Successful start-up stories inspire future entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and work towards their goals. Stereotypically, entrepreneurship revolves around manifesting innovative ideas with the aspiration to earn profits. But some start-up stories initiate when the consciousness of individuals reflects their moral and social responsibilities. 

Such individuals take accountability for addressing social issues and ignite the duties of social entrepreneurship vested in them.

A country’s rural development exhibits economic growth. Thankfully, there has been an increasing number of foundations in India that focus on such growth and development. These social enterprises take the responsibility of nurturing rural lives by providing income sources and improving the standard of living.

MRIDA

In 2014, he took a big plunge and ventured as a social entrepreneur with Gurveen Kaur Sood and Manoj Khanna. Together, they started Mrida and brought prosperity to rural people through financially viable entrepreneurship models. 

These models offer power access to remote villages in India through Mrida Renergy & Development (P) Ltd. They also support the cultivation and collection of valuable crops, herbs and plants. They reap healthy products to retain traditional Indian medicines and distribute them through Mrida Greens & Organics Pvt. Mrida started with two villages, four microgrids, and 19 solar-powered LED street lights. 

Then, they moved forward to creating an e-hub that promoted education, e-commerce, and entertainment through a solar power initiative. They also incorporated the usage of an e-rickshaw. The foundation was soon backed up by visionaries, including Mahindra & Mahindra that helped scale to two e-hubs, three e-rickshaws, and 18 solar microgrids in 11 villages. They also improved health, hygiene, sanitation, and agriculture interventions with new tools. 

Mrida is self-funded with an investment of more than Rs. 4 crores. CSR initiatives by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd, Hero Motors Group (AG Industries, Rockman Industries), The Reliance Foundation for Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. have lent significant support.

Pipal Tree Ventures

Santosh Parulekar is the CEO and Co-founder of Pipal Tree Ventures Pvt. Ltd. He took the initiative to create job opportunities for the unemployed youth of rural India. Parulekar was working in a reputed bank in the west. He quit his secured high-paying job for the advancement of rural India. 

Since 2007, Pipal Tree has been actively working towards offering responsible positions to jobless youth. They have prepared more than 1,500 specialists through their instructional hubs in India.

Pipal Tree has several training centers that educate youth with skills to help them earn a living. They fill in positions for common project workers in the sectors of painting, plumbing, electrical, tiling, false ceiling, waterproofing, and much more.

Their client profile includes Tata Housing Development Company Limited, Godrej, L&T, Simplex, Lodha Group, Kalpataru Group, Ramky, NCC Reality, Ashford, Shapoorji Pallonji, Janapriya, and many more.

SELCO 

Harish Hande graduated from IIT Kharagpur and went on to do his PhD from the University of Massachusetts in 1994. He returned to India after exploring the benefits of rendering solar energy in Sri Lanka and the Dominican Republic. 

Power shortage has been an ongoing problem in remote places in India. In 1994, almost after 50 years of Independence, a remote village Mullaria, in Kasargod district in Kerala, did not have electricity. The scenario was similar for over two-thirds of India back then and people depended on kerosene lanterns.

Hande tried to sell his innovative ideas to rural people, but nobody invested in his vision until Rai did. He agreed to set up his solar power free of cost to Rai and installed it with the help of the farmer’s mother. 

The installation provided power to four lights in Rai’s house, after which the farmer was convinced of Hande’s initiative. He paid Hande Rs. 12,000, and that was the stepping stone for Selco.