The rural education sector has been plagued with a number of issues. Lack of finances from the government, poor infrastructure, poor teacher-student ratio, lack of skilled educators, lack of recruitment policies for faculty members, basic amenities like separate toilets for boys and girls, etc. 
https://yehaindia.com/indias-rural-education-and-startups-working-in-the-field/

Two young students are talking excitedly about the future. Their focus is not on acquiring personal wealth and status; they want to help grow their parents’ cotton farm, and make their village a better place for families to live. Their ttitudes and ambitions can be traced back to their pre-school experience at Hippocampus.
https://valueofknowledge.ft.com/articles/passion-for-knowledge/

When I started my career, I had absolutely no intention of opening an education organisation. I come from an IT background and worked in the technology space for 12 years before selling my company and starting fresh. 
https://yourstory.com/2018/07/startups-aim-improve-education-rural-areas/

Who doesn’t love a high-paying job that allows you to have all the luxuries and comfort? Most of us work day and night to earn as much we can. All we care about is making our lives simpler and easier by whatever it takes. We leave our family and friends behind just to reach the top of our career.  
https://www.naukrinama.com/stressbuster/indians-who-left-their-job-for-society-welfare/

In popular imagination, India’s startup ecosystem is synonymous with the posh software firms of Bengaluru, Pune and Gurgaon. While these have made the country a global powerhouse, their appeal eludes two-thirds of its population that are fighting for access to basic needs like clean toilets, good schools and hospitals.
https://www.forbesindia.com/article/startups-special/solving-for-india-five-startups-tackling-social-problems/43653/2

Serial entrepreneur Umesh Malhotra set up an education services venture to provide quality education to children in rural areas and small towns.  Not much is notable about Channagiri town in Karnataka, apart from a hill fort built in the 17th century and a few locally well-known temples..
https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/features/hippocampus-learning-centres-provide-education-to-small-town-children/story/222096.html

The benefits of childhood education can’t be extolled enough in the developing world. Receiving an education is a great poverty deterrent and is a net gain for society.  UNICEF says, “Educating children helps reduce poverty and promote gender equality. It helps lower child mortality rates and promote concern for the environment….
https://borgenproject.org/hippocampus-learning-centers/

In a classroom fashioned out of a cattle shed in Kyathanahalli,a village off the beaten track 110 km from Bangalore, three-year-old Likhith Gowda reeled off a breathless introduction in near-perfect English.My name is Likhith Gowda,I am a boy,I study in pre-KG,my teacher's name is Geethanjali,I live in Kyathanahalli.
http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/a-lowcost-preschool-chain-offers-hope-to-rural-karnataka-families/1082339/

In 1998, Umesh Malhotra, an employee of Infosys Technologies, did a year-long consulting stint in the United States. He lived in the Bay Area of California with his wife and then-five year old son. The book-loving couple was drawn to the local public library; in particular, they liked the children’s section which, besides being well-stocked with
books, had a variety of activities for kids. 
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/indias-hippocampus-writes-a-new-chapter-for-childrens-libraries/

A little over a decade ago, if anyone had told Vimala and Umesh Malhotra that their mission in life would be to set up libraries for children, they would probably have laughed.  But then, they wouldn't have accounted for boredom.
https://www.forbes.com/2010/07/28/forbes-india-rural-children-love-of-reading.html#e5a58ac7bb1b

Bengaluru-based Umesh Malhotra set up Hippocampus to lure children away from TV and computer games to a world of books and outdoors.
https://www.businesstoday.in/moneytoday/my-idea/booked-for-kids/story/7285.html

Classic conversational gambit grown-ups use with kids, in a wonderland of adventures and multiple realities waiting ..
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Hippocampus-Exploring-childrens-potential/articleshow/39702313.cms