1. An open-source platform that designs, implements and
disseminates sustainable livelihood innovations through an
ecosystems approach
SELCO FOUNDATION
for Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership Challenge
Energy Access and Livelihoods
May 2015
2. SELCO Foundation:
ABOUT
Pioneer and build
the ecosystem to
enable innovations
that link
sustainable energy
and poverty
reduction
Develop poor-
centric solutions by
bringing in all
aspects of
technology, financial
and social linkages
leading to a holistic
solution that is
socially, financially
and environmentally
sustainable
Through the
innovations, help
develop concepts
and processes for
other parts of the
world to cater to
the heterogeneous
nature of poor
segments
3. SELCO Foundation:
BACKGROUND
Need for customizing solutions
Very High Income Group
High Income Group
Middle Income Group
Poor Income Group
Very High Income Group
High Income Group
Middle Income Group
Poor Income Groups
• Low Income Groups under market
conditions
• Very Low Income Groups may not be under
market conditions
• Vulnerable Communities
4. SELCO Foundation:
BACKGROUND
Need for customizing solutions
Misplaced Assumptions:
Homogenous poor = standardized solutions
Urban solutions = rural solutions
Faster scale up = Faster access to high quality energy
solutions
Misfit: products and needs:
Tech solutions not centered around the poor’s needs
Lack of standards, quality products
Asset financing versus consumer financing
Appropriate enterprise specific financing
Inadequate Linkages:
Human resource development
Cross sector approach
Support to micro level entrepreneurs
Attention to R&D and innovation targeted at pro
poor needs
5. SELCO Foundation:
APPROACH
Desirability
ViabilityFeasibility
DISCOVER
• Community engagement
• Profiling and Data
collection
• Deeper understanding of
stakeholder needs,
behaviours and
constraints
• Gathering expert
perspectives
DESIGN
• Analyse data + Define
opportunities
• Ideate +Create
solutions + Research
• Co-design +
Collaborate
• Prototype + Test
SHARE
• Develop Implementation Plan
• Create appropriate financial models
• Create replicable processes and systems that can be scaled
• Develop Toolkits
10. SELCO Foundation:
LIVELIHOODS
Dholakwale Community
“It is like we have a
sun in the night now!
We can see our
children’s faces in the
night, just talk to
them and watch them
play. You might not
realise, but it’s a big
difference. We don’t
just have a light, we
have longer days.”
- Azma
13. SELCO Foundation:
A CAPABILITY APPROACH
Building Assets Amongst the Poor
• Increasing Access
• Long term vs short term solutions
• Connecting with partners to fill-in gaps
• Documentation of process and methodologies – promoting
replication
Editor's Notes
SELCO Foundation is the R&D wing of the SELCO Company- which is a social enterprise working to bridge the gap between energy poverty, sustainability and development. Working with the underserved communities and institutes, while SELCO Company has been focussing more on solar energy, SELCO Foundation has a much broader focus and vision- where we look at sustainable energy solutions, and increasing access to resources- while looking at livelihood solutions.
segregation of the underserved communities can be done based on geography, culture, type of income generating activities, income streams, urban or rural, formal or informal, migratory or not etc. therefore livelihood needs and solutions will be different.
The ‘poor’ is not a homogenous group- even in the low income group- we can further divide them into different groups according to the assets they have or how they access institutions and urban infrastructure or resources.
What works in the urban context may or may not work in the rural or tribal context- also one product cannot fit all – different needs, different usage patterns
=> misfit between the product and the need
Specially when it comes to technology- they are not centred around the poor’s needs
Lack of standards and quality in the products
Its important to make the poor an asset holder rather than just a consumer – so we focus on providing our customers with a good quality product which fits their needs and serves the purpose and build a financial instrument around it, to make it affordable.
Inadequate linkages- in terms of just the network creation and capacity building – so we also look at providing access to the market to entrepreneurs, creating entrepreneurs themselves- by training them, connecting them to banks and MFIs, and also looking at their personal needs or needs at the community level and help nurture that idea – through the required R&D and provide them with those solutions.