More than half of the world population does not live in decent housing. How can Lafarge, which traditionally addresses key accounts, find a growth opportunity there?

Simply by an approach of innovation by the usages. Lafarge noted that millions of people around the world are working and are solvent, but live in houses (in hard) that they do not own. And therefore they do not renovate them, since without a property title they do not have access to credit. Lafarge's teams therefore built their affordable housing solutions in 2010.

What is it exactly? Buckets of retarded ready-mix concrete, designed for individuals and to be delivered by rickshaw directly at the heart of Indian slums, inaccessible to concrete mixers. Earth-cement, a new cement that mixes with raw earth to make an ecological adobe and avoids the cooking, responsible of the deforestation. Or programs of microfinance to sustain the afforable housing.

Lafarge has therefore built a new business model that creates value by the usages for the residents of favelas and slums, and economic value for the corporation.

Photo (c) Lafarge

Mumbai, the city of Bollywood and of its famous movie stars. But it's also the city where more than 60% of the population lives in slums. Traditionally, municipalities destroy them and relocate their inhabitants in new structures. Even if that ruins the existing social bonds and the economy in these areas.

The urban planners from Urbz intend to give the people a voice on the future of their home and on the rebuilding of their neighborhood. And of course, when you put the users at the heart of the discussions, you discover that they do not over invest in the rehabilitation of their homes simply because they fear to be dislodged at any time. When Urbz launches its Homegrown Cities project, they invite the inhabitants to a participative urban upgrading approach. And it works! Pilot experiments, new infrastructures of urban development: hand in hand, residents, architects and entrepreneurs invent their city of tomorrow.

Photo: Urbz