Social Entrepreneur: Harish Hande (Part 14)
Check other articles in the series...We continue our discussion on India’s economic development, and the gaining affluence of the middle class. Harish challenges the common statements that there is high economic growth, countering that the growth only affects a very limited portion of the population.
SM: So the middle class has created affluence. HH: 18% of the wealth is with 1% of the population. For me, that is scary. There are 80,000 auto rickshaws in Bangalore alone. People say that is a growth. How is that growth? These are 80,000 who cannot find a job, and the only other thing these people know to do is rent an auto rickshaw and drive it.
You have not created jobs in those sectors. You look at IT, software development, or you talk about financial sectors. They require a good education, English speaking capabilities, and you end up cutting off most of India by that requirement alone. How would the benefits trickle down?
SM: The real estate and retail sectors are developing well. HH: These are in concentrated geographical areas.
SM: There is no ambiguity that there is a huge population and a huge geographical area which is missing from the economic development impact. HH: I have not seen any jump from when we started in 1995 to now in the increase in rural incomes.
Where are we talking about the 8-9% growth? These industries contributed much since 1992, but it does not reach the rural area. In Karnataka, 70-80% of the people go to other areas because of the lack of institutions in their home areas. This is not even considering the other states which are way behind Karnataka.
SM: What is you parting message to entrepreneurs in the poverty sector, not only in India but globally? HH: Think long term, and have patience. There is no short cut to creating good processes. A lot of people try to solve it quick, and that can’t happen. Some people do it by numbers – reach 5 million in 3 years, and I will give you money. I would never do that. Concentrate more on the processes, and the numbers will come.
SM: Thank you very much, this has been a very enlightening conversation. Your way of life is a difficult one, probably very few people could pull it off. My sincerest admiration and congratulations for taking on something as fundamental.
This segment is part 14 in a 14 part series
Jump to part: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Thanks Harish and Sramana for a very inspiring interview.
Takeaways that were eye opener for me.
1) Financing innovation matching technological innovation.
2) Developments in advanced markets can topple your apple cart.
3) Short cuts are the longest route to success;
4) Eliminating charity from org culture is the most charitable thing to do.
Hat Tips!
-Balaji S.
Sramana, Kudos for doing a great job with the intereview.
This is great…keep it up.
Sramana,
Your blog is adding so much value overall. Thanks for all the efforts. Your interviews are sharp, cutting and brings out best. It’s enlightening to get so many different perspectives.
Keep up the great work !
it is avery good coverage kudos to harish and his team
very interesting reading keep it up great work done by you sramana
Fantastic interview..It touched all aspects of start up Venture.
Excellent Interview.We definately need more social entrepreneur like harish.
The Article was a great learning curve for people who want to make a difference to soceity with the Business do.
I would say terrific work harish has done
When I join Nehru Hall, IIT Kharagpur in 1989, Harish was the president of the hall. I was very impressed with his leadership quality. On top of that his helpful attitude was impressive. I think it was clear since then what this guy was capable of achieving.
Nice work, congrats on a stimulating interview… Has anyone gathered these people and their ideas into one website, so others can learn from them, or maybe held a roundtable/workshop with them? I bet there are others like me who would love to learn more.
Sorry for the questions… Please keep up the incisive digging!
Thank you for highlighting a small but brilliant idea that lighted a 100,000 homes. What the govt could not do one individual, Harish Hande did it. To provide electricity for 100,000 home the govt would have spent crores of rupees while one man has done it so very economically. I would love to get in touch with Harish Hande so that his services can be used in the city of Mumbai where most people have to go without electricity for a couple of hours everyday.
Harish is doing a great work.
Best of luck and Keep bringing Light leaving dark behind.