OUR STORY
WE STARTED WITHIN SELCO INDIA
SELCO Foundation started in 2008 as SELCO Innovation Labs
Drying clothes in rainy season, yellow lighting for banana vendors, drudgery in tea picking, energy requirements for school students etc were some of the rural issues that the SELCO Innovation labs worked on while being a part of SELCO Solar Light Pvt Ltd (the enterprise) from 2008 to 2010. Such grass root energy-driven problems are impossible to find, read or understand through desk research, without experiencing it first hand. The solutions are even more challenging and complex to develop and replicate. Moreover, the ecosystem required for any enterprise based solution for very poor communities to sustain and scale is completely missing or lacking. SELCO Foundation was registered in 2010 to bridge this gap in high risk innovation and ecosystem development for under-served communities by using philanthropic capital.
1800+
Villages
450000+
End Users
100+
Holistic Innovations
120+
Partners
THE ECOSYSTEM
The community of interacting stakeholders and their environment
Implementing good quality audio visual content in rural schools goes hand in hand with appropriate content development, teacher training and high efficient solar powered projectors, similarly implementing solar powered charge stations in remote tribal communities goes hand in hand with local technician training, unlocking end user financing etc. Appropriate technology and design, financial inclusion with patient and flexible asset based financing, inclusive investments, human resource development at multiple levels, need-base content development, market linkages, social, financial and environmental inclusivity in policy making etc are some of the key components for a stable ecosystem. Innovators and entrepreneurs working for the large unserved and under served populations need to encorporate key factors that can significantly impact the outcome of solutions.
STORIES OF CHANGE
Shankar – Energy Entrepreneur
Running centrally charged solar powered hubs
in urban slums
Airlite
Technologies to enable inclusion of
basic natural lighting and ventilation.
Roti-Making Woman Entrepreneur
Increasing and stabilizing incomes for Roti making entreprenuers
Digital Education Program
Solar powered, digital and audio-visual content for underprivileged students.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
Find out how you can contribute as an intern, volunteer, researcher or entrepreneur.