SELCO India is a social enterprise that provides solar energy products and services to rural areas in India. It was founded to prove that renewable energy solutions can be affordable and well-maintained in poor communities. Over 20 years, SELCO India has installed solar solutions for over 450,000 households. The company strives to innovate its product designs based on customer needs and provides microfinance options to improve affordability. While successful, SELCO India's reach remains limited given India's large population without access to energy. The company is seeking options to expand its product lines, sales network, and energy service centers to serve more people.

1. Business Case (Quarter Final)
Overview
SELCO India is a rural energy service company, with its headquarters in Bangalore,
Karnataka, India. Established in 1995, to disprove the following 'myths' and over the last
20 years
 Poor people cannot afford sustainable technologies
 Installed over 450,000 so called 'expensive' solar solutions for the poor
which have been paid for by the poor using various financing methods
designed by SELCO India and its financial partners that match their cash
flows.
 Poor people cannot maintain sustainable technologies
 Combining door step service models via energy service centers and hiring
local youths to maintain the solar systems in rural areas. Many of the
employees of SELCO India are from the local villages adding a sense of
trust and responsibility that is crucial when targeting underserved
communities.
 Social ventures cannot be run as commercial entities
 SELCO India has successfully grown many folds over the years while
promoting energy services like solar power to the rural poor. It has
maintained modest profits in the last 8 years with growth rates at an
annual average of 20%. It has reinvested its profits back into the company
for further growth.
A well recognized social entrepreneur Mr. Harish Hande has co-founded SELCO India
in 1995 (with Neville Williams) to provide solar electricity for lighting and power to India's
poor. During its initial years of operation, the company expanded deliberately as it
gained capital and experience. during the early 2000s, company has tried to expand its
business for which SELCO India created a franchised dealer network, This Attempt
hurted company's financials and deviated from its original mission to help the poor. As
the company was recovering from this move, the price of solar panels spiked and sales
declined. Investors put pressure on Mr. Hande to lay off employees and contract the

2. organization.
With the help of the World Bank's commercial finance arm, the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), Mr. Hande was able to restructure the company in 2008. SELCO
India remained a for-profit business, but Mr. Hande was able to seek new investors
more aligned with its mission. In addition, Mr. Hande was able to keep his sales and
service organization intact, complete with its core of highly motivated employees.
SELCO India has strived and accomplished a very important feet in solar power market,
i.e. innovative designs, whatever solution they have offered it was redesigned to meet
specific requirement of end-user, be it street vendors, or housewives every customer
got benefit from SELCO India's innovation driven product development,. Basis of their
design concepts starts from a deep and careful understanding of needs of the poor.
Other attribute which contributed to SELCO India's product success is SELCO India's
ability to provide a microfinance solution along with its innovative and useful products,
Mr. Hande and his team have realised it very early in their SELCO India journey that
Finance is a very important factor for such product and target population, as the cost of
solar panels and batteries were out of reach for low income group, SELCO India
invested time and cultivated strong partnerships with banks and microfinance
organizations in order to provide very creative & efficient financial solutions to assist
target population to fulfill their electricity needs and easily repay for their capital
investment.
Although all the grass was not green, SELCO India's Design strategy and product
development timelines were time-consuming & costly, SELCO India was able to serve
its solutions to 450,000 households in 20 years, allowing their customers to increase
their income & quality of life. It was very evident that SELCO India's Current reach was
not enough considering India's vast demographics, where 40 crore low income group
people are still not able to garner benefits of affordable and Sustainable Energy
Solutions. This gap demands for an immediate expansion of SELCO India's services.
Observers frequently wondered if SELCO India's activities could be scaled up to extend
solar energy's benefits to more people.

3. Assignment
We hope that you have read and understood the case provided, If your virtual company
is a consulting company to SELCO India, what steps your company would suggest to
SELCO India board, in order to address below given scenarios & tasks.
SELCO India is Looking at expansion of its business, What are the best options your
organization would suggest to Mr. Hande ? Provide Reasoning with Each Option you
might suggest and a detailed execution strategy is also required to prove your case.
Expansion Strategy must include three basic Goals (You may keep additional goals as
well)
 Product Line Expansion
 Sales Network Expansion
 Energy Service Centers Expansion
All Departments namely Finance, HR, Marketing, IT & leadership should contribute to
overall expansion strategy
 Where IT Should ensure Seamless information flow, analysis and presentation of
data.
 Where Finance Dept should suggest finance inflow, and keep watch on outflow
considering pre decided expansion budget.
 Where Marketing Dept. should suggest to create or choose various appropriate
methods of Sales and energy Service centers expansion,
 Where Human Resources Dept. should suggest, right strategy to shoulder the
human resource requirement of expansion.
 Where General management should ensure harmony between all departments
and suggest right action plan & flow to accomplish the expansion.
 Where Leadership has to ensure that vision of the expansion is clear to to all the
department and everyone in organization is working towards a common goal.
Leadership may suggest a blueprint of expansion plan, clearly defined
suggestion for all departments