DBS Bank Partners Tata Institute of Social Sciences to Champion Social Entrepreneurship in India

“DBS-TISS Social Entrepreneurship Programme”  Launched to Support Social Enterprises

MUMBAI: DBS, the leading financial services group in Asia and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), India’s premier institute for social sciences and HR, on August 14, 2012 signed a strategic partnership agreement to launch the ‘DBS–TISS Social Entrepreneurship Programme’ to comprehensively promote the cause and purpose of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises.

DBS and TISS will closely work together to provide start-up funding, growth capital for capacity building/expanding, business guidance and mentoring support through staff volunteers. TISS and DBS will also initiate research and related programmes to measure social impact and created by such ventures and organise events to propagate the cause and purpose of social entrepreneurship in the public domain through conferences, awards, whitepapers, case studies etc.

Social enterprises are organizations that apply business strategies to achieve social goals. They are businesses with heart – set up with a social mission with profits channelled towards fulfilling social needs. These ventures are designed to deliver to social welfare by generating employment, improving quality of life, creating assets and wealth for the deserving, facilitating environmental sustainability and enabling inclusive growth. They typically follow a dual bottom line approach reporting their financial and social impact.

Speaking about new age developmental initiatives, Prof. S. Parasuraman, Director, TISS, said, “There is a fundamental shift in the way development strategies are presently being approached. Developmental funding is now viewed as a social investment with financial sustainability being as important as social impact. Building capabilities of marginalized and excluded communities with initiatives such as facilitation through market linkage; timely funding and appropriate information is the new way for development. Social entrepreneurship thus emerges unique, as it deploys technological, managerial and social knowledge and skills to create desired social change.”

Announcing the partnership and the launch of the programme, Sanjiv Bhasin, CEO, DBS Bank India, said, “We are committed to building a better future by supporting social enterprises in India and across Asia.  Social enterprises offer innovative and sustainable solutions to meet societal needs. As a strong advocate of entrepreneurship and innovation, DBS is committed to help social enterprises maximise their social impact and improve their commercial viability at the same time. We are delighted to partner with TISS to execute this programme as their expertise in social sciences perfectly complements our ability to provide capital and entrepreneurial focus to social ventures.

TISS with its rich history in the field of social sciences is a pioneer in the domain of social entrepreneurship in India. It established the Center for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007 and offers a two-year post graduate programme – Masters of Arts in Social Entrepreneurship. Students graduating from this programme start their own social enterprises to address challenges faced by communities through innovative, sustainable and scalable solutions.

Elaborating on the partnership between DBS and TISS, Prof. Satyajit Majumdar, Chairman, Center for Social Entrepreneurship, TISS said, “In addition to developing a qualified stream of social entrepreneurs trained with the right blend of classroom teaching and fieldwork, we will provide financial, networking, mentoring and other support so that they can start or scale-up their ventures and play a more impactful role in tackling the social issues facing the communities they are working with. We will also create and disseminate knowledge on social entrepreneurship with the help of academicians and researchers. This adds to develop newer knowledge base and also helps social entrepreneurs to improvise their solutions for addressing social problems more effectively.”

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was established in 1936, as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work. The first school of social work in India, TISS was a pioneering effort with the objective of Social Welfare through academic excellence, a characteristic of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT). Its establishment was the result of the decision of the Trustees of the SDTT to accept Dr. Clifford Manshardt’s vision of a post-graduate school of social work of national stature that would engage in a continuous study of Indian social issues and problems and impart education in social work to meet the emerging need for trained human power. This subsequently influenced the direction of social work education and social research in India.

In 1944, the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work was renamed as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The year 1964 was an important landmark in the history of the Institute, when it was recognised as a Deemed University by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India.

In 2006, major restructuring of existing departments and units happened in TISS. Currently, 9 Schools, 4 Independent Centre and 4 resource Centres are operating in Mumbai Campus. These Schools and Centres are offering 26 MA programmes. MA in Social Entrepreneurship is one of these programmes and offered by Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, School of Management and Labour Studies. Apart from these MA programmes, TISS also offers M Phil and PhD programme to 30 candidates per year.

In 2004, TISS has started a campus in Tulajapur and offered Bachelor of Arts in Social Work. Presently this campus also offers MA in Rural Development. In 2008-09 TISS started two new campuses in Hyderabad and Guwahati. Presently, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Tuljapur are offering 5 years integrated Bachelor and M.A course in Social Sciences.

DBS – Living, Breathing Asia

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 200 branches across 15 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is a market leader in Singapore with over four million customers and also has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth, namely, Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s strong capital position, as well as “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings that are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, earned it Global Finance’s “Safest Bank in Asia” accolade for four consecutive years, from 2009 to 2012.

DBS provides the full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking activities across Asia and the Middle East. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. This market insight and regional connectivity have helped to drive the bank’s growth as it sets out to be the Asian bank of choice. The bank believes that building lasting relationships with its customers is an integral part of banking the Asian way.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 18,000 staff, representing over 30 nationalities.

DBS Bank India is a branch of DBS Bank Ltd, which is in turn a subsidiary of DBS Group Holdings Ltd, one of the largest financial services groups in Asia. DBS opened its first branch in Mumbai in 1995. Since opening its second branch in New Delhi in 2005, DBS has rapidly expanded its India footprint to 12 cities with a network of full service branches and ATMs.

Today, DBS offers a comprehensive portfolio of wealth management, institutional banking, cash management and treasury and market products and services in India. Over the last 5 years, DBS India has grown its customer base by about 20 times, and increased its staff strength to over 800. The bank is committed to continue to grow its business and franchise in India.