The Mint reports on D.Light and its plan to provide LED lighting to Base of the Pyramid markets in India.

‘We don’t think it’s right that families are using kerosene in 2007,” said Tozun, who added that kerosene and candles are polluting, bad for respiration, can cause fires, and often have very dim lighting. “With today’s technology available, it is possible to have safer, better lighting. We want to provide that.” The product, called Forever Bright, will have a retail value of about Rs500 and is small enough to hold in your hand, said Tozun.

Uused in modern appliances such as the numbers on digital clocks, images on a television screen, and traffic lights, LEDs are tiny light bulbs that fit into an electrical circuit, but unlike ordinary bulbs, they don’t have a filament or get too hot.

According to Light Up The World, an international humanitarian organization whose goal is to light up the world’s poor, benefits of LEDs include ultra low power usage, durability and extended lifetime.
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The for-profit company was formed a year-and-a-half ago, after Tozun and a few colleagues took the “Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability,” class at Stanford University’s design school. They learnt to design for folks who earn a dollar or two a day.

D.Light’s plan is a good example of socially motivated, highly educated entrepreneurs to target a base of the pyramid market. And it’s just not easy.

Sam Goldman, the CEO and founder, is sharing his experiences on his blog.

Some lessons to sell in India from him.

There’s plenty of budget airlines and a quarter million cell phones being made a day. India is ‘calling all entrepreneurs.’ And yet its not that easy. Razor thin margins, an older bureaucracy, whole neighborhoods of C&D (copy and develop instead of research and development), and the little things – like trying to get a cell phone present constant challenges. I was shocked by how demanding the Indian consumer is – requiring high quality, low price, and service guarantees even or $10 purchases. If we can crack this market – we can crack any.
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India is the ultimate retail market and quite a challenge. As far as base-of-the-pyramid and rural marketing is concerned, I have found a few surprises. The first is how sophisticated the market has become. For example, the Chinese imports coming in as emergency lights have received a terrible reputation for low quality, and although they are still sold by the tens of thousands, newer Indian brands are springing up. Although the Indian brands are higher priced (often 2X) they come with guarantees (6mo-1yr) and often service warranties (up to 3years). Consumers are not only demanding high quality at low prices, but they want to be able to easily and inexpensively repair their products. If you are offering products that cannot be easily repaired – it is going to be hard to crack this market.