Navi Radjou: Creative problem-solving in the face of extreme limits

翻译人员: Yumeng Guo 校对人员: Twisted Meadows

When you grow up in a developing country like India, as I did,

如果你像我一样， 成长在印度这样的发展中国家，

you instantly learn to get more value from limited resources

你很快就会学到， 如何从有限的资源中获取更多的价值，

and find creative ways to reuse what you already have.

并以创造性的方式 对已有的资源进行再利用。

举一个名为Mansukh Prajapati的 印度陶艺家的例子吧。

Take Mansukh Prajapati, a potter in India.

He has created a fridge made entirely of clay

他发明了一种完全由泥土制成，

that consumes no electricity.

而且不消耗电能的冰箱，

He can keep fruits and vegetables fresh for many days.

可以用它来储存水果和蔬菜， 长达数日。

That's a cool invention, literally.

这真是个很酷的发明。

In Africa, if you run out of your cell phone battery, don't panic.

在非洲，如果你的手机电池没电了， 不要惊慌。

You will find some resourceful entrepreneurs

你会发现有很多足智多谋的企业家

who can recharge your cell phone using bicycles.

能用自行车帮你的手机充电。

And since we are in South America,

既然我们在南美洲，

let's go to Lima in Peru,

我们就来说说秘鲁的利马市吧，

a region with high humidity

那里空气湿度很高，

that receives only one inch of rainfall each year.

但每年仅有大约1英寸的降雨量。

An engineering college in Lima designed a giant advertising billboard

于是利马市的一所工程学院 设计了一种大型广告牌，

that absorbs air humidity and converts it into purified water,

它能吸收空气中的水汽， 并转化为纯净水，

generating over 90 liters of water every day.

每天能产生超过90升水。

The Peruvians are amazing.

秘鲁人真不可思议，

They can literally create water out of thin air.

他们“无中生有”地创造了水。

For the past seven years,

过去的7年中，

I have met and studied hundreds of entrepreneurs

我与来自印度、中国、非洲和南美的 数百名创业家进行交流学习，

in India, China, Africa and South America, and they keep amazing me.

他们一直让我感到惊奇。

Many of them did not go to school.

他们中有许多人从没上过学。

They don't invent stuff in big R&D labs.

也不在实验室搞研究发明，

The street is the lab.

街道就是他们的实验室。

Why do they do that?

他们为什么要这么做？

因为他们没有那种我们唾手可得， 早就习以为常的基础资源，

Because they don't have the kind of basic resources we take for granted,

like capital and energy,

如资金、能源，

and basic services like healthcare and education

而且，那些区域的医疗、教育等的

are also scarce in those regions.

基础设施都很匮乏。

When external resources are scarce, you have to go within yourself

当外部的资源稀少时，

你就不得不靠自己去挖掘 最丰富的资源——智慧，

to tap the most abundant resource, human ingenuity,

and use that ingenuity to find clever ways to solve problems with limited resources.

并且以人类的聪明才智， 来利用有限的资源巧妙地解决问题。

In India, we call it Jugaad.

在印度，我们称之为Jugaad。

Jugaad is a Hindi word

Jugaad是印地语词汇，

that means an improvised fix, a clever solution born in adversity.

其本意是灵光一现的办法， 即在逆境中产生的绝妙的解决办法。

Jugaad solutions are not sophisticated or perfect,

Jugaad并不复杂，也不完美，

but they create more value at lower cost.

但会以更低的成本创造更多的价值。

For me, the entrepreneurs who will create Jugaad solutions

在我看来，那些实现Jugaad的创业家。

are like alchemists.

就像炼金士。

They can magically transform adversity into opportunity,

他们能够神奇地将逆境转化为机遇，

and turn something of less value into something of high value.

将低价值的东西转化为高价值的东西。

In other words, they mastered the art of doing more with less,

换句话说，他们精通“由少及多”的艺术，

which is the essence of frugal innovation.

而这正是“低成本创新”的精华所在。

Frugal innovation is the ability to create more economic and social value

“低成本创新”是一种利用较少资源 创造更大经济和社会价值的

using fewer resources.

创新方法。

Frugal innovation is not about making do; it's about making things better.

“低成本创新”的重点不在于创造出 事物本身，而在于让事物变得更好。

Now I want to show you how, across emerging markets,

现在，我将为你们展现，

不同行业的创业家和公司是如何更广泛地 采用”低成本创新“的方法，

entrepreneurs and companies are adopting frugal innovation on a larger scale

to cost-effectively deliver healthcare and energy to billions of people

以低廉的价格， 将医疗服务和能源带给千家万户，

who may have little income but very high aspirations.

带给那些收入不高却心胸远大的人们。

Let's first go to China,

我们把目光先移到中国吧。

where the country's largest I.T. service provider, Neusoft,

中国最大的IT服务商Neusoft

has developed a telemedicine solution

开发了远程医疗解决方案，

to help doctors in cities remotely treat old and poor patients

帮助城市里的医生远程治疗远在山区，

年长的低收入患者。

in Chinese villages.

This solution is based on simple-to-use medical devices

该方案采用简单易学的医疗设施，

that less qualified health workers like nurses can use in rural clinics.

供技能有限的护士等医疗工作者 在农村的诊所使用。

China desperately needs these frugal medical solutions

中国急需这种“低成本创新”方案，

because by 2050 it will be home to over half a billion senior citizens.

因为到2050年， 中国老年人口的数量将超过五亿。

Now let's go to Kenya,

我们再看看肯尼亚，

a country where half the population uses M-Pesa, a mobile payment solution.

肯尼亚半数居民在使用一种名为 M-Pesa的手机支付服务。

This is a great solution for the African continent

该服务对与非洲居民而言极为重要，

because 80 percent of Africans don't have a bank account,

因为80%的非洲居民没有银行账户。

but what is exciting is that M-Pesa is now becoming the source

不可思议的是，其他颠覆性的商业模式

of other disruptive business models in sectors like energy.

也基于M-Pesa发展起来，例如能源行业。

Take M-KOPA, the home solar solution that comes literally in a box

比如M-KOPA，一个家庭太阳能利用方案， 具有盒子状外形，

that has a solar rooftop panel, three LED lights,

顶部装配太阳电池板，另配有三个LED灯，

a solar radio, and a cell phone charger.

太阳能收音机，及手机充电器。

The whole kit, though, costs 200 dollars, which is too expensive for most Kenyans,

整套设备售价200美金， 对于大多肯尼亚人而言太贵了，

and this is where mobile telephony can make the solution more affordable.

但正是手机让人们担负得起这项技术。

Today, you can buy this kit by making an initial deposit of just 35 dollars,

如今，要买这套设备， 你只需一次性支付35美金，

and then pay off the rest by making a daily micro-payment of 45 cents

余下的钱可利用手机每天支付45美分

using your mobile phone.

这笔小钱即可，

Once you've made 365 micro-payments, the system is unlocked,

持续付款达365天，系统就会解锁，

and you own the product and you start receiving clean, free electricity.

你将完全拥有这个产品， 开始享受免费的、清洁的电能。

This is an amazing solution for Kenya,

这对于肯尼亚而言是 一个不可思议的解决方案，

where 70 percent of people live off the grid.

要知道，有70%的肯尼亚人 过着没有电的生活。

This shows that with frugal innovation

该案例体现了对“低成本创新”而言，

what matters is that you take what is most abundant, mobile connectivity,

重要的是借助丰富的资源——手机服务，

to deal with what is scarce, which is energy.

来解决匮乏的事物——电能。

With frugal innovation, the global South is actually catching up

借助”低成本创新“，南半球正在缩小 与北半球的差距，

and in some cases even leap-frogging the North.

某些地区甚至已经实现了超越。

Instead of building expensive hospitals, China is using telemedicine

利用远距离医疗， 而不是建造昂贵的医院，

中国以极低的成本治疗了 数以百万计的患者。

to cost-effectively treat millions of patients,

and Africa, instead of building banks and electricity grids,

利用手机支付，而不是建造银行和电网，

is going straight to mobile payments and distributed clean energy.

非洲国家让清洁能源走进千万家。

Frugal innovation is diametrically opposed to the way we innovate in the North.

“低成本创新”的思路与 北半球创新的思路截然相反。

I live in Silicon Valley,

我住在硅谷，

where we keep chasing the next big technology thing.

硅谷的人总在追求下一个科技飞跃，

Think of the iPhone 5, 6, then 7, 8.

想想iPhone5，6，然后7，8吧。

Companies in the West spend billions of dollars investing in R&D,

西方的国家在研发上投入几十亿美金，

and use tons of natural resources to create ever more complex products,

耗费无数的自然资源 创造越发复杂的产品，

to differentiate their brands from competition,

只为让自己的产品跟竞争对手有所不同，

and they charge customers more money for new features.

并让消费者为其产品的新功能而掏腰包。

So the conventional business model in the West is more for more.

因此，西方传统的商业模式是 “投入更多，获取更多”。

But sadly, this more for more model is running out of gas, for three reasons:

但不幸的是，这种模式几乎气数殆尽， 有三个原因：

First, a big portion of customers in the West

其一，由于购买力逐渐减弱，

because of the diminishing purchasing power,

西方国家的大多消费者

can no longer afford these expensive products.

将担负不起这些昂贵的产品。

Second, we are running out of natural water and oil.

其二，地球上的天然水资源和 石油正走向枯竭，

In California, where I live, water scarcity is becoming a big problem.

我住在加利福尼亚， 这里水资源缺乏日益严重。

And third, most importantly,

其三，也是最重要的一点，

because of the growing income disparity

西方国家富人阶层和中产阶级的

between the rich and the middle class in the West,

收入差距越来越大，

there is a big disconnect between existing products and services

因此，现有的产品和服务与用户需求之间，

and basic needs of customers.

产生了巨大的缺口。

Do you know that today,

你是否知道，

there are over 70 million Americans today who are underbanked,

如今，超过七千万美国人 并未享有银行服务，

because existing banking services

因为现有的银行服务制度

are not designed to address their basic needs.

并不能解决他们最基本的生活需求。

The prolonged economic crisis in the West is making people think

西方国家持续的经济危机让人们感觉到，

that they are about to lose the high standard of living

他们高质量的生活将不再有保障，

and face deprivation.

将离他们远去。

I believe that the only way we can sustain growth and prosperity in the West

我相信，维持西方国家经济发展 和社会繁荣的

is if we learn to do more with less.

唯一办法就是学习“由少及多”的理念。

The good news is, that's starting to happen.

好消息是，该理念已经被付诸实践。

Several Western companies are now adopting frugal innovation

一些西方公司正采用”低成本创新“的思想，

to create affordable products for Western consumers.

为西方国家消费者设计产品。

Let me give you two examples.

我来举两个例子。

When I first saw this building,

当我第一次看到这个建筑时，

I told myself it's some kind of postmodern house.

我以为是某种后现代建筑。

Actually, it's a small manufacturing plant set up by Grameen Danone,

事实上，这是一个由格莱珉-达能公司 建造的小型工厂，

a joint venture between Grameen Bank of Muhammad Yunus

该企业由穆罕默德•尤努斯的 孟加拉乡村银行

and the food multinational Danone

与跨国食品企业达能集团的合资创建，

to make high-quality yogurt in Bangladesh.

在孟加拉国家生产高质量酸奶。

This factory is 10 percent the size of existing Danone factories

该工厂占地面积仅是 现有达能工厂的十分之一，

and cost much less to build.

而且建造投资成本极低。

I guess you can call it a low-fat factory.

我想你会将其称之为“低脂工厂”。

Now this factory, unlike Western factories that are highly automated,

不像那些高自动化的西方工厂，

relies a lot on manual processes in order to generate jobs for local communities.

该工厂大量依赖人力， 为当地社区创造工作机会。

Danone was so inspired by this model

达能集团深受这个将 高经济效率和可持续发展

that combines economic efficiency and social sustainability,

相结合的模式的启发，

they are planning to roll it out in other parts of the world as well.

正计划把该模式拓展到世界其他区域。

Now, when you see this example,

听完这个例子，

you might be thinking, "Well, frugal innovation is low tech."

你也许这么认为， “好吧，低成本创新不过是低端科技。”

Actually, no.

事实上不是的。

Frugal innovation is also about making high tech

“低成本创新”同样致力于使高科技产品

more affordable and more accessible to more people.

更容易被大众接纳，并能够负担得起。

Let me give you an example.

我给你们举个例子。

In China, the R&D engineers of Siemens Healthcare

在中国，西门子医疗事业部的 研发工程师

have designed a C.T. scanner that is easy enough to be used

设计了一款新型CT扫描仪， 操作起来很简单，

by less qualified health workers, like nurses and technicians.

易于技能有限的医护工作者操作， 如护士和医疗技师。

This device can scan more patients on a daily basis,

该仪器每天能为更多的患者提供服务，

and yet consumes less energy,

耗电量更低，

which is great for hospitals, but it's also great for patients

这对于医院而言是难能可贵的， 对患者而言更是如此，

because it reduces the cost of treatment by 30 percent

不仅因为诊疗费可减少30%，

and radiation dosage by up to 60 percent.

辐射量还能减少60%。

This solution was initially designed for the Chinese market,

该款仪器原本是为中国市场打造的，

but now it's selling like hotcakes in the U.S. and Europe,

但如今已经成为那些面临成本压力的

where hospitals are pressured to deliver quality care at lower cost.

美国和欧洲医院的抢手货。

但是，在西方国家，

But the frugal innovation revolution

in the West is actually led by creative entrepreneurs

“低成本创新”革命事实上是由那些

who are coming up with amazing solutions

旨在满足美国和欧洲基本需求的

to address basic needs in the U.S. and Europe.

创业家领导的。

Let me quickly give you three examples of startups

我来给你们举三个令我眼前一亮的

that personally inspire me.

初创公司的例子吧。

The first one happens to be launched by my neighbor in Silicon Valley.

第一个公司是由我在硅谷的 邻居创办的，

It's called gThrive.

公司名为gThrive。

They make these wireless sensors designed like plastic rulers

该公司开发了一款无线感应产品， 外形酷似塑料尺，

that farmers can stick in different parts of the field

农民可将其插入土中，

and start collecting detailed information like soil conditions.

获取不同区域土地的详细信息， 如土壤条件。

This dynamic data allows farmers to optimize use of water energy

农民利用这些信息，可以优化灌溉效率，

while improving quality of the products and the yields,

提高农作物质量和收成，

which is a great solution for California, which faces major water shortage.

这对于严重缺水的加州而言 是不可多得的解决方案。

It pays for itself within one year.

一年之内就可以收回成本了。

Second example is Be-Bound, also in Silicon Valley,

第二个例子是Be-Bound，也来自硅谷，

that enables you to connect to the Internet

其产品可在没有宽带、wifi、 3G或4G信号的

even in no-bandwidth areas where there's no wi-fi or 3G or 4G.

情况下帮你连上互联网。

How do they do that?

如何做到的呢？

They simply use SMS, a basic technology, but that happens to be the most reliable

它只是利用了很基础的SMS技术， 但却是全世界范围内

and most widely available around the world.

最可靠、覆盖面最广的技术。

Three billion people today with cell phones can't access the Internet.

如今超过三十亿的手机用户 连接不到互联网。

This solution can connect them to the Internet in a frugal way.

这项技术会以“低成本”的方式 帮助他们连上互联网。

And in France, there is a startup calle Compte Nickel,

在法国有个初创公司， 名为Compte Nickel，

在银行业掀起了一场革命。

It allows thousands of people to walk into a Mom and Pop store

它可以让成千上万的人步入杂货店后，

and in just five minutes activate the service that gives them two products:

五分钟内开启两项服务：

an international bank account number and an international debit card.

国际银行帐号和国际借记卡。

They charge a flat annual maintenance fee of just 20 Euros.

年费仅为20欧元。

That means you can do all banking transactions --

这意味着你可以进行 所有的银行交易——

send and receive money, pay with your debit card --

汇款、收款、用借记卡付款——

all with no additional charge.

而不需要支付任何额外的费用。

This is what I call low-cost banking without the bank.

我称之为“无实体低成本银行业”。

Amazingly, 75 percent of the customers using this service

令人惊讶的是， 享受该项服务的客户中，

are the middle-class French who can't afford high banking fees.

有75%是那些担负不起 高昂银行费用的中产阶级。

Now, I talked about frugal innovation, initially pioneered in the South,

我们所谈论的“低成本创新”， 最初在南半球蓬勃发展，

now being adopted in the North.

现在逐步被北半球所接受。

Ultimately, we would like to see

我们的愿景是，

developed countries and developing countries

发达国家和发展中国家齐心协力，

come together and co-create frugal solutions

共同创造出“低成本创新”方案，

that benefit the entire humanity.

来造福全人类。

The exciting news is that's starting to happen.

令人激动的是， 这个目标正在慢慢实现。

Let's go to Nairobi to find that out.

让我们把目光移向内罗毕（肯尼亚首都）。

Nairobi has horrendous traffic jams.

内罗毕的交通拥堵状况非常可怕。

When I first saw them, I thought, "Holy cow."

当我第一次看到时， 不禁感慨，“我的天啊。”

Literally, because you have to dodge cows as well when you drive in Nairobi.

真的！你开着车都要小心地躲避奶牛。

To ease the situation,

为了缓解拥堵状况，

the engineers at the IBM lab in Kenya are piloting a solution called Megaffic,

肯尼亚IBM公司的工程师正尝试 一个名为Megaffic的方案，

which initially was designed by the Japanese engineers.

这项技术最初由日本的工程师开发。

Unlike in the West, Megaffic doesn't rely on roadside sensors,

与在西方惯用的做法不同， Megaffic并不依靠安置在路边的感应器，

which are very expensive to install in Nairobi.

那对于内罗毕而言太贵了。

Instead they process images, traffic data,

Megaffic是通过安置在街上的 低分辨率网络摄像头

collected from a small number of low-resolution webcams in Nairobi streets,

获取道路图像和交通信息，

and then they use analytic software to predict congestion points,

并通过分析软件来预测拥堵区域，

and they can SMS drivers alternate routes to take.

并通过短信告知司机其他可选择路线。

Granted, Megaffic is not as sexy as self-driving cars,

当然，Megaffic并不像 无人驾驶车那样性感，

but it promises to take Nairobi drivers from point A to point B

但它可以保证内罗毕的司机， 从出发地到目的地

at least 20 percent faster.

节约至少20%的时间。

And earlier this year, UCLA Health launched its Global Lab for Innovation,

今年早些时候，UCLA医学院 成立了其全球创新实验室，

which seeks to identify frugal healthcare solutions anywhere in the world

该实验室旨在实现全球范围内的 低成本医疗创新方案，

that will be at least 20 percent cheaper than existing solutions in the U.S.

要比当前美国通用的 标准至少节约20%的费用，

and yet more effective.

而且更高效。

It also tries to bring together innovators from North and South

该实验室也努力吸引了 来自南北半球的创新者，

to cocreate affordable healthcare solutions for all of humanity.

开发让全人类都担负得起的医疗方案。

I gave tons of examples of frugal innovators from around the world,

全世界范围内“低成本创新者”的 例子不计其数，

but the question is, how do you go about adopting frugal innovation?

但问题是，关于“低成本创新”， 你能做些什么？

Well, I gleaned out three principles from frugal innovators around the world

我从他们身上获得启发，归纳出三个要点，

that I want to share with you

跟你们分享一下，

that you can apply in your own organization

你可以把它们带入你的组织中，

to do more with less.

实现“由少及多”。

The first principle is: Keep it simple.

第一个原则是，坚持简易。

Don't create solutions to impress customers.

不要设计那些只为惊艳用户的产品。

Make them easy enough to use and widely accessible,

让你的产品易于操作，随手可得，

like the C.T. scanner we saw in China.

就像中国的CT扫描仪。

Second principle: Do not reinvent the wheel.

第二个原则：不要重新发明轮子 （白费力气做重复工作）。

Try to leverage existing resources and assets that are widely available,

努力尝试去利用那些现有的丰富资源，

like using mobile telephony to offer clean energy

就像用移动电话实现清洁能源的利用，

or Mom and Pop stores to offer banking services.

或者像借助杂货店提供银行服务。

Third principle is: Think and act horizontally.

第三个原则：横向思考与行动。

Companies tend to scale up vertically

企业总是垂直化地扩张，

by centralizing operations in big factories and warehouses,

在大型工厂和仓库内集中生产运营，

but if you want to be agile and deal with immense customer diversity,

但如果你想灵活的服务多元化的客户，

you need to scale out horizontally using a distributed supply chain

你就需要横向扩张，

with smaller manufacturing and distribution units,

就像之前提到的孟加拉乡村银行， 以小型生产和分销单元

like Grameen Bank has shown.

串起的分布式供应链。

The South pioneered frugal innovation out of sheer necessity.

南半球因迫切的实际需求， 引领着“低成本创新”革命。

The North is now learning to do more and better with less

北半球因面临资源限制，

as it faces resource constraints.

正学习如何“由少及多”和“由少及优”。

As an Indian-born French national who lives in the United States,

作为一个住在美国，生于印度的法国人，

my hope is that we transcend this artificial North-South divide

我希望能够消除南北半球的人为隔阂，

so that we can harness the collective ingenuity

让全世界的智慧

of innovators from around the world

相互碰撞，

to cocreate frugal solutions

共同创造更多“低成本创新”解决方案，

that will improve the quality of life of everyone in the world,

提升全世界每个人的生活质量，

while preserving our precious planet.

让地球变得更美好。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢你们。

(Applause)

（掌声）