Founder: Naveen Krishna

Portfolio Partner: 2018

Operational States: Uttar Pradesh

SMV Green Solutions is a social venture that aims to bring dignity to rickshaw drivers through asset ownership and other value-added services.

The Varanasi-based company, founded by Naveen Krishna, finances battery-powered rickshaws so that drivers are able to upgrade from either gas-powered or manual rickshaws to ones that are better for their own health and the environment. SMV Green provides financing for 24 months, after which the driver owns the vehicle and is better equipped to earn their way out of poverty.

The company builds on the work of an earlier company founded by Krishna, SMV Wheels, which first addressed the physical drudgery of manual rickshaws with a lease-to-own model for auto-rickshaws. That company financed over 5,000 rickshaws.

The social venture also provides insurance for life, disability, accident and rickshaw theft, and it also assists them with procuring the appropriate government licenses.

Visit their website to learn more.

About the Founder:

Naveen Krishna, a Master of Social Work from Banaras Hindu University, has over a decade of experience with marginalized communities and in the Sustainability Mobility Sector. Formerly with the Ministry of Rural Development, he has been recognized as Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014-15, one of the 21 India-Pakistan Young Leaders, and a Cordes Fellow.