More than 1.5 billion people in the world live without access to electricity. India alone houses more than 35% of the world's population without electricity, approximately 579 million people. Kushant Uppal is working to change that.  

After earning a MS and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, Kushant spent 15 years developing energy technology products in Silicon Valley. In 2006, Kushant began to realize that energy efficient products are both a key to rural productivity and a tremendous market opportunity. This drove him – and his family – to Hyderabad , India, where he launched Intelizon, a company dedicated to bringing energy services to rural India.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to speak with Kushant about his company, base of the pyramid strategy and the move back to India after 15 years in the United States.

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Guest blogger Virginia Barreiro is the Global Director of the New Ventures Project at the World Resources Institute. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California in San Diego and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from George Washington University.

By Virginia Barreiro

Last week a group of 42 people hiked together in Maroon Bells Colorado in the outskirts of Aspen, as part of a gathering that resulted in the formalization of ANDE - the Aspen network for Development Entrepreneurs. These individuals represent the most active organizations working on private sector solutions to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. We convened for two and a half days at the beautiful Aspen Institute to figure out how to do what we do... better.

Although varying in particular scope and approach, the organizations represented in the meeting all share a common thread: a strong conviction in the power of entrepreneurship as a way to tackle the world's most pressing challenges. ANDE members believe that through collective action, our organizations can drive greater resources in a more efficient manner to the entrepreneurs that will ultimately deliver social and environmental change.

Although many of these organizations have been working in this space for some time now, ANDE is the first formal platform for the sector. Comprised of investment funds, enterprise development organizations, intermediaries and donors, the network spent two whole days discussing key bottlenecks to scaling the growth of Small and Growing Businesses (i.e. SMEs) and, specifically, exploring some of the most pressing challenges faced by organizations in this space.

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