Supplying Base of Pyramid (BoP) Market

The article “Why Systems Thinking Is What We Need to Solve Climate Change” which features the famous bet WFP vs Musk about eradicating world hunger for 6 billion USD made me recall that I actually sent my plan to Mr Musk. The article below contains the integral version of my letter to Mr Musk sent in December 2021. The letter was delivered on 12 Jan 2022. There was no response since then. However, I believe the plan is somehow worthy so I decided to publish it making it available for your comments and further proposals.

SpaceX
1 Rocket Rd
Hawthorne
CA 90250
United States

Belgrade, 15-Dec-2021

SUBJECT: Hunger eradication solution that actually might work

Dear Mr Musk,

Hereby letter I send you the proposal responding to the challenge you publicly issued to WFP.

I read the WFP proposal published in mid-November. It is nothing else than a bad joke. Instead of drafting the plan to eradicate hunger, as they initially bragged they could do with 2% of your wealth, WFP is asking for 6.6 BUSD to pay for one meal per person for one year. At the same time, Mister @WFPChief enjoys in Rome residence paid for by public money and private donors. Outrageous.

My proposal contains the pilot plan for complete rethinking the way how society and economy support poor people to meet their primary needs allowing them not only to survive but thrive.

My name is Djordje Samardzija. I am an air traffic engineer and climate entrepreneur from Belgrade, Serbia. I worked 14 years in air traffic control. Currently, I work as a consultant for aviation CO2 emissions. Also, I operate the first commercially viable small scale PV solar power plant in Serbia. I coach System Innovation, too.

After learning about your challenge issued to a WFP Chief, I activated the plan drafted a couple of years ago. After reading a newspaper article about people who live with less than 2 USD/day in Serbia, I started to draft a business plan with the objective to supply these extremely poor people with not only high-quality food but water, shelter, health, and education services for less than 2 USD/day. The plan was titled “Supplying Base of Pyramid (BoP) Market”. To define the needs that shall be met, I researched the hierarchy of needs concepts developed by Maslow and Diamandis. In addition to its social component, the plan is drafted on solid business premises. The plan is focused on the provisions of supply to 125 thousand extremely poor children who live in Serbia. The identified BoP market could generate around 250k USD per day or 90 MUSD per year. The self-sufficient and sustainable company which supports these 125k children could easily jump to the club of 100 biggest Serbian companies.

This plan for rethinking the way how to supply Base of Pyramid products and services is based on the application of the First Principle, 6Ds concept, and System Innovation. This proposal will be piloted in Serbia and if proves successful, disseminated as an open-source to be replicated around the world by local teams.

I am asking you to support the project with an investment of 5.85 MUSD. Where this figure comes from? WFP asked for a donation of 6.6 BUSD. The current world population numbers 7.9 billion. Serbia has around 7 million inhabitants. So, 1128 times less. That’s why I am asking for a one-time investment of 5.85 million USD. The funds will be allocated for researching and resolving major challenges that were identified and setting up production lines and distribution networks.

So far, the following challenges and potential solutions have been identified:

• Food: Provision of 2200 kCal per day per kid by the production of high-quality and nutritious plant-based meals and application of automated vertical farming systems in abandoned industrial buildings.
• Distribution: Collaboration with existing delivery companies, use of reusable packaging, mobile phones and blockchain for delivery tracking and records keeping. The application of alternative modes of transport like autonomous UAVs and self-driving EVs will be researched.
• Energy: Cheap electricity, preferably by solar, for household consumption and food factory.
• Shelter: 3D printed houses or upscaled ship containers.
• Health: hygiene & sanitation, remote diagnostics & therapy, and patient monitoring, including mandatory vaccines.
• Education: digitization and remote access to school supporting early child development.

The 5.85 MUSD fund will be equally allocated to resolving these 6 challenges (974k USD per challenge). The project will rely on heavy digitization, automation, and AI to reduce labour and production costs. The necessary work will be done by people belonging to marginalized groups.

The project endorses a modular approach that will allow exponential growths from 1/10 of the market in year 1 to full market supply in year 10. The 5.85 MUSD is considered a one-time investment. The company will sell the listed products and services for a subscription equal to 2 USD/day. The profit will be reinvested in the company growth.

The project will be a testing ground for more effective use of existing technologies and piloting new ones while supporting its beneficiaries, i.e. poor children, to escape poverty. The vicious circle will be disrupted. The children supported by this project will have a better starting point, education, and careers so their kids (next generation) will not be going hungry again.

If you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact me via email (djordje.samardzija@yahoo.com) or Twitter (@dobarpredak).

Best regards,
Djordje Samardzija

Enclosed: Copy of initial plan drafted in 2017