India - Sulabh International gets U.N recognition

Sandeep Joshi
NEW DELHI: The United Nations has chosen Sulabh International as one of the 50 most successful business models targeting the poor.
The U.N. Development Programme’s latest report, “Creating value for all: Strategies for doing business with the poor,” reviews Sulabh International’s role in transforming the lives of scavengers in India.
The UNDP conducted a case study titled “Sulabh International: A movement to liberate scavengers by implementing a low-cost, safe sanitation system (India).” It gives detailed information about the key constraints and strategies used by the NGO while working among scavengers and the poor, and in providing low-cost sanitation in India and abroad.
The UNDP report says: “Business with the poor can be profitable, sometimes even more profitable than business with the rich.” A role model
Terming Sulabh International as a role model, the report appreciates its strategy of building and operating public toilets and installing private toilets being used by 1-crore people in India.