Come up with a few problems that you'll be looking to solve for the case study. What are some questions that may arise that you should try to do research for and solve?(Creative research writing) SELCO 2009: Determining a Path ForwardHarish Hande and the company he founded, SELCO, provide solar electricity forlighting and power to India's poor. For the work of his company, Hande has receivednumerous recognitions; he is frequently cited as one of the top social entrepreneurs inIndia and an example for the entire developing world.The road to SELCO's success, however, has not always been smooth. Handecofounded SELCO (with Neville Williams) in 1995 to sell and service photovoltaic (PV)systems in his home state of Karnataka, India. During its initial years of operation, thecompany expanded deliberately as it gained capital and experience. 1. Then in an ill-fated attempt to scale-up during the early 2000s, SELCO created a franchised dealernetwork, seriously hurting the company financially and deviating from its mission tohelp the poor. As the company was recovering from this move, the 2. price of solarpanels spiked and sales declined. Investors put pressure on Hande to lay offemployees and contract the organization.With the help of the World Bank's commercial finance arm, the Intemational FinanceCorporation (IFC), Hande was able to restructure the company in 2008. SELCOremained a for-profit business, but Hande was able to seek new investors morealigned with its mission. In addition, Hande was able to keep his sales and serviceorganization intact, complete with its core of highly motivated employees.Most importantly, SELCO was able to continue devising innovative solar solutions.The company had become known for redesigning off-the-shelf solar electriccomponents to suit the particular needs of the urban and rural poor. The SELCOdesign process began with an extensive needs assessment of a particular segment oractivity. Whether designing for street vendors, midwives, or rural farmers, SELCOcreated solutions for the particular needs of its target market. Sometimes this meantredesigning the solar equipment and sometimes this meant restructuring activities sothat solar energy could power a client's needs.From his field research, Hande realized early in SELCO's history that the success ofsolar installations for the poor would depend on designing creative financing solutionsfor its customers. Many thought the capital expense of purchasing solar panels andbatteries put this technology out of the reach of those at the bottom of the income-generating pyramid. But SELCO spent time cultivating India's banks and microfinanceorganizations to convince them of the efficacy of solar power. Over time, the companyformed partnerships with these institutions to craft financial instruments that allowedentrepreneurs and families to repay the capital expenses associated with installingsolar equipment.However, SELC''s careful process of needs assessment, design, financing, andservice was time-consuming and costly. The company had provided energy solutionsfor over 100,000 households in its fifteen years of existence, allowing customers toincrease their income and quality of life. However, India's developmental problemswere daunting; over 400 million individuals were in poverty. Observers frequentlywondered if SELCO's activities could be scaled up to extend solar energy's benefitsto more people.In 2009, SELCO was considering its plans for how the company might expand. Thecompany decided to institutionalize its design process by building an innovationcenter. SELCO also added products that provided energy solutions beyond solar.Some within the company were hoping the company would go "deeper" and look atdesigning solutions for even poorer members of the Indian population. Others werehoping that the company would go wider" and expand beyond its current geographicalareas in Kamataka and Gujarat. Whatever its direction, the strategic choices thecompany made at this point in its evolution would be crucial to detemining itscontinued success.

Summary Harish Hande and the organization he established, SELCO, give sunlight based power to…

Answered: SELCO 2009: Determining a Path Forward…

6th Edition

ISBN:9781337406659

Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.

Publisher:WINSTON, Wayne L.

Chapter2: Introduction To Spreadsheet Modeling

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 20P: Julie James is opening a lemonade stand. She believes the fixed cost per week of running the stand...