Prof. C.K. Prahalad, a native of Coimbatore, Tamilnadu was an alumna of the Loyola College, Chennai. He is renowned for his book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profit (2004), which inspired a new thinking that explained the market potential that remains untapped at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP). Prof. C.K. Prahalad’s premise that business models can mobilize socio-economic change by engaging the poor in marketplace profitably, was the stimulus behind the formation of the ‘C.K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India’ at LIBA. At the centre, the team builds on Prof. C.K. Prahalad’s passion for India and the faith in India’s diversity, resilience and ingenuity. 

This year the Prof. C.K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India, has been revamped and given new direction under the new leadership of Rev. Dr. C. Joe Arun, SJ, Director – LIBA. In the short period since his taking responsibility as Director at LIBA, Rev. Dr. Joe Arun’s vision for LIBA has started initiating a change in the thought process of the LIBA fraternity whereby he is focused on creating an ecosystem of learning in which all the students and faculty learn to become creative, innovative, relevant and committed persons, who would go out to live a life based on the core values LIBA promotes. CKP Centre aims to skill the rural youth, empower women and nurture rural and dalit entrepreneurs. Placing emphasis on this, Rev. Dr. Joe Arun has put together a new vision and mission for the Centre. To carry forward the new Vision and Mission, the centre collaborates with think tanks, industry, NGO’s, research and academic institutions, corporate bodies and community based organizations.