Indian social entrepreneurs gain global attention
Tuesday, 13 April 2010, 23:31 IST   |    4 Comments
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Indian social entrepreneurs gain global attention
New Delhi: Now the idea of young Indian entrepreneurs is not limited to their own country. Five young entrepreneurs figured in the list of 23 entrepreneurs selected for the global social benefit incubator (GSBI) enterprise-building programme at Santa Clara University, U.S. Rajnish Jain of Avani India, supplies cooking gas extracted from pine needles to people in Uttarakhand at the same cost as subsidised LPG. Somnath Pyne of the Force for Rural Empowerment and Economic Development helps people cultivate Jatropha in areas adjacent to railway lines. Vivek Gupta of Saran Renewable Energy generates electricity from dhaincha, a plant grown in waterlogged land, with the help of a biomass gasification system. Anita Moura of Solar Ear employs physically-challenged people to make solar powered hearing aids, Devendra Shukla of Jaipur Rugs Foundation serves around 40,000 artisans in tribal areas by offering them integrated supply chain management services, including market linkages. GSBI helps entrepreneurs to take their innovative business models to the next level through mentoring and linking them with markets and venture capitalists. The programme is known for its successful incubated initiatives like Kiva.org, a popular micro-lending online hub, and Vision Spring, which trains entrepreneurs to check up rural populations and sell glasses at a cost of $2.50-$4.

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