Boond Engineering & Development Products

India is plagued by development issues. While the urban populace enjoys the fruits of globalization and strong economic growth, the remote rural villages still lack basics such as adequate lighting, clean water, pest control and rampant unemployment. India is the 6th largest energy consumer in the world but 25% of its citizens or 300 million people still live in complete darkness or with rudimentary lighting, retarding their productivity and causing a significant increase in greenhouse gases (CO2). Nearly 300,000 people in the country still die every year due to malaria and dengue fever, diseases that are easily preventable and have been nearly eradicated from the developed world. The country’s unemployment rate is at 10.7% and the situation is even worse in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and the North East where nearly 30% of the population is below the poverty line.

The Boond Development Kit was borne out of a desire by its founder, Rustam Gupta, to address these basic needs of poor Indian villagers. The products included (solar lamps, cell chargers, water filters, mosquito nets etc.) have been designed in the village, manufactured in bulk and are bundled together in order to overhead costs. Boond’s products are designed to be environmentally sustainable and packaging is done in a way to reduce the use of paper and other material.

The kit is a comprehensive and affordable at slightly over $50. It is sold to the poor villagers through local Boond Officers, with simple low interest financing schemes. This makes the kit affordable, allowing the poor to easily afford basic amenities without extra burden. Hence Boond is taking the micro-finance movement further by actually financing development products to the base of the pyramid. Boond Officers are also trained to service the kits and work on a commission with local NGO partners to provide marketing and inventory support.

In addition, Boond also runs development projects in the villages it is present in. In West Bengal, Boond has financed a number of shrimp fisheries at a very low rate of interest (6% for six months) and has also provided education scholarships to meritorious students living under the poverty line. In Manipur, Boond commissions help to support the tribal school in Litan and have also provided basic educational aids when required.

Boond’s strength is in its collaborative model that includes local people in every part of its supply chain. This not only ensures deep penetration of Boond products and the cultural sensitivity required to work in these rural regions, but also develops micro entrepreneurs who champion the company's vision. Boond is also decentralized with a dedicated team and has extremely low overheads which allow for very small margins, making the products much cheaper than the market. The innovative www.boond.net platform ensures a flow of working capital which allows Boond to provide payment plans to village consumers. This cross subsidization from the website, as well as retail sales and consulting projects, further supplement Boond’s revenues, allowing the organization to provide high quality goods at low costs.

Since its inception in September of 2009, Boond has impacted over 3000 individuals and generated modest revenues of around €25,000. However, Boond’s vision is to reach one million individuals with light, clean water and pest control by 2012, not only improving the lives of numerous villagers, but creating a sustainable profit-making enterprise.