As promised in the last post, my writings are being showcased on numerous platforms and the latest of them being BeyondProfit, a publication of Intellecap.They recently introduced me on their blog as a guest blogger. This means that while I am a staff writer for Nextbillion, in my free time time I contribute exclusive content to a variety of other publications, and since Beyond Profit is a platform that I admire, I decided to forge a relationship with them and provide them with content. Of course they were kind enough to give me the opportunity to do so (Thanks Adrienne!).

My first article for them is an interview I had conducted of Dr G N Rao, the MD of L V Prasad Eye Institute.

Beyond Profit’s twitter round ups are especially useful by the sheer number of companies they’re profiling. Do check that out, it’s written everyday.

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

I recently wrote an article on rural BPOs for Triple Pundit, one of the bigger blogs outthere that focus on the triple bottom line approach. Jen, the managing editor was extremely responsive (Thanks Jen!).

Here’s the post, that’s titled Rural Development with Internation Business Outsourcing. I have also starting contributing articles to a host of other really great blogs dedicated to responsible enterprises and development, more on that as and when things roll out.

Coming back to rural BPOs I am doing a more detailed post for Nextbillion, which should come out in sometime. If you or anyone you know can add value to this post by sharing opinions, just shoot me a mail at rishabhkaul at gmail dot com and we’ll get talking.

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

Here’s an article I wrote for the 13th World Business Dialogue’s corporate weblog called Brainforum. The original entry can be found here

I remember reading a comprehension passage during my school years titled “A billion strong or weak” which in a Rashomon-esque manner illustrated how we can look at India either as a billion mouths to feed or as 2 billion powerful hands that can be put to work.

Idealistic in many ways, it emphasized on a very important part which I only realized after coming to college.

The economy has to ensure that there’s inclusive growth. This isn’t a rant against capitalism, neither is it a cry for pity. Over the last 2 years I have immersed myself to learn more about the developmental sector and the problems that face our nation. A talk with an eminent social entrepreneur (and one of the first Oxfam GB trustees from a developing nation) made me realize that most models of capitalism don’t benefit the poor because of the way they are structured. The poor end up having no savings because they are caught in a vicious cycle of loans and debt out of which there is no escape. This isn’t to say that capitalism in itself is wrong, in fact I believe that market based approaches to alleviating poverty are in fact very essential for progress. But the form of capitalism that I subscribe to should be inclusive in nature.

I am increasingly getting attracted to localized businesses where profits are generated by not mass production but through production by masses. Ventures that employ an entire community to meet their demands, using local technology, tweaking it to optimize it and increasing productivity. This is why I was so impressed by the work the Honeybee Network was doing along with Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network. It was born out of the need for an institutional framework that would provide handholding support to the rural innovators and link them to the formal systems of technical, financial and marketing services. The idea being that of survival entrepreneurship. Given the dire condition of our villages, innovation is but a necessity rather than a marketing strategy. Some of these village technologies really need that extra push to help them becoming marketable products for the masses.  There is already a lot of talk of adopting locally generated and decentralized energy to equip communities to take care of their own energy requirements. For example Bihar based Husk Power systems which uses Rice husk to generate locally produced energy for the bottom of the pyramid. I believe a lot of grassroots innovations are sustainable and just need mentoring to make their processes more efficient rather introduce completely new technologies, most of which might be inappropriate for that region. More investments in such businesses will indeed be a step in the right direction for emerging economies, economies in transition such as India as well as the least developed nations.

In Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City, Mehta says that Mumbai’s average population per square kilometer in some areas is 15000 persons per square kilometers. Think about that for a second. Berlin has 2000. He further adds that Mumbai faces a lot of problems such as power shortages and water issues. But he then adds saying that most of the people who come to Mumbai come from the villages which face the same problems. Fixing some of our villages problems will in turn fix the cities problems.

Traders play with money with little or no accountability and finally its the investors and entrepreneurs that suffer. Actually, let me rephrase, its the citizens that have to suffer, which the billions at the bottom of the pyramid that suffer the most. The recession isn’t something inevitable and as long as the development isn’t sustainable and the goals aren’t created for the long term future, there are always going to be these cycles of economic downturn.

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

Sasha writes about fear in one of his recent posts

Speaking of fear, just recently something exceptional just happened to me:  I had the absolutely worst fundraising meeting I’ve had since starting my job at Acumen Fund three years ago.  It’s not worth going into the specifics…suffice it to say it was unpleasant and transactional in the worst way.  Paint your worst picture of what a fundraising meeting could be, and that was this meeting.

I admit, I was a little shaken for a little while.  I had to vent some to a couple of folks to clear the air.

And then, almost right away, it was done.  The feeling was gone, the meeting was in the past.   And no real harm was done.  The actual experience of the thing I feared – the thing that can keep me and you from picking up the phone or putting yourself out there or standing in front of an audience or pitching a new, crazy idea or going with your gut – was exposed.  And it was so much less powerful or meaningful than the picture I’d drawn over time.

There’s the lurking monster I imagined, and the reality that it had no teeth.

A lot of times we cook up stories in our head, simply because it’s easier to do so. Its easier to expect the worst. I have done it in the past. Why? Maybe because we don’t trust people, or maybe because it’s the worst case scenario and it can’t get any worse, or maybe some  other reason for that matter.

As a person who exaggerates things at times to find humor in them, I hope I don’t exaggerate fear.

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

At the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership’s Rural Entrepreneurship Development(RED) division we’re on the look out for market based approaches to helping rural communities (often right outside the campus).

However, what is also important is to educate the college community regarding the pressing social issues that plague our nation (and the world) and how enterprises (often community lead) can help uplift sections of society. RED would like to help create a class of more responsible BITSians who are socially conscious and use their technological and business acumen to find solutions to alleviating poverty and help generate income for rural communities.

It is for this reason that we’re creating a RED resource section which will contain information on the emerging sectors, case studies of success stories (and sometimes failure) of models that worked at the Base of Pyramid, books that inspire on to get their hands dirty, reports that show figures and business models, important articles from credible sources. Hopefully, more and more BITSians will skim through it and realize the incredible opportunities that lay in front of them in the responsible business sector.

We’re in the middle of the compilation, which should be completed anytime next week. We also plan to publish this resource on one of the top blogs on social entrepreneurship in India.

If you can contribute to this resource in anyway (articles, books, reports, case studies), please shoot me a mail at rishabh at celbits dot org

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

A recurring theme in romantic novels and movies is that you travel all over the world to finally find what you were searching for, right where you began. Could it be that the answer to malnutrition and self sustaining communities be a plant which has been growing in their back yard for all this time? This might be the case with Moringa Oleifera, often dubbed as the Miracle Tree, often discussed as being a savior of vulnerable communities especially in Africa and South Asia.

The plant, which grows in dry soils in tropical lands, is known primarily for the exceptional nutritional value of its leaves. Lowell Fuglie who has been researching abut the uses of Moringa for over a decade (and used to work for the Church World Service) says ”Gram for gram, Moringa leaves contain three times the iron of spinach, four times the vitamin A of carrots, seven times the Vitamin C of oranges, three times the potassium of bananas, and four times the calcium and twice the protein of milk” (a much larger list can be obtained here). “Nutritionally, you can’t beat it.” he adds.

But it doesn’t end here; Moringa Oleifera is known to be a really good water purifier, plant growth enhancer, biofuel (abstract only), and has plenty of medicinal uses. These address some of the most pressing issues faced at the BoP today: Enegry, water scarcity & agricultural yield and most importantly malnutrition. All this being said, one would expect entrepreneurs to jump at this opportunity and capitalize upon it. A Moringa-based idea submitted to the Ashoka’s Nutrition Competition was even adjudged as an early winner. However, we don’t see any major players trying to create an industry based on this wonder plant. Why so?

The opportunities and challenges in the commercialization of Moringa have been summed up well by in a paper written by J P Sutherland, who was involved with a biotech startup called Optima Environment SA based in Switzerland. He cites lack of extensive research, skepticism from the scientific community, barriers to entry in the form of government regulations as well as poor marketing as some of the factors which constraint the commercialization of Moringa products such as oil, water coagulants and packaged food. He emphasizes that if entrepreneurs can find a way to improve the extraction process, moringa oil has a potential to become a useful source of fuel (both industrial as well as domestic) in the years to come. However, it’s also up to the venture capitalists in the agro-health sector to realize it’s importance as a life saving plant and encourage investments in this domain.

What’s really fascinating about this plant is that it is locally available in areas that need it most. The tropical nations provide the temperature and soil requirements that is suitable for its growth.  Every part of the plant, be it the stems, the leaves, the pods are useful in one way or the other. Even if it takes time to commercialize it on a large scale, I can see this as a useful community run venture to meet the nutrient needs of villages that are struggling to meet their requirements.

Originally posted on Nextbillion

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

If something isn’t broken, do we still fix it? This is something one hears quite often and it’s importance in Base of the Pyramid contexts is often neglected. A recent talk at BITS Pilani by (Retired) Brigadier P. Ganeshan, Andhra Pradesh head of Honeybee (we have earlier covered Honeybee here), focused on just that. In a nutshell, Honeybee is a digitized compendium of rural innovations and local practices implemented by rural communities in Indian villages. It currently houses over 100,000 innovations from all over India. Talk about an idea pool huh?

The crux of his talk was the need for knowledge-based growth. Despite India being a knowledge-based economy, he said, it is surprising to see how the knowledge possessed by BoP populations is being neglected and not given the attention it deserves. He stressed that many social entrepreneurs, though willing to spend vast amounts of time lending an ear to the problems of villages, aren’t as willing to accept that these villages have come up with solutions to their own problems. The critical part, he believes, is optimizing these solutions to maximize their output.

He spoke of how India’s farmers usually follow 30-35 farming practices, but no initiative is in place to optimize these practices and introduce appropriate technologies. According to him, villages are the oldest and most natural and form of open source knowledge, with potential to be further improved for the benefit of the entire nation.

The best thing social entrepreneurs could do is understand local technologies already being used and optimize them with local knowledge gathered from the insight of their users. Local solutions in the villages are often the most eco-friendly and sustainable, and they are also locally made, cutting down on operation costs.

The pic is a washing machine cum exercising machine which was invented by Remya, young girl from Kerala and is now patented.

Moses Lee highlighted the notion behind the above in a previous post, calling it “survival entrepreneurship”. Similarly, Fast Company has referred to the overarching trend as “trickling-up innovations”. The sheer simplicity of this particular example amazed me. It doesn’t require any electricity, it is sustainable and, hey, it even keeps one fit. Ganeshan added that for a nation like India, it is production by the masses and notmass production which will alleviate poverty. Hence it’s critical to involve the community from where the idea is taken in the manufacturing of a product. This would ensure inclusive growth.

What about the innovators themselves? This question led Prof. Anil Gupta, founder of the Honeybee Network, went on to found the National Innovation Foundation, which then started the Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN). GIAN allows entrepreneurs to take ownership of technologies, commercialize products and scale production. As far as innovators are concerned, some want to simply be compensated for the technology while others are more entrepreneurial and desire venture funding. More about that can be read in their Business Opportunities section (North, West).

It’ll be interesting to see how entrepreneurs can utilize this goldmine. There’s huge potential for the knowledge of informal sectors to be leveraged and introduced into the formal economy. Once entrepreneurs and investors start realizing this and giving it due recognition, I’m confident that we’ll see India’s villages achieve growth at a much faster rates.

published originally at Nextbillion.net

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

Yep you heard it right. Just got the news that I have been selected as a student delegate for the 13th World Business Dialogue at the University of Cologne in Germany, one of the most prestigious student symposiums in the world.

So how is this one different from most of the symposiums out there?

Well for one, the speaker line is simply mind blowing. Yes I know that is what the brochure of every student symposium would say, but don’t take my word for it, check it out your self. Another important thing to look for in these student symposiums is the legacy and this one sure has a great one, 25 years strong.

This years theme is Crisis Demands: The End to Anything Goes”

The efforts demanded by crises are tremendous. Especially in the current global economic crisis this fact became obvious. The 13th World Business Dialogue wants to portray and discuss important questions and tasks dealing with this topic.

The conference will deal with the dynamic status of our world today, what has changed in the way we look at businesses, what needs to be done.

The application process was pretty simple but I suppose that made it all the more competitive. I am told the applicant pool was 1400 and about 300 were selected finally, which is a lower selection ratio as compared to other equally awesome symposiums such as St Gallens (whose application is also open, in case you’re interested).

The trip is in mid March(16-18), which also means that I don’t miss out on BITS Pilani’s tech fest APOGEE and the TEDxPilani, an event I am personally involved with and am really excited to attend.

Finally I would like to thank my buddy Abhishek Nayak, who has possibly made the largest impact on me here and is one of the coolest and smartest chaps I have come across during my college years.

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

This Summer.

Go on a road trip.

Get your hands dirty.

Why a road trip? Because it’s about being on your own and exploring the hinterland. It’s about surviving with approximately 2 USD per day. It’s about realizing how your skills can benefit  others.

Why getting your hands dirty? Because when you meet changemakers, the best way to truly understand the impact they are making, one has to taste the broth they’re cooking. One has to interact with the communities they’re working with.

It’s about bringing untold tales from the grassroots. It’s about creating a more responsible class of citizens who are socially conscious.

This summer, embark on a road trip, and you might just discover something new. Yourself.

Heard enough? So what are you waiting for? Seal the deal HERE.

Any other queries? Contact me at rishabhkaul at gmail dot in, or team at grassroutes dot in

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com

Net Impact recently released a report titled Undergraduate Perspectives: The usiness of changing the world. Some findings:

88% of the students believe that for profit organizations should take into consideration the societal and environmental issues.

37% believe corporations are working towards that (this number doubled from 2007) and only 24% feel business leaders are responsible.

73% feel that responsible actions lead to business profits

84% want to seek employment opportunities that are socially relevant.

82% think their schools are doing a fair job of preparing them for their post-graduate interests. 75% of students are also confident their colleges are preparing them to specifically do good in the world, a signifi cant increase from only46% in 2007.

Do check out the report for other interesting stats.

However one important thing to keep in mind is that the majority of these responses are from Net Impacts’ undergraduates’ nearly all of which belong to US. It would be interesting to see how people from other emerging economies respond to this, especially China, which practices nationalistic capitalism.

In my university I notice a handful of people who want to get into this sector. Not a lot, but a decent number. A lot of them have the interest but either can’t find the resources to further their interest about the sector or don’t know how to look for opportunities in this sector. While there are a lot of opportunities within the campus to look for opportunities too (such as the Rural Entrep Division at CEL, Nirmaan, NSS etc), there aren’t enough linkages between the social enterprises in the region and the college (with the exception of maybe Source Pilani).

I would love to see some social enterprises come to Pilani for recruitment, or involve some students through the TIC projects. As with regard to the TIC projects, currently the college demands some money from the enterprises, perhaps in case of social enterprises, the money demanded can be waived off, or decreased (again depending on their revenue stream).

End note: Would 3/4th of the students from my university agree that the college is doing a good job to help them find their interests for their post graduate degree?

Rishabh Kaul is a rising economics undergraduate at BITS Pilani. Check out his profile at Linkedin or buzz him at rishabhkaul[at]gmail[dot]com