Bangalore or Bust!

“Is he crazy?”

“Awesome!”

“That’s weird.”

“You’re going to have the best time of your life!”

I’ve received various reactions to taking a summer internship in India. Most people think of me as the clean tech guy looking for an internship at a pioneering start-up, so when they heard the word “India” they thought to themselves, “What’s that got to do with clean tech entrepreneurship?” It turns out a lot actually.

To understand how it fits into my master clean-tech plan, let’s take a step back for a second. Did you know that 1.6 billion people around the world don’t have access to electricity? That’s a hard number to wrap your mind around. That’s 21 times the population of the United States and is nearly 25% of the world’s population! And where is the largest population of people with out electricity? You guessed it: India. India is home to 400 million people (larger than the population of the United States) who rely on kerosene, firewood, and other unhealthy fuels for lighting, heating, and cooking. In fact, India’s unelectrified population spends $2.2 billion dollars a year on kerosene. In business, this is what we call a “market opportunity.”

One of the ways to serve this market is to sell renewable energy, usually in the form of a solar system for a house that comes with a solar panel, wiring, lights, and a phone charger. The key word here is “sell.” The old model of handing out aid just doesn’t work in this context. In order for the user to feel ownership over their energy they have to pay for it. The challenge is that most of the users who need these systems live on just a few dollars a day.

Enter Simpa Networks, an early-stage start-up that has invented a way for users to pay for their energy system through a pay-as-you-go model. After the system is installed, users pre-pay for the energy they will use. When the credits they have bought run out they buy more. If they don’t buy more, Simpa’s technology turns off the power. Over time their payments pay off the cost of the system and they take ownership of it. This innovative approach is a game changer and has received a lot of attention in the industry.

So, what do you get when you mix an innovative clean tech idea with a HUGE market and an early-stage start-up? You get an internship in India! Or at least I did thanks to Michigan’s Erb and William Davidson Institutes. Over the next 10 weeks I will analyze new markets in which Simpa can apply this concept. I’m based in Bangalore, but will likely make field visits to villages in the North. In between, I plan to travel around India as much as possible. This weekend I’m heading to Mysore and next weekend I’m visiting the Taj Mahal with five other Michigan students who are also spending the summer in India. It’s going to be a wild ride! I plan to use this blog to chronicle the adventure so check back periodically! Namaste!

My next post: Bangalore: The sights and sounds of the “Garden City.”