"Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry"

                                                                                                                                                              Bill Drayton

An entrepreneur is a rational being who invests  money,   time and energy anticipating  his  financial empowerment , but a social entrepreneur is a social animal who  invests his  knowledge, compassion and effort envisaging a Social change. One of such social entrepreneurs is  the Ramon Magsaysay Award winner  Harish Hande , the co-founder and  CEO of SELCO  India( Solar Electric Light Company, India) , a social enterprise that provides  affordable and  pragmatic  solutions for  the energy needs of the   marginalized sections of society.  It was in the early 90s when Dr.Hande , a PhD holder in Energy Engineering  started  learning  the socio- economic conditions of the  village and suburban  communities that relied upon  small scale  subsistence economic activities for  income ,and realized  that the technology that the modern world innovates is not  ' The technology built for  the poor  '. In 1995 he started SELCO India along with Neville Williams to provide Solar energy for the marginalized communities at low-end costs supported by  micro-financing .

As a  viable interventional solution,  SELCO India has partnered with solar power  distributors  who have fixed solar panels in their roofs to tap and collect energy in small batteries . Later these batteries are rented  to street vendors, cottage industries and households for satisfying their varied energy requirements. Initially this  energy service was provided keeping in mind the lighting needs of communities  , in due course of time the technology was personalized  to  meet the diverse needs like sewing, grinding , pot making, butter churning , water heating and printing  at door steps.

SELCO also facilitates many rural schools with Solar Powered Smart Class rooms.

Today , SELCO India operates as an instrument of social change across the states of Karnataka , Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

By customizing the need based services of the vulnerable sections, SELCO India is sustaining as a financially compatible, environment friendly sustainable Tech Leader.