Innovation driven by basic needs

Emerging countries have a growing role to play in the creation of new products, which meet more basic needs than in so-called developed countries. The lack of financial resources and available technologies encourages people to invent ingenious and easily achievable solutions. Another source of innovation is neo-retro. Creativity emerges from old concepts, often initiated from basic needs and reinvented by reusing proven and financially amortized technologies as much as possible.

The bottom-of-the-pyramid innovation model is defined as the company's strategy for accessing markets with very low purchasing power. These products, initially designed for customers in emerging countries, are reaching the "disengaged" populations of wealthy countries. In the case of certain products, such as automobiles, they are spreading to the affluent classes, as they give families access to a second or third car.