Harish Hande

2011 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee from India. A common myth is that the poor cannot afford, maintain or productively use the best technology. In India, this myth has stood in the way of spreading solar technology and its benefits— cost efficiency, clean energy, climate change mitigation, and improvements in the quality of life among the poor.

Harish Hande is disproving this myth. Trained in energy engineering, he recognized that decentralized, small-scale, customized solar applications are best for reaching the poor, remote villages where the technology is most needed. Acting on this insight, he established Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) in Bangalore in 1995. Despite its early setbacks, SELCO has since demonstrated that indeed the poor can afford and maintain sustainable technologies, and that social ventures can be run as successful commercial entities. SELCO has done this through a triple strategy of “customized products,” “doorstep financing,” and “doorstep service.” It designs and installs solar applications based on each customer’s needs, whether a two-light system for the home or head lamps for night workers like midwives and rose-pickers. It has pioneered in linking the sale of solar technologies with microcredit institutions, like rural banks, cooperatives, and self-help groups. It trains customers in maintenance and assists them through its service centers. To date, SELCO has reached more than half a million people by installing solar lights in 120,000 households, microenterprises, and community facilities.