A news item that caught my attention this morning was the announcement that Harish Hande has been selected as the Social Entrepreneur of the year. Unfortunately though, the news was hidden on the 21st page in the newspaper (Hindustan Times)! The 2007 Social Entrepreneurship Award has been conferred on Harish for his firm’s (SELCO) social contribution through dissemination of solar energy in the villages in Karnataka and Kerala, while operating in the profit-oriented mould.
Having been a renewable energy person in my earlier life and having worked in a non-profit organization (NPO) for several years, I have tremendous respect for Harsih Hande and his single-minded focus to provide solar lighting in rural India. Harish has a top quality tech mind (PhD from MIT in solar energy), astute business sense (he has figured out a way to make money in the renewable energy arena; the "holy-grail" of renewable energy), and a wonderful and humble persona (met him a couple of times during my tenure in the NPO).
In 1993, Harish co-founded SELCO, the first rural solar service company in India. With its headquarters in Bangalore, SELCO has 25 branches in Karnataka and Gujarat. Harish has pioneered access to rural solar electrification for below-poverty-line families through a combination of customized home lighting systems, innovative doorstep financing, and an understanding of market needs of different user groups (for example, solar lights on miner caps for mid wives and rose sellers). Newspaper reports highlight that thus far the company has reached out to 80,000 families (mostly in the remotest of villages) across Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat. In these villages, solar electrification has led to everything from better education outcomes for children who can now study at night to increased livelihoods from night time vegetable vendors.
This is not the first award for Harish/SELCO (and hopefully not the last), but the message that this award sends is extremely important – that enterprises can make money while serving the society. Hopefully this will encourage more young business-people to take up projects that help the down-trodden, projects that really make a difference in rural India.
Hats-off to you Harish!!
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Sunil, the key message you have highlighted is indeed significant. The general expectation is that anything related to a socio-economic change at the root level has to be either owned by the government ( in this case it almost never takes off or bites dust soon after owing to corruption, buereaucratic inertia etc) or should be philantropic involving likes of TATAs or Bill Gates (their anti-AIDS program) etc. What comes for free is not free of corruption (in the sense of corrupt ideal). This is the sole reason that PPPs and privatisations are successful.
Too bad that media relegated the article to page 21.
- Gowrish
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