Profit and social development, brick by brick

In many developing countries the large lower-class amounts to a desirable yet ignored market for most multinationals. Not so for global powerhouse Cemex:

Patrimonio Hoy – Personal Property Today – combines aspects of microlending and community moneypooling – to help low-income Mexicans build homes faster and better. And since Cemex makes its building materials easier to buy, the company is moving its products in a market segment it once believed was impenetrable and not potentially profitable enough to pursue.

This grassroots approach has been a great success, resulting in the construction of over 10,000 new homes. Homes that normally took 10 years to be built in a piecemeal approach were started and completed in just a few months.

For more see Time and Changemakers.