Entrepreneurship

Contenders for the social entrepreneur award

By Brij ⋅ November 26, 2006 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

World Economic Forum will be selecting a winner from the impressive list of social enterpreneurs:

Amitabha Sadangi of International Development Enterprises India (IDEI). IDEI has developed and marketed affordable small-plot micro-irrigation technologies to India’s marginal and small farmers.

Padmanabha Rao and Rama Rao of Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources (RIVER). RIVER has developed a multi-grade, multi-level (MGML) model of primary education that arrests the multiple barriers faced by marginalized groups in getting quality education for their children.

TIDE has a broader focus which includes energy and rural entrepreneurship

S. Rajagopalan and Svati Bhogle of Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE).  promotes sustainable development through technological interventions, focusing on technologies that are suitable for the rural environment, address energy issues and help create rural entrepreneurs. TIDE has established nearly twenty enterprises, whose collective turnover last year was Rs 15 million.

And the last contender is a known project (as compared to the first three)

Vikram Akula of SKS Microfinance Private Limited, Hyderabad. SKS Microfinance applies global business practices to the field of microfinance, and since it was establishment in 1998, has benefited approximately 1.5 million individuals through income-generating loans.

Interesting aspect  is the global relevance of all these projects. Education, energy, self reliance via entrepreneurship and water conservation are some of the challenges many countries would be facing in the coming decades. That probably explains why World Economic Forum is recognizing their efforts.