about the Ontario Global Edge Program
People have asked a few times, so I shall address it. As a Canadian, how did I manage to get an internship in Hubli, India? The Ontario Global Edge (OGE) program. OGE is a program started by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment to encourage entrepreneurship among Canadian youth. By providing funding for students and working with universities across the province, OGE is able to send entrepreneurial-minded students to places like India, Kenya, Haiti and many others.
I became interested in entrepreneurship in grade 12 when we started a class company in my International Business class. Since then I have been hooked on the idea of starting and operating something of my own. Working towards that goal, I decided I wanted to work for a start-up company this summer. Additionally, I have learned traveling is an essential part of becoming a successful entrepreneur as you see the world from different perspectives, making you more creative.
Oh yeah, I have to work. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to visit a few of AquaSafi's plants in nearby villages around the state of Karnataka. It was really fascinating to see these rural villages and talk to the local people. Village life is so different from the cities of India, which makes it feel like Canada is on another planet.
AquaSafi builds and designs water purification equipment and sells it to NGOs and entrepreneurs. They in turn hire plant operators to run the plant and sell clean water to villagers for two rupees (5 cents) per 20L. Even though this is an affordable price and drinking clean water seems like the obvious thing to do, it is difficult to convince the villagers to switch from the government and river water to our plant water. People would rather buy a cell phone than buy our water as they have been drinking the 'unclean' water for years, and do not see the benefits of the clean water (even though it reduces stomach pains, joint problems and increases life expectancy). It also seems like the older people who are harder to convince as the children seem more open to drinking the clean water. My role as an intern is to find ways to identify non-users, and then conduct research and analysis to find out why they are opposed to plant water #savingtheworld.
A new profile picture for my little buddy
A government installed borewell... aka unclean water
These kids are awesome... shared a glass of milk straight from the cow with them
Equipment to test the water
The view from a temple on the way
Learning about the area the plant serves
Other stuff I could not fit in the earlier paragraph
AquaSafi is a branch of H2O for humanity.
AquaSafi opened its first plant in 2011.
We are currently experimenting with a new business model. I can't tell you what it is or it could hurt our competitive advantage.
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