In 2005, SC Johnson sent a six-person team to Kibera, Nairobi, to test the Base of the Pyramid Protocol™. The goal was to get immersed in the local community and work with local groups to identify new business opportunities that would bring value to the community and to SC Johnson.

It's working! In 2006, SC Johnson began partnering with a youth-led organization that offered trash collection, recycling and composting businesses. We shared marketing and business expertise, a steady supply of consumer products and knowledge of pest control management. SC Johnson created jobs while the local entrepreneurs shared local marketing and distribution expertise, community insights and local credibility.

Together, we began collaborating on a new community-based cleaning business that offers a wide variety of cleaning and pest control services at a very low cost.

The services are a great value for low-income consumers in Nairobi. The business also introduces SC Johnson products to these consumers, building equity for our brands with consumers who could not yet afford to purchase them independently. Plus, it creates income for the entrepreneurs, who are helping improve the communities in which they live.

And, we are continuing to learn from and refine these new business models.