussing on Organisation Studies, Management and Strategy.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 7 Management Science.

This case features an entrepreneur striving to rapidly grow a successful chain of hair salons that serve women with afro hair. After doubling from 13 to 26 salons across Brazil in 2014, the founders' expansion plan called for 120 Beleza Natural salons and R$1 billion in sales by 2018. CEO and cofounder Leila Velez is considering various fundamental marketing strategies to catalyze growth: Should Beleza launch a new mass-media campaign, increase promotional discounts, expand its target market to serve men, broaden its service offerings, streamline processes to reduce wait times, expand distribution channels, or franchise? Students assume the role of Velez and are asked to recommend which growth strategy would be their top priority. In doing so, they are required to evaluate how these strategies pertain to the company's business model and value proposition. They are also challenged to consider what a brand is and what makes a strong service brand in order to verify if their strategies are consistent with Beleza's brand. The teaching note outlines a framework for developing or evaluating a business model as well as developing strategies for managing growth. The case is accompanied by a series of video interviews with Velez that support case preparation, in-class discussion, and key learning points.