This course focuses on understanding subsistence marketplaces and designing business solutions for the billions of people living in poverty in the global marketplace. To develop understanding of these markets, we use exercises to that enable learners to view the world from the eyes of subsistence consumers and entrepreneurs, facilitate bottom‐up understanding generated by participants, and provide insights from extensive research. More broadly, the course uses the context of extreme resource constraints to learn about the bottom-up approach pioneered through the Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative and apply it in broadly. A parallel project will focus on understanding a specific need in a subsistence marketplace, and designing a solution and an enterprise plan for implementation.
Sustainable Innovation for Subsistence Marketplaces
Instructor: Madhu Viswanathan
13,627 already enrolled
Included with 
(125 reviews)
What you'll learn
Develop an understanding of subsistence marketplaces.
Design solutions for subsistence marketplaces.
Develop enterprise plans to implement solutions for subsistence marketplaces.
Apply the bottom-up approach for subsistence marketplaces as well as other contexts.
Skills you'll gain
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There are 5 modules in this course
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
What's included
3 videos11 readings1 quiz1 discussion prompt
In this module, you will be introduced to the importance of studying subsistence marketplaces as well as the unique nature of a bottom-up approach to studying it.
What's included
16 videos7 readings5 quizzes3 peer reviews4 discussion prompts
In this module you will learn about unique aspects that characterize marketplace interactions between buyers and sellers in subsistence marketplaces. You will also learn about understanding needs and markets in subsistence marketplaces.
What's included
12 videos10 readings4 quizzes2 peer reviews2 discussion prompts
In this module you will learn about gaining marketplace insights in subsistence marketplaces. You will also learn about environmental issues in subsistence marketplaces.
What's included
18 videos7 readings3 quizzes2 peer reviews4 discussion prompts
In this module you will learn about understanding needs in subsistence contexts. You will also learn about a structured approach to generating ideas for addressing the needs in subsistence marketplaces.
What's included
11 videos8 readings4 quizzes2 peer reviews4 discussion prompts
Instructor
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Leadership and Management
EIT Digital
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Build toward a degree
This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹
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Learner reviews
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Reviewed on Jul 4, 2020
It is a course which helps in better understanding of the problems , needs from bottom level
Reviewed on Apr 14, 2019
Great course with multiple great learning resources. The professor is passionate and goes above and beyond to present the course and experience.
Reviewed on Jun 17, 2020
Wonderful presentation, this course truly gives the insight to subsistence living around the world that is not the topic of kitchen table conversations but ought to be!
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