In India, 220,000 villages lack electricity. Development organizations like the Barefoot College have focused on empowering women to help these rural villages. Solar projects which brings solar-powered lights is run by the Barefoot College in Tilonia, founded by Bunker Roy in 1972 to help make Indian villagers become self-sufficient, with an emphasis on using women’s skills.
In the NY Times blog titled “Slumdog Entrepreneurs”, Economics Professor at Harvard School Ed Glaeser, writes about his observation that 43 percent of urban Indians who worked were self-employed (vs 11% in the US). High self employment in Urban India reflects both good things about the country, like energy and intelligence, and bad things, like a maze of regulations that make it difficult to build large companies that follow the rules.
Click on ‘Continue Reading’ to see video of Nandan Nilekani’s presentation at TED on his ideas for the Future of India
The economic slowdown is the first major challenge faced by India’s young entrepreneurs, forcing them to consider different business models and look for untapped markets according to Washington Post article titled India’s Young Entrepreneurs See Opportunity in Slump.