1. Disruptive Innovation for Social
Change
By Christensen, Baumann, Ruggles, and Sadtler
Presented by Group 8 with Indian
Illustrations
Harshvardhan
Nikhil Lilani
PGPM 2012-14 Varun Chopra
CSR Prateek Dutta
Date: 14- Mar- 2013 Mayur Kumar
MDI, Gurgaon Santosh Garbham

2. Is Money Everything?
 Indian firms collectively spend Rs. 8700 Crore on
CSR initiatives every year
 It’s projected to shoot up to Rs. 27000 Cr
 But are they effective?
 No.
 Reason:
 Targeted towards a narrow segment in society
and Not targeted towards the right segments of
society

3. Suggestion by Authors:
 Expanding support for organizations that are
approaching social-sector problems:
1. In a fundamentally new way
2. Scalable
3. Sustainable
4. System – changing
“catalytic innovation”

4. Catalytic Innovation
 A subset of Disruptive Innovation
 Unlike Disruptive Innovations, focus is on Social
change
Sustainable Disruptive Catalytic
Additional Features Simpler, more
convenient solution A subset of Disruptive
Innovation
Better quality
Less expensive
Breakthrough Products
Social Change is
Directed towards new Primary Objective
Directed towards or less demanding
existing customers customers

5. Catalytic Thinking
 Problem for Incumbents : Status Quo
1. They create systemic social change through scaling and replication
2. They meet a need that is either overserved (because the existing
solution is more complex than many people) or may not be served at
all
3. They offer products and services that are simpler and less costly than
existing alternatives and may be perceived as having a lower level of
performance, but users consider them to be good enough
4. They generate resources, such as donations, grants, volunteer
manpower or intellectual capital, in ways that are initially unattractive
to incumbent competitors
5. They are often ignored, disparaged or even encouraged by existing
players for whom the business model is unprofitable or otherwise
unattractive and who therefore avoid or retreat from the market

6. Catalytic Innovation Strategy
The motive of this strategy is to prove as follows:
“Organization’s spending is not good enough
for an effective CSR, investing in catalytic
innovations would make their initiative more
meaningful”

7. Some Catalytic Innovations in
India

8. Aakash – the World’s cheapest tablet
DataWind, in association with IIT Rajasthan, has
launched world's cheapest 7 inch tablet
The tablet was officially launched as
the Aakash in New Delhi on 5 October 2011.
The device was developed as part of the
country's aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400
universities in an e-learning program
Originally named “SAKSHAT”, the device aims
to bring India's masses onto the information
highway.
Mainly known as
•Students Tablet with Extra Loaded Features
•aam admi ka ipad
•The World’s Cheapest Tablet “Aakash”

9. Aakash – the World’s cheapest tablet
Social Changes through scaling and replication
• Computer is considered as one of the most efficient and useful
device when it comes to facilitating education to students from all
social and economical strata of Indian subcontinent so is Internet
• With the use of internet and computer knowledge can be digitalize
and student can have access to unlimited notes and study material
at very less cost
• This can also help in learning new things, improving creativity and
knowing about career options
• This will also help in reducing gap between poor and rich children
and rural and urban students

10. Aakash – the World’s cheapest tablet
Unserved needs of Society that were met
• Even the poor students dream of getting better learning
opportunities through access to Internet
• Aakash brings those dreams to reality. After subsidy by GOI, the
tablet costs Rs. 1130.
• That would allow even the offspring of maid servants and 4th grade
staffs can imagine buying a knowledge device like Aakash tablet for
themselves and that too by saving their pocket money
• These kind of needs CANNOT be met by incumbent players in the
market because they have see no incentive to pursue and they feel
it would not be viable to serve these poor segments

11. Aakash – the World’s cheapest tablet
Simpler and less costly than existing alternatives
• Though Aakash technical specifications are not on par with Apple’s ipad,
many were willing to use it. Because for them it serves the purpose.
• Datawind became third largest tablet seller in India at one point in time
Generation of funds
• Aakash project has support from GoI
• The prototype development was done by IIT, Rajasthan
• After the device was unveiled, OLPC chairman Nicholas Negroponte offered full access to OLPC
technology at no cost to the Indian team

12. Aakash – the World’s cheapest tablet
Ignorance by existing players
• A BBC report stated “To develop its latest gadget, the ministry said
it had turned to the elite Indian Institute of Technology, and the
Indian Institute of Science, after a lacklustre response from the
private sector”.

13. Aravind Eye Hospital
Unserved segments served who are ignored by existing players
• The problem of avoidable blindness rapidly escalating
remained a major cause of concern in the Indian healthcare
scenario
• In a developing country the government alone cannot meet
the health needs of all owing to a number of challenges-
growing population
• inadequate infrastructure
• low per capita income
The hospital performs high-volume and high-quality eye surgeries inexpensively to address the needs of
the 12 million blind people in India.

14. Aravind Eye Hospital
Social Changes Created:
• It is a social organisation committed to the goal of elimination of needless
blindness through comprehensive eye care services
• It is also an international training centre for ophthalmic professionals and
trainees who come from within India and around the world
• It is an institute for research that contributes to the development of eye
care and to train health-related and managerial personnel in the
development and implementation of efficient and sustainable eye care
programmes
• Aravind also is a manufacturer of world class ophthalmic products available
at affordable costs through the Aurolab

15. Aravind Eye Hospital
Simple Infrastructure and Low cost Solution
• No extravagant expenditure with aesthetic ambience
•
• Aravind keeps its surgical equipment in operation 24 hours a day,
which reduces the cost-per-surgery
• Doctor’s time is utilized with highest effectiveness. So, doctors focus
only on performing surgery, and nurses handle pre-op and post-op
care, which increases doctor productivity
These actions allow the company to give away free
surgeries to the poor while still earning a profit

16. SELCO
Introduction
• SELCO India was founded in 1995 by Dr.Harish Hande with INR
15,000 funding from its co-founder Mr. Neville Williams.
Social Changes Created
• Solar Electric Light Company, India or SELCO India has played an
instrumental role in improving living standards of poor households in
rural India especially in the state of Karnataka through solar
energy based interventions and low smoke cook stoves
Unserved Segments that were served
• When Hande established SELCO-India in Bangalore, he was looking
to dispel three myths:
• Poor people cannot afford sustainable technologies
• Poor people cannot maintain sustainable technologies
• Social ventures cannot be run as commercial entities

17. SELCO
Generated resources from other sources-
• Financial backing was received in December 1996 from Winrock International
which released a conditional loan of $150,000 under the USAID Renewable
Energy Commercialization project.
• This was however on a condition that SELCO INDIA created couple of solar
service centers and install a minimum number of systems.
Simpler low cost solution:
• SELCO started with a financial model in which each customer would pay 25% of
the cost upfront as down payment and will further pay a monthly installment which
is affordable and within the average monthly budget of a family in the region.
• Along with this, the SELCO INDIA also provided a year's guarantee to the
warranty of the manufacturer along with free service for a year and a 90-day
money back guarantee.
• The loan to Winrock was paid back by 2000. SELCO INDIA got good backing
with E+Co initially investing US $107,500 to become SELCO India's first investor.

18. SELCO
Achievements:
• SELCO has so far installed solar systems in more than 125,000
homes. This is in spite of two-thirds of its customers surviving on
less than $3–4 per day.
• Some of Selco's customers include poor daily-wage labor and
institutions like schools and seminaries. Everyone is charged the
same rate for the solar panel; about $450 for a 40-watt system
that can light many 7-watt bulbs for 4 hours between charges.
• Fewer than 10 percent of the company's customers default in
their payment and about $20 million has been made available by
lenders to finance this venture.

19. SELCO
Some Ripple Effects of Social Changes brought by this
innovation
• SELCO has also created other small entrepreneurs who use the solar panels
to charge numerous small batteries which they then lend to street vendors for
a nominal daily price.
• This has boosted their monthly incomes from Rs. 4500 to Rs. 13000
• Other people who have benefited from SELCO's venture are the rose pickers
in a village in Bangalore who earlier used to hold a lamp in one of their hands
and pick roses from the other as part of their daily pre-dawn routine.
• SELCO has helped them in acquiring solar powered headlamps which the
workers can now wear.
• With both hands now being free, the productivity of the workers has doubled
resulting in a direct improvement in their income.

20. Latest Disruptive innovations in
Services

21. Examples
 -LifeSpring Hospitals Pvt. Ltd
 52% of baby delivery market or 1300 deliveries in
karnataka
 -Mirakle Couriers
 -employs 63 deaf people and 2 managers
 Village Laundry Service Pvt. Ltd

22. Learning:
Catalytic Innovations make CSR initiatives to:
• Effectively address the social cause by serving a huge
segment that generally stays out of focus from regular CSR
• Have ripple effect in the economy by the fundamental social
changes it brings about
It’s high time for organizations and social investors
to invest in Catalytic Innovations by identifying
them

23. Identifying Catalytic Innovations
 After choosing a particular social challenge, look for
preexisting catalytic innovators
 It is difficult to find them in mainstream business, so
following steps that reflect catalytic innovation would
help:
 A new entrant providing low cost solution to an
alternative segment that is either over server or
underserved by market
 Dominant player moving away from new entrant’s
offerings towards a more profitable segment
 New entrant and his imitators emerge rapidly
 Not all sectors grow rapidly. Sectors regulated heavily
by Government or influenced by politics may have
reduced effect of innovation

24. Identifying Catalytic Innovations
 Evaluate the innovation:
 Whether it is aligned with those 5 steps
 Implementation of the innovation:
 Is it scalable and sustainable
 Can it be shifted to another location
 Tax benefit is not an indicator i.e. for profit vs non-profit
Recommendation of the Article
• Seek out and Support Catalytic innovation because they not only have
Immediate Social Impact but also inspire social entrepreneurs to think
catalytically
• Catalytic thinking addresses of social problems in a more fundamental
manner by creating a social change

25. Few words from a Catalytic innovator

26. Conclusion
The huge funding available for Social causes in
this country if directed towards Catalytic
Innovations, India would see a better tomorrow
very soon

27. Thank You