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> Posted by Bhuvana Ramakrishnan, Daniella Llanos Flores, and Singyew Foo, Credit Suisse

The Financial Inclusion 2020 project has been talking to the experts lately to get their views on the main recommendations that came out of the 2013 Roadmap to Inclusion process. A group of Credit Suisse Virtual Volunteers conducted interviews with various experts within Credit Suisse. Insights from those conversations helped shape this post.

What can a new shampoo formula teach us about financial services? Quite a bit, as it turns out.

Procter and Gamble (P&G), one of the world’s largest fast-moving consumer goods companies (FMCGs), has an annual research and development budget of $2 billion – with nearly a half a billion going towards consumer research. In emerging markets, this money funds field research that aims to identify how existing products are used and how a new product could become a part of someone’s daily routine. In China, P&G has a simulated Hutong (a typical Chinese home) where researchers can observe consumer behavior and make on-the-spot modifications to product prototypes. They have sent teams around the country to observe how women wash their hair. Such research yielded a shampoo that suds and washes out with little water – a response to the shortage of water and privacy in the villages visited.

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