Education, Health, Environment and Rural Development emerges as top agenda for country’s social innovators
India CSR News Network
NEW DELHI: The country’s coveted award, Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) India Award, 2016, is set to witness intense competition this year. Over 100 inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, have applied to one of the most prestigious award. The winner of SEOY India gets a chance to join the world’s largest network of late-stage social enterprises affiliated with The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organization of the World Economic Forum.
The year 2016 marks the 12th year of existence for the SEOY Awards in India. Over the past few years, quality of applications to SEOY India awards has improved tremendously, making India stand out in the growing global movement of social entrepreneurship.
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organization of the World Economic Forum, partnered with the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation in 2010 to organise competition for India. Year 2016 celebrates seventh year of partnership between the two organisations.
As next steps to the applications received, The Schwab Foundation and experts from the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation will review the applications. The applicants are evaluated on key parameters of innovation, sustainability, scalability, reach and social impact.
Finalists will be selected following an intensive search and selection process, including expert reviews and site visits. The winner is selected by a prominent Jury consisting of eminent professionals from different walks of life. The award will be presented at a high-profile event in New Delhi in October.
Additional information on Social Entrepreneur of the Year India Award
2016 applications trend
- Education sector (55%) leads the nomination tally followed by Health (52%), Environment (43%) & Rural Development (42%). More than half of the applicants having education as an agenda is an evidence of growing consciousness about Social Entrepreneurship in that sector.
- The sectors which participated most actively were Education, Health, Environment, Rural Development, Enterprise Development, Technology, Water sanitation, communication/media, Microfinance respectively.
- Other than these sectors Fair Trade, Research, life skill Development & Training, Women Empowerment, labour Condition, Human Rights, Agriculture, Climate Change etc. like sectors have also applied for the SEOY India Award
- North region displayed enthusiastic participation with maximum applications
Highlights of previous SEOY India Award
Year 2015 was the year of all women finalists; Poonam Bir Kasturi of Daily Dump (Bengaluru) was awarded as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year India Award 2015 by Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy Government of India. Daily Dump, has brought together design thinking, traditional pottery and the science of composting to develop more than 50 aesthetic products and services that enable urban Indians to compost their waste at home and be part of the solution to the country’s waste management. The other three finalists were: Ashraf Patel (Pravah and Commutiny Youth Collective, New Delhi), Prema Gopalan (Swayam Shikshan Prayog, Pune) and Suparna Gupta (Aangan Trust, Mumbai).
Over the last seven years, since Schwab Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation joined hand, over 1000 applications have been evaluated. The pool comprises of projects across the sectors such as Skill development, Financial Inclusion, Renewable Energy, Women Empowerment, Sanitation and Healthcare.
Some of the projects that stood out during these past few years are of the SEOY India winners, which are:
- Rajiv Khandelwal & Krishnavtar Sharma, Aajeevika Bureau, Udaipur (Winner SEOY India 2010)
- Neelam Chhiber, Industree Crafts, Bengaluru, (Winner SEOY India 2011)
- Anshu Gupta, Goonj, New Delhi (Winner SEOY India 2012)
- Chetna Vijay Sinha, Mann Deshi, Satara (Winner SEOY India 2013)
- Dr H Sudarshan, Karuna Trust, Bengaluru (Winner SEOY India 2014)
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was co-founded by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and his wife, Hilde. Since its inception in 2000, the Foundation has been identifying the world’s leading social entrepreneurs and involves the community of 200 award winners in advancing the field of social innovation in collaboration with corporate, government and academic stakeholders. Selected social entrepreneurs of the Schwab Foundation network participate in World Economic Forum events, thus providing unique opportunities for them to connect with business, political and media leaders.
Jubilant Bhartia Foundation (JBF), an initiative of the Jubilant Bhartia Group, is committed to contribute towards inclusive growth. The foundation’s objectives include various community development work, health care, cultural & sports, environment preservation initiative, vocational training, women empowerment and educational activities. www.jubilantbhartiafoundation.com
Jubilant Bhartia Foundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/indiaseoy
http://www.schwabfound.org Follow the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship on Twitter at www.twitter.com/schwabfound
