In conversation with Rusen Kumar, Founder and Editor, India CSR; Vivek Prakash, Vice President and Head ‑ CSR, Jubilant Ingrevia said that social entrepreneur’s role is growing, and they have become enablers of inclusive growth.
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is the leading global platform that incubates a pioneering community of social entrepreneurs and seeks to advance the field of social innovation towards systematic change. It is also a sister concern to the World Economic Forum, an esteemed international organization for public-private partnerships. It currently represents over 384 late-stage social innovators operating across 190 countries worldwide. It has partnered with Jubilant Bhartia Foundation to implement Social Entrepreneur of the Year awards in India. The initiative recognises outstanding entrepreneurs working in major thematic areas like Education, Health, Livelihood, Rural Development, Financial, Social Inclusion, etc., to showcase their work and India on a global platform.
In conversation with Rusen Kumar, Founder and Editor, India CSR; Vivek Prakash, Vice President & Head ‑ CSR, Jubilant Ingrevia Limited how Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is helping Social Entrepreneurs in fulfilling their dreams and innovations are contributing to transformational change in society. “As a result, over 300 social entrepreneurs continue to be engaged in our activities.”, Vivek said. Edited excerpts of an interview:
Why did Schwab Foundation decide to focus on Social Entrepreneurs from India?
A recent study says that India ranks the highest in terms of its presence in the social entrepreneurship community, ahead of the US, Australia, and China. Around 46 Indian social entrepreneurs are co-acting with this dynamic duo.
The sole purpose of bringing the prestigious awards to India was to engage social entrepreneurs in the country and provide them with a global platform where they could meet, share and learn from each other because India is one among the many countries which consist of a diverse variety of innovative Social Entrepreneurs working towards bringing constructive change in society.
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Since 2010, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship (SFSE) has partnered with Jubilant Bhartia Foundation to implement Social Entrepreneur of the Year awards in India. Every year, the program recognises outstanding entrepreneurs working in major thematic areas like Education, Health, Livelihood, Rural Development, Financial, Social Inclusion, etc., to showcase their work and India on a global platform.
What has been the journey so far?
Jubilant Bhartia Foundation was established in 2007 to conceptualise and Corporate Social Responsibility for the Jubilant Group. The Foundation works in the realm of Health, Education, Livelihood and Social Entrepreneurship.
With a mission to promote social entrepreneurship in India along with celebrating social entrepreneurs to upscale their efforts in bringing up a business solution to social problems the Foundation, partnered with Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, introduced the ‘Social Entrepreneurship of the Year’ (SEOY) award in India. In the last two decades, it has supported the world’s leading social entrepreneurs to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. As a result, over 300 social entrepreneurs continue to be engaged in our activities.
The award is given with the objective of recognising promising and successful social entrepreneurs, with excellence in large-scale, system change models.
Social entrepreneurs are the key enablers of inclusive growth who implement practical and sustainable solutions to address challenges in numerous areas including health, education, and environment, access to technology and job creation.
This journey has been both interesting and challenging; a diversity in social innovations coming from remote corners of India has been witnessed. The use of technology has increased multi-fold in recent years. Social entrepreneurs have been harnessing the vast untapped resources to accelerate equality and growth for the marginalized. This in turn has to transform the lives of millions of people around the world, providing education, opportunity, livelihoods, and dignity.
Which sectors in India have seen maximum innovative solutions?
The applications received for the awards have been from diverse sectors such as Healthcare, clean technology, media communication, disability, energy, enterprise development, labour conditions, microfinance, nutrition, sustainable farming, and water & sanitation., It is observed that if one of the social problems is catered then it impacts the overall quality of life of the target beneficiary, resolving many underlying issues. Hence it is difficult to mark a particular sector that has seen maximum innovative solutions, but it can be said that all social business creates an overall.
According to a NASSCOM observation, India has over 400 social impact entrepreneurs and the number is growing at a rapid pace since December 20191. Numerous innovative solutions for the advancement of society and the environment are getting more traction now. There is an apparent surge in social tech entrepreneurs working towards resolving the long-standing social issues in the country.
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The stringent evaluation process that is undertaken to select the best social entrepreneur.
The evaluation process is undertaken based on the criteria given by Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship (SFSE). These criteria are Tech-enabled, Innovation and Market Reach, Sustainability, Impact Reach and Impact Depth, Scalability, and their alignment with World Economic Forum’s initiatives. Through a five-stage selection process, the finalists are shortlisted after on-site visits, background research, reference checks and multiple rounds of deliberations
The extent to which women entrepreneurs are working towards social reforms in India.
In the past, India’s business story excluded a significant group of the population, ‘Women.’ However, in modern times, the scenario has changed, with a combined development of a more educated women population along with a sense of social protection. Eventually leading to being the most substantial part of social and economic development.
Over the years, SEOY India has received over 30% of award applications from women social entrepreneurs from India, and we have witnessed very strong and potential applications from women over the last few years. As of date over 1600 applications, with one-third of them coming from women over the last few years. 7 out of nine winners so far have been women. Each year, applications get better in terms of impact, reach, and choice of diverse issues. Jubilant Bhartia Foundation has also collaborated with some of the winners and finalists in its work.
According to focused women-centric entrepreneurship research, India reports 13.5–15.7 million women-owned enterprises which represent 20% of all enterprises. Most of these enterprises are single person managed which provides direct employment for an estimated 22 to 27 million people. Considering the acceleration of quality women entrepreneurship in India, there is a scope of transformational employment requirement of 150–170 million jobs, which is more than 25% of the new jobs required for the entire working-age population, from now until 2030.
The impact of this award and how will it benefit the winners?
The Social Entrepreneur of the Year – India Award is a joint initiative that has been introduced through a collaboration between Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organization of the World Economic Forum.
Social Entrepreneurs are invited to actively participate in the regional and annual meetings of the World Economic Forum, where they have access to a network of global leaders in politics, business, media, and academia. They engage in Forum initiatives, the discussions shaping the future agendas of industries, and serve as experts in the Forum’s Global Agenda Councils. They benefit from pro-bono consulting services, legal advice and stipends to world-class executive education courses through the partners of the Foundation. Social Entrepreneurs also explore best practices through peer exchanges.
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The winner of the SEOY award will be given the chance to apply for the Hindustan Times Fellowship for Stanford Seed Transformation Programme. It’s a privilege for any social entrepreneur to get recognition from Stanford Seed which further increases their credibility as an organisation and provides them with unmatchable exposure to an entrepreneur to scale up the work. Also, the winner will be recognised at the World Economic Forum and will be rewarded with a sponsorship of a three-year structured program that provides excellent insights and learning related to scaling-up business outreach in the domestic and global markets.
Companies are increasingly seeing social entrepreneurs and their organisations as ideal partners to reach new client groups at the base of the pyramid. They find that working with social entrepreneurs is a pragmatic and effective way to demonstrate their corporate citizenship.
The exposure the winners would receive through this award
Apart from the benefits mentioned in the previous response, the award will also provide access to the world’s most influential network, global media exposure, personalized engagement, capacity building, and community-based support.
About the Author
Rusen Kumar, Founder and Editor, India CSR regularly writes on CSR and Sustainability.
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