Social Entrepreneur of the Year, India 2007—Harish Hande

Harish Hande has been named the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007, in India

Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007, Harish Hande, (right) receiving recognition for his accomplishments from Nand Khemka (left) Trustee of the Foundation.

Harish Hande, Managing Director, SELCO has been named the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007, in India. Nand Khemka, Trustee of the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, made the announcement today at a pre-award ceremony. The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation have collaborated with United Nations Development Program and The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to select and award the Social Entrepreneur of the Year.

As a Global Social Entrepreneur in the Schwab Foundation community, Harish will now attend the World Economic Forum at Davos providing unprecedented opportunities to engage with global decision makers from the public, corporate, media and academic sectors to strengthen and expand his/her model. In addition the winner will be eligible to be named a ‘Khemka Fellow’ and receive a financial award of Rs 8,00,000 (Rupees Eight lakhs only) from the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation.

SELCO believes that poverty alleviation and climate change are interrelated. Around 57% of the Indian population does not have electricity. Harish has pioneered access to rural solar electrification for below poverty line families through a combination of customized home lighting systems, innovative doorstep financing, and an understanding of market needs of different user. Thus far he has reached 80,000 clients across Karnataka and Kerala and has recently moved into Gujarat. Solar electrification has led to everything from better education outcomes for children who can now study at night to increased livelihoods from night time vegetable vendors in addition to the reduction in carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

“Social entrepreneurs are the innovators who are able to engage business in mutually beneficial ways that benefit both the bottom line and social or environmental issues. The Social Entrepreneur of the Year award seeks to highlight the contributions made by these outstanding entrepreneurs. We hope this will inspire others to either start a social enterprise or support one,” added Klaus Schwab, Founder, The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

Uday Khemka, Managing Trustee, the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, stated: “the wave of social entrepreneurship has surely caught on in India, with entrepreneurs trying to create institutions that engender social change. Be it developing low-cost irrigation systems or providing financial services to the urban poor or providing and integrated energy strategy for the country, such businesses not only serve the masses but also manage to make profit.”

An eminent jury including representatives of the partners and Montek Singh Ahluwalia Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of India, Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson Arghyam, Akshara Foundation & Pratham Books, Thulsi Ravilla, Executive Director, Aravind Eye Care System, Shailesh Shah, Head, Corporate Strategy Group, and Atul Singh, Head, Coca Cola India, selected the Social Entrepreneur of the Year in India from among four finalists. The finalists were identified through an open competitive process that surfaces social entrepreneurs whose work has created, or has the potential to create, large-scale, transformational benefit for disadvantaged or disenfranchised populations or for society at large.

Other finalists included Chetna Gala Sinha from Mann Deshi Mahila Sahkari Bank, Rajendra Joshi from Saath and Pravin Mahajan from Janarth.