Short Abstract
Now with 15 different IEEE technology representatives on its Governing Board, IEEE Smart Village’s primary mission is to improve livelihoods in underserved communities, by growing local enterprises based on the productive use of any IEEE and other technology, often on a foundation of renewable energy. We do this by developing local self-sustaining and scalable enterprises that provide long-lasting benefits to the communities, with IEEE volunteers playing an instrumental role.
Since its inception in 2009, ISV has funded 44 enterprises totaling $5.54 million and impacted the lives of over 2 million people in Africa, China, Latin America, North America, and South Asia. In 2022-23 YTD, ISV is committing $1.2 million to 19 new enterprises, which will start to show results in the next few years.
ISV’s secondary mission is to develop capacity to support its primary mission. We do this through education programs, conferences, mentorship, networking, digital & print media, and other activities. The secondary mission is for the benefit of all stakeholders including in-country applicants, volunteers, and ISV & IEEE staff, membership, leadership, and donors.
ISV is totally run and managed by a dedicated team of passionate volunteers, supported by a half-time IEEE administrative staff position. Volunteer work extends beyond initial technology deployment. IEEE members provide a broad range of support from pre-application to post-contract phases. This plays a critical role in nurturing the sustainability of the enterprises in communities where such capacity is seriously limited. For long-lived impact, this requires volunteer mentoring and monitoring on community engagement, business planning and operation, enterprise governance etc. Such work is generally perceived to be outside the purview of IEEE expertise, yet few humanitarian initiatives provide this level of long-term assistance.
We are expanding IEEE’s humanitarian impact by “Advancing technology for humanity”.
Short Bio:
Dr.Rajan Kapur started his career at AT&T Bell Labs. Since 1985 he has worked exclusively with start-ups, first with micro-chips in the Silicon Valley, and then micro-displays in Colorado. In 2006, he transitioned to renewable energy and founded a solar micro-inverter company that he later sold. Since then, he has run a sustainability incubator in his garage in Colorado, working with small dispersed teams on early-stage projects, with participants from the US and abroad.
In the leadership team at IEEE Smart Village, an all-volunteer humanitarian seed-fund cum incubator, he works with local entities in underserved regions around the world. They leverage productive use of IEEE technologies, education and enterprise to improve livelihoods. Current enterprises include eco-tourism in India, gem-stone cutting in Zambia, electrification to combat deforestation in Argentina, peri-urban aquaculture in Malawi and India, etc. Working with Rotary International, IEEE Smart Village has funded telehealth projects in Uganda and Kenya, and an oxygen plant at a hospital in India. Under his leadership, they have started “vocational awareness” initiatives for children to better prepare for a more electrified future.
Dr. Kapur is the holder of five issued US patents. He holds Electrical Engineering degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur; Rice University, Houston and the University of Texas at Austin.
