Case – Study
Title : SELCO - Bringing Light into People’s
Lives
Ms Sheetal Mahendher ,
Faculty – Systems,
Mount Carmel Institute of Mangement,
Bangalore.
Aim : The case’s central consideration is to
show how well a natural resource can be used
to meet the basic human need without
disturbing the natural environment. Linking
income generating activities with sustainable
energy solutions has improved the quality of
life for several members of underserved
households by providing affordable channels
to procure the technology thereby increasing
work hours and hence productivity.
Sustainable development is a pattern of
resource use that aims to meet human
needs while preserving the environment so
that these needs can be met not only in the
present, but in the indefinite future.
SELCO Solar Pvt. Ltd, a social enterprise
established in 1995, provides sustainable
energy solutions and services to under-served
households and businesses .
It was conceived in an effort to dispel three
myths
1) Poor people cannot afford sustainable
technologies;
2) Poor people cannot maintain sustainable
technologies;
3) Social ventures cannot be run as commercial
entities.
SELCO’s key features:
•Creating products based on end user needs: going
beyond just being a technology supplier and customizing
their products based on individual needs.
•Installation and after-sales service: dedicating regional
energy service centers to ensure prompt maintenance
and service.
•Standardized financing packages: creating channels for
end users to afford systems based on their cash flow.
•SELCO currently employs about 140 employees in
Karnataka and Gujarat spread across 21 energy service
centers. Since 1995, we have sold, serviced and
financed over 95,000 solar systems to our customers.
A brief about the management team:
Dr. H Harish Hande, Managing Director,
SELCO-India, which he co-founded with Neville
Williams in 1995. Dr. Hande earned his Doctorate in
energy engineering (solar specialty) at the
University of Massachusetts (Lowell). He has an
undergraduate degree in Energy Engineering from
the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur
Thomas Pullenkav, Vice President, has a graduate
degree in Physics and is an alumnus of Institute of
Rural Management (IRMA), Anand.
The SELCO People
SELCO’s core success lies in its inner circle of dedicated
employees across 21 branches.
4 Regional Sales Managers,
8 Senior Managers,
21 Branch Managers, 32 Sales Executives,
40 Customer Support Executives and
18 Office Administrators in addition to the other
members of the Projects, Innovations and Finance
departments.
Technology
Their systems utilize solar photovoltaic (PV) modules
to provide electricity for lighting, water pumping,
communications, computing, entertainment, and small
business appliances.
Apart from their standardized products , they
customize their existing products to suit individual
customer needs.
•Solar lighting (CFL and LED)
•Indoor home lighting
•Outdoor home lighting
•Solar Headlamp
Finance
Over the years, SELCO has forged partnerships with
nine regional rural banks, commercial banks, NGOs and
rural farmer cooperatives to develop financial solutions.
Credit Terms:
Interest rates are based on the credit source and range
from 5% to 14%. Customers typically put between 1025% down, paying the balance over three to five years.
Services
Upon the purchase of every system, each SELCO
customer receives the following services:
•Custom system design
•Installation
•Training on proper system use
•After-sales maintenance and support
•. In the process, they have built long term relationships
with over 85,000+ satisfied customers, mostly rural.
Impact
Few examples are :
•People using solar light to begin her daily sale of
vegetables at a local night market.
•Feeding mulberry leaves to silk worms under solar
lights instead of smoky kerosene lamps.
•A woman entrepreneur selling solar lights to the poor
nomadic tribal families in her village.
Solar electricity at highway shops and telephone booths
have helped people increase their income.
Better conditions for people to work at night with the
installation of solar lights.
•Solar powered sewing machines have helped people to
provide high quality training without interruptions from
power failures.
•Solar lit roadside eateries are a welcome stop for
highway travelers.
Challenge
In its nascent stage, it took five years for SELCO to
provide solar lighting for 500 houses. Creating
awareness about the company was not the challenge, it
was generating an understanding about better
alternatives to unreliable rural lighting.
Improving quality of life
Providing high quality customized products
Milestone
Since 1995, SELCO has:
21 energy service centers in Karnataka and Gujarat,
India .
SELCO focuses on its customers and provides them
with the best energy products, service, and access to
affordable finance.
Why do the under served need Innovation?
Why has it not happened?
Technology Partners
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT- D Labs)
D-Lab: Development, Design and Dissemination is a
design studio course in which students work on
international development projects for underserved
communities.
Engines and Energy Conversion Lab, Colorado State
University
EECL delivers significant, meaningful solutions to
meet the global energy challenges using market
driven approaches.
Community Based Organisation
1. Bharitiya Vikas Trust
Registered in 1978, the Trust is involved in rural
development programs that encourage socio economic
changes in India.
2. Bangalore Rural Educational and Development
Society, BREADS
3. Shree Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development
Project, (SKDRDP)
Finance Institutions
Syndicate Bank
Karnataka Vikas Grameen bank (KVGB)
Vijaya Bank
Canara Bank
Pragathi Grameen bank
Krishna Grameen bank
Vavasahaya Sahakari Seva Sangha Bank Niyamitha
Carbon Trading
The Carbon Neutral Company
Works with commercial organizations and
individuals to offer services in carbon consulting and
carbon offsetting – both designed to help reduce
CO2 emissions, and deliver commercial, personal
and environmental benefit
International Partnership
Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP)
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
Partnership (REEEP)
UNEP
Clinton Global Initiative
Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation
Ashden Awards
Volunteer
Engineers Without Borders
World Research Institute
Academic Institution
Manipal Institute of Technology
INSEAD
MIT Sloan School of Management
Columbia Business School
Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of
Michigan
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
Conclusion:
The case study clearly gives an idea how people
can think differently and become successful
entrepreneurs by helping many underserved
people and also maintaining the environmental
balance .
Selco takes up research and development work for
other projects and earn good money to keep their
business going so that they can help the underserved
to be able to get products at bare minimum costs .
They also get some money by trading their carbon
points .