Companies shouldn’t eschew the world’s poor in the belief they’re not worth bothering with. In a report released March 19, the IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, said the 4 billion people who live in relative poverty still represent a spending power of $5 trillion.

The goal of the report is to show the potential of markets traditionally ignored. The lack of goods and services in poor areas often forces the most-needy consumers to pay higher prices. The report urges businesses to be more creative in forming models that will meet the needs of the market.