Associated Expert Rustam Sengupta featured in Manager Magazin
Manager Magazin has published an article on Endeva Associated Expert Rustam Sengupta and the work he's been doing with his social enterprise, Boond. Boond means "water drop" in Sanskrit, wholly appropriate for a company whose slogan is "Every drop makes a difference."
Rustam began the company in India in 2010, after gathering business experience around the world with Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, Syngenta Agribusiness in Switzerland, Deloitte in the US, and through studies in India and the US. He applied this prior experience when setting up Boond, a social enterprise whose inventory includes solar lamps and water filters. Boond not only benefits the local communities through high-quality, affordable products, but takes development one important step further through entrepreneurship. With the help of seed capital, investors, and strategic partnerships, Boond now works with micro entrepreneurs based primarily in rural areas. Micro entrepreneurs are selected from a pool of applicants after demonstrating sufficient knowledge of the products and initiative. They sell Boond products hut to hut, explaining the health and financial benefits of solar lamps or mosquito nets, and keep records of their sales.
Villagers who buy the products often do so through a payment plan that fits their budget, usually including a deposit and subsequent monthly payments. The products have helped consumers to lead healthier and more productive lives. Rustam plans to continue to expand Boond.
For Endeva, Rustam provided research for a study of the Indian low-income energy market and has co-authored the Indian country profile and two case studies in the publication Emerging Market Multinationals as Development Agents. The article can be read in full here.