Eco Entrepreneurs - the 16th variety?

About a week ago, precisely on the Dec 14, I wrote in my blog about a list of 15 varieties of entrepreneurs that I came across in different sources of literature.  And today, while going through the Special Anniversary Issue of the popular magazine from Malayala Manorama Group, The Week, I read about another variety ie., Eco Entrepreneurs.  This was included as part of 30 pearls of India listed out by the magazine.

Mr Chandrasekhar Hariharan of Biodiversity Conservation India Limited (BCIL), Bangalore has been named as the Eco Entrepreneur in the magazine.  His ecofriendly houses do not look different from normal houses.  But they are vastly different when it comes to energy efficiency.  The economist-turned-eco entrepreneur heads a group of companies - Zed Habitats, Zed Fabs, Zed Labs, Zed Inhabs and the Zed Foundation - which build eco-friendly houses.

Hariharan and his green warriors have built around 630 houses and are adding another 580 by 2015.  Hariharan worked in an NGO from 1987 to 1995, creating awareness about energy and water conservation. In 1995, he realised that he did not want to be donor dependent and went on with his green project.  A native of Bangalore, Hariharan is a simple person.  A doctorate in econometrics, he had worked as a Chartered Accountant and Journalist before becoming an eco-entrepreneur.

Long list of Varieties of Entrepreneurs

The more and more I delve deep into the topic of varieties of Entrepreneurs world over, my list is growing longer and longer.  I just started with the basic word "Entrepreneurs".

And my compilation has taken me to touch a double digit.  These are 1. Agri-preneurs  2. Edu-preneurs  3. Dalit Entrepreneurs  4. Food-preneurs   5. Green Eco Entrepreneurs      6. Kid Entrepreneurs  7. Medi-preneurs  8. Rural Entrepreneurs  9. Serial Entrepreneurs  10. Social Entrepreneurs  11. Tech-preneurs  12. Teen Entrepreneurs 13. Virtual Entrepreneurs  14.Women Entrepreneurs  and  15. Young Entrepreneurs.  Unbelievable long list, isn't it?  Now I am tempted to write a book on all these. 

Variety of Entrepreneurs

Reading, Writing, Thinking and Knowing of Entrepreneurs is an on-going interesting act for me.  Every story is different and every individual Entrepreneur has something unique to share.  It is only from news papers, business magazines, biographies and internet or some organisations like TiE or NEN or Mumbai  Angels or Indian Angels, we get to know of these special personalities.  Be it young or old, male or female, qualified or otherwise, Indian or NRIs, professional, technical or social entrepreneurs, each one of them have been making the lives of their own selves and a vast number of others employed with them productive and meaningful.

Authors like Rashmi Bansal are going on capturing the facts and figures to chronicle these noble personalities.  In the process of teaching courses on entrepreneurship to MBA students (although it is not so attractive elective course in many of the B-Schools for reasons best known to themselves) I came across a variety of entrepreneurs.  To list them out my own way, there are agri-preneurs, tech-preneurs, edu-preneurs, social entrepreneurs, medi-preneurs, food-preneurs and dalit entrepreneurs.  How interesting?  I wish if only our Central or State Governments create Ministries or Departments for Entrepreneurs, compile data on them, encourage more and more such persons and announce Civil Awards every year in a big way!