There is value in the informal sector, now what do you have to do?

So, what have we learned?

Not only don't the poor don't suck, they're a market ... and you're missing it.

More specific lessons include:

• Building a single relationship with each entity in the informal sector is expensive
• Aggregating specific industries and working directly with these sectors offers lucrative opportunities
• Distribution is both a problem and a business opportunity
• Products need to be redeveloped to suit not just the consumers, but also the informal sector retailers
• This offers opportunities to new manufacturers and brands wishing to break into the market
• Informal market consumers are brand and quality conscious and would buy more ... if it was available

And, sometimes, you get unexpected benefits from solving a problem only the poor experience: a lack of dependable electric power stimulated the FreePlay Group to introduce hand-cranked radios in South Africa that subsequently became a popular item for hikers and survivalists in the United States.

The questions you need to answer about your own business include the following:

• Can your products be repackaged into their smallest components to make them cheap to sell and easy to distribute?
• If not, how can you aggregate incomes - or distribute costs - to sell expensive products?
• How do you ensure that you get paid where credit-risk is high and contracts are too difficult to enforce?
• How do you secure your own distribution systems?
• How do you even know who you can trust to sell to and work with?
• And how do you develop relationships with a market that is culturally remote from your own?