Education, health, environment: Test your business creativity with Edition 153 of our weekly quiz!

Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 153rd edition of the quiz, we present issues tackled by real-life entrepreneurs in their startup journeys.

What would you do if you were in their shoes? At the end of the quiz, you will find out what the entrepreneurs and innovators themselves actually did. Would you do things differently?

Check out YourStory’s Book Review section as well, with takeaways from over 355 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.

Q1: Plastic consumption

In the face of climate change and environmental pollution, progressive consumers are looking to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and reduce plastic consumption. Where is the environmental opportunity here?

Q2: Electrical utilities

Smart meters and automation can help bring accuracy and efficiency for the electrical utilities sector. What are some other tech innovations that can improve performance here?

Q3: Digital divide

Rural India has a digital literacy rate of only 25%, leading to a gap between tech availability and usage. How can a more inclusive future be created for those who may not have the required literacy to harness apps and other digital services?

Q4: Access to education

Access to education is a key to future success, but many youth from low-income families do not have adequate financial resources. Unfortunately, traditional banks offer loans largely depending on the financial position of the family. How can this financial challenge be addressed?

Q5: Breastfeeding for mothers

Many mothers face challenges in breastfeeding such as improper latching. This leads to a painful experience for the mother and inadequate nourishment for the baby. How can this issue be addressed?

Answers!

Congratulations on having come this far! But there’s more to come – answers to these five questions (below), as well as links to articles with more details on the entrepreneurs’ solutions. Happy reading, happy learning – and happy creating!

A1: Plastic consumption

The Honest Home Company, founded in 2019 in Delhi, is helping households reduce their plastic consumption with recycled, eco-friendly home products. Founded by Mayank Pratap Sisodia, it offers 37 eco-friendly home products in recycled, plastic-free packaging to over 200,000 households currently.

These products include kitchen cleaners, food wrappers, and personal hygiene items, priced from Rs 99 to Rs 400. Read more here about how it uses IoT-enabled devices for supply chain management, and tracks plastic reduction through sustainability reports to minimise the environmental footprint.

A2: Electrical utilities

Data analytics can empower consumers of electrical utilities and contribute to a more sustainable world, according to Manjeet Singh Rahi, Head, Energy and Utilities, Atlantis Intelligence. Analysing power consumption patterns helps make informed, data-driven decisions in accordance with evolving customer needs and expectations.

“Predictive maintenance is one of the most critical applications of data analytics within the utility sector,” he adds. Read more here about how utilities firms can monitor the performance of equipment to discover emerging problems that may lead to outages, and thus take proactive approaches to prevent downtime.

A3: Digital divide

“Voice-based technology systems interact with users by voice instead of text, which has a lot of potential for bridging the digital divide in rural India,” explains Swapnil Aggarwal, Co-founder of Dhwani RIS.

Voice technologies can also enable easier and more effective communication in a linguistically diverse country like India. Read more here about how voice-based technologies not only democratise access to technology but also preserve linguistic and cultural richness.

A4: Access to education

“Today, fintech platforms are shifting the determining factors to a student’s academic merit, the institution’s reputation, and the placement prospects after graduation,” explains Prashant Bhonsle, Founder of Kuhoo Edufintech. Thus, fintechs help break down financial barriers and allow access to quality education.

This makes it possible for talented students to follow their dreams, irrespective of their socio-economic background, according to Bhonsle. Read more here about how fntechs help ensure a faster turnaround on loan approval, lower interest rates, and repayment options according to the career path chosen by the student.

A5: Breastfeeding for mothers

Launched by Gayathri Kanumuri in 2022, Nari Care offers mothers one-on-one consultations with certified lactation consultants, knowledge about breastfeeding, and access to a community of mothers. The startup was incubated at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore.

The support system includes a one-month plan where mothers get a one-on-one consultation with a lactation consultant, a two-hour breastfeeding course, and one month of support through a WhatsApp group. Read more here about how Nari Care has partnered with brands like Spectra, Medela, Dr. Brown’s, and Comotomo to offer products such as pumps and sterilisers.

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).

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