The 86 Percent Solution: How to Succeed in the Biggest Market Opportunity of the Next 50 Years

Chapter 8. Look for the Leapfrog

Lack of infrastructure can sometimes represent a greenfield opportunity that allows 86 percent markets to find opportunities by leapfrogging forward to more advanced technological solutions.

Mikhail leans forward in his chair in the living room of his Moscow apartment. He clicks the mouse on his new computer, running Windows XP Starter edition, which cost less than 1,000 rubles (US$36). The computer also plays CDs and television shows, so he has eliminated the need to buy a CD player and flat-screen television. And he no longer has to use the free computers in the local library or other public areas, where many of his fellow citizens are leaping across the so-called "digital divide."Mikhail sends an e-mail to ...