Frugal Innovation:

How to do More (and Better) with Less

Jaideep Prabhu

Unrulyversity
London, 25 November 2015
Unique Features of Indian Innovators & Innovations

Frugal

Flexible

Inclusive
Thinking Outside the (Ice) Box
WHAT IF your fridge
can operate without electricity?
Source: http://gizmodo.com

Source: http://www.mitticool.in/
Thinking Outside the (Hot) Box
 Jugaad Innovation
The art of overcoming harsh constraints by improvising an
effective solution using limited resources

Gambiarra or jeitinho in Brazil

Kanju in Africa

Jiejian Chuangxin in China

Do-it-yourself (DIY) in the US

Systeme D in France
How Can You Practice Jugaad?

1. Seek Opportunity in Adversity

2. Do More with Less

3. Think and Act Flexibly

4. Keep it Simple

5. Include the Margin

6. Follow your Heart

Social Entrepreneurs
Mansukh Bhai and the MittiCool Fridge
Dr Mohans Mobile Diabetes Clinic

Source: http://www.drvmohan.com/ Source: http://www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org/composite-2731.htm

Devi Shetty: Frugal Surgeon
Harish Hande and SELCO
Green Light Planet: Solar Lighting Kit
Cambridge-based Azuri Solar Light
Simpa Networks & Progressive Purchase

Has prepaid, pay as you go, and

installment plan elements

Consumer makes a series of payments that

unlock the solar home system for a paid
amount of energy consumption (Kwh)

Once the total purchase price has been paid,

full functionality is restored and the product is
permanently unlocked

Paul Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Large Indian Organisations
Tata and the Nano

Source:http://www.examiner.com/road-driver-in-national/world-s-cheapest-car-the-tata-nano
Tata Swach Water Filter
Aakash Tablet
Multinationals in India
GE and Affordable Innovation
ECG machine designed specifically for
Indias rural markets

Portable, light, battery operated, reliable,

cheap

Launched in China, and now in the US after

having got FDA approval
Siemens: Foetal Heart Monitor
Siemens SMART Products

Simple, maintenance free, affordable, reliable, timely to market

Micro-processor cameras for Indian industrial markets

Processing lines in food industry or engine parts

Sees each biscuit in terms of colour and thickness

The Nokia 1100
Specifically for emerging markets:

Dustproof keypad and front face

Built-in flashlight

Over 200 million sold since late 2003

World's best selling handset and consumer electronics device

The Proposition Is Simple

Cash In Cash Out

Person 2 Person Transfer
Airtime Top-Up
Merchant Payment
Bill Payment
ATM Withdrawals
Social Payments

International Transfer

Page 24
Selling Solar Lighting Solutions

Photo: M-KOPA
Frugal Innovation in the West
Consumers are Value Conscious

+17% I seek discounts often

+14% I am comfortable buying store (private) brands

+13% I accept living with less

% of all shoppers Source: PwC

Consumers are Values Conscious

will pay extra for products and services from

55% companies committed to positive social and
environmental impact

67% prefer to work for socially responsible companies

Source: Nielsen
The Rise of the Frugal Economy

FRUGAL
ECONOMY

SHARING MAKING

PROSUMERS
Peer-to-peer Sharing is Taking Off

$335 bn 2025 $335 bn

2013

$340 bn

Sharing economy sectors Traditional rental sectors Source: PwC

Exit Fixed Assets. Enter Asset Light

Marriott wants to add

30,000 rooms in 2014.
We are going to do it in
2 weeks!

Brian Chesky,
CEO, Airbnb
Source: Fast Co

Photo: LeWEB12
Exit Fixed Assets. Enter Asset Light
Design for America and Swipe Sense

To solve problems in health care, education,

and energy in the US

Hospital acquired infections: 2 million people

100,000 deaths each year

$2-4 billion dollars in costs to the healthcare

industry
Eben Upton and the Raspberry Pi

Design intended to inspire

schoolchildren and adults to program
sees overwhelming demand as first
versions go on sale

Demand for Raspberry Pi, the

British 22 computer, crashes
website

Source: The Guardian

Prabhu Subramanian and CoLearnr
Frugal Innovators Disrupt Industries

CellScope

Source: CellScope
US Frugal Finance: PayNearMe
Frugal Banking: Compte Nickel
French Frugal Finance

The Compte
Nickel is the
Logan of the
bank account

Hughes Le Bret
Co-founder, Compte Nickel
Former CEO, Boursorama
3D Printing: Increasingly Affordable
The Rise of DIY Manufacturing

Grace Choi, Harvard Business School Alum

Slide with J&J

43
Simprints: ID to Access Patient Records
Photos: EMBRACE
Photo: EMBRACE
The Maker Movement & Government
Todays
Do-It-Yourself
is tomorrows
Made in America

Photo: WhiteHouse.gov
The Maker Movement & DIY

http://fetosoap.com/blog/index.php?s=faire
Frugal Agriculture: gThrive

Photos: gThrive

49
FabLab Barcelonas Smart Citizen Kit

An electronic board based on

Arduino equipped with the
following sensors:

Air Quality
Temperature
Sound
Humidity
Light Quantity
How Can Large Firms do Frugal
Innovation?
Frugal Innovation

VALUE +
RESOURCES
Frugal Innovation

- Customers
VALUE - Shareholders
- Society
- Financial resources
RESOURCES - Natural resources
- Time
The Six Principles of Frugal Innovation

1. Engage & iterate

2. Flex your assets
3. Create sustainable solutions
4. Shape customer behavior
5. Co-create value with prosumers
6. Make innovative friends
1) Engage and iterate: Intuit

Scott Cook, Founder, Intuit

Copyright Navi Radjou & Jaideep Prabhu

1) Engage and iterate: Intuit

Source: Kara DeFrias, Intuit

2) Flex your assets: Novartis

Photo: Dominick Reuter

2) Flex your assets: PepsiCo

Global Value Innovation Center

Goal: create disruptive business models

that radically:
1) Reduce CAPEX and OPEX
by at least 50%
2) Boost operational agility

100% open-sourced innovation

Indra Nooyi
CEO, PepsiCo Photo: PepsiCo
3) Create sustainable solutions: Tarkett

Michel Giannuzzi
CEO, Tarkett
Photos: Tarkett
3) Create sustainable solutions: Levi Strauss

Water<Less jeans collection

Designed to reduce the water used in the finishing process by up to 96

percent

And its 100% recycled water standard, a first for the apparel industry

By 2014, the line has saved over 770 million liters of water enough to
supply drinking water for 811,000 people for one year since its launch in
2011
4) Shape customer behavior: Levi Strauss

Photo: Levi Strauss

We don't need to
wash jeans as often
as most people think

I havent washed
mine in a year

Chip Bergh, CEO, Levi Strauss

4) Shape customer behavior: IKEA

In March 2009, IKEA France launched a car-sharing website to get

people to IKEA and reduce energy use

In April 2011, with the help of La Chose, IKEA France launched the
Mysterious Passenger campaign

The campaign ran for three weeks: the trailer got more than 700,000
views on YouTube; website registrations went up fivefold; site visits
increased by 600%; 4,000 people offered to share rides with other
IKEA customers, leading to 2,000 car-shared journeys
5) Co-create value with prosumers

MARKETING
R&D OPERATIONS &
SALES
CUSTOMERS

CO-DISCOVER
5) Co-create value with prosumers : GE
5) Co-create value with prosumers : Ford
6) Make innovative friends: GE
6) Make innovative friends: GE
6) Make innovative friends: Barclays

Techstars selects 10 promising global fintech startups

Start-ups are housed in an accelerator for 13 weeks

They are mentored by Barclays Bank personnel

They pitch to Barclays strategic investment team

The new ventures stand to gain up to $100,000 investment and

$200,000 partner perks
B2B Sharing and the Circular Economy

Kalundborg
Eco-industrial
Park
Conclusions
The Challenge for Large Organisations

Learn to do more with less

Learn to be agile

Learn to include excluded groups

The Challenge for Large Organisations

Give employees time and space to experiment

Engage with agile entrepreneurs

Create a jugaad mindset by engaging with emerging

markets
Create Global Innovation Networks

Western R&D Jugaad innovation

The Challenge for Small Organisations

Learn to scale

Learn to partner with large organisations

Conclusion
The world needs frugal, flexible, and inclusive
innovation

Western firms can gain by engaging with emerging

economies

Large and small firms can work together to improve

lives everywhere
Discussion

Frugal Innovation Hub

http://frugalinnovationhub.com

@Frugal_Hub
@JaideepPrabhu