Three Ways to Get Started

Think you are an entrepreneur in the making? Are you looking for ideas?

Think you are an innovator in hiding? Are you looking for a market to access?

Think you are a community changer? Are you looking for a cause to hitch your wagon to?

Or are you simply a problem solver looking at a world that is riddled with issues that need urgent redressal?

Whoever you are, you are here because you believe in the E Week 2012 theme of ‘Invent the future’. You are here because you believe that you can make a difference.

That said, let’s not be overwhelmed into thinking that we HAVE to invent something grand. Here are three simple ways to get started on inventing the future:

CREATE – What product?

There are 750 million people in the villages of India and they face myriads of socio-economic issues, significantly in the areas of education, unemployment, healthcare, access to markets, knowledge and technology.

For instance, a fisherman who wants to cut out the middleman and go to market with his catch does not have access to a cold storage nor does he own storage equipment. He needs cost-effective solutions.

Can you smell an opportunity? Can you, as a student innovator, help the fisherman by creating low-cost cold storage equipment or mobilise the market to reach him sooner? The goal is to make so that he can be more profitable and boost his income?

Do you have a secret green invention that can reduce the carbon footprint of your college? Now is the time to showcase it.

USE – How to use existing solutions?

The goal of E Week is not to simply create and innovate, or to remove all old ways of functioning. It gives equal emphasis to the making use of existing plans and programs which are already working towards sustainable and inclusive development.

For instance, the cities and metros of India are reeling from urban poverty, supply and use of clean energy, pollution, bad infrastructure, mismanaged urban planning, garbage and others. There are already many government implemented plans and programs, interventions from the non-profit sector and community led actions to deal with these issues. Many of these programs need a dramatic lift or drastic improvements to be able to sustain themselves.

Can you as a student entrepreneur work as a catalyst to improve or implement these plans and programs?

You could also take a walk around your locality and adopt a few poorer homes. Step into their lives and try to understand their requirements and issues. Do their kids have access to schools? Are the adults employed? Does the family have easy access to healthcare? Access the areas of intervention and mobilise your community towards action.

CHANGE – Change behaviour

Almost all of us know that plastic is non-biodegradable, that it is important to save water and electricity, and littering public spaces. Yet, garbage continues to pile up with plastic covers, cities and village continue to battle for clean water, and poor civic sense continues to make for unhygienic public spaces.  

As student entrepreneurs, we can start from the comfort of our homes. A look around will tell us that there are gadgets on standby to be switched off, garbage to be recycled, leaky taps to be fixed etc. To change behaviour, it’s important to create awareness and provide alternate, more sustainable modes of behaviour. For instance, My Sunny Balcony, started by a group of garden enthusiasts, is a company which creates gardens for homes with minimal spaces. While their primary focus is designing gardens and accessories, they are also slowly creating awareness about the need of green spaces. Will their clients be more sensitive about green issues and develop better civic sense? Most surely they will.

Great inventions and beginnings are often rooted in visionary ideas and a passion to jumpstart the world we want to create. We want this reactionary journey to start now, and we’d like you to join us as fellow passengers, on this yellow brick road to an inclusive and convenient future.