Follow us on:
We conduct several events to support and promote social entrepreneurship. Watch out this space for more updates.
The grand finale of the fourth edition of the programme held on January 16, 2016, at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C), saw HelpUsGreen® from Kanpur (Winner), Jeevtronics from Pune (1st Runner-up), and Hasiru Dala Innovations from Bengaluru and Disease Diagnose Group from Boston, USA (joint winners of the 2nd Runner-up position), emerge as the winning ventures, receiving prize money of Rs. 2.5 lakh, Rs. 2 lakh and Rs. 1.5 lakh, respectively.
This year’s edition received 600+ registrations from across India, out of which 210 met all the eligibility criteria and moved to the next round of the competition. These impact proposals were in the area of agriculture, food and dairy; healthcare, water and sanitation; technology and development; education & skills development; housing; handicrafts; and energy and microfinance/financial inclusion. The ventures were judged on three parameters – Business Model, Social Impact and Sustainability.
Ankit Agarwal, the winner of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge 2015-16 has started HelpUsGreen®. A Kanpur based social enterprise, HelpUsGreen® preserves the rivers by flowercycling® the waste from the places of worship into bio-fertilizers and lifestyle products like incense and bathing soaps, among others, and in doing so also empowers women self-help groups (currently the venture is managing five women self-help groups with sixteen members each).
Ecstatic with his win Ankit said, “It’s been an overwhelming experience. We have won many competitions before but Tata Social Enterprise Challenge is like the Filmfare of social entrepreneurship.”
Jeevtronics, a Pune based venture, was declared as the 1st Runner-up. Ashish Gawade representing the venture said, “It was a great experience for us. The knowledge, mentoring and feedback that we received from the jury was really helpful, and it was good to collaborate with the other start-ups too.” Jeevtronics is dedicated to designing and implementing affordable medical devices for underdeveloped and rural areas. It has patented a hand-cranked defibrillator – a life-saving device for heart patients – whichhas a built-in power generator that enables it to work in off-grid rural areas, mini ambulances and disaster relief camps, among others. The hand-crank generator requires 12 seconds to charge and comes at one-fourth the cost of competition.
The 2nd Runner-up position saw a tie between two ventures, Hasiru Dala Innovations from Bengaluru and the student-led venture, Disease Diagnose Group from Boston, USA.
Hasiru Dala Innovations is committed to creating predictable livelihoods for waste pickers through providing total waste management, urban gardening services and products for sustainable living. The model is designed to enable a circular economy that enhances the lives, be it a waste picker or a resident, it touches. The venture is supporting waste pickers to collect from 10,000 households in the city. It has also, in collaboration with partners, created a unique certification course called Enhancing skills of small entrepreneurs in the recycling industry. Shekhar Prabhakar from the venture said, “I am feeling like a kid having won his first prize. I will take away from here the many friends that I have made who are doing many inspiring things.”
The joint 2nd Runner-Up venture, Disease Diagnose Group (DDG), was represented by Alphonse Harris who said, “I am very excited to get the recognition for our venture and hope to use this recognition to get more partnerships.” DDG has developed a hand-held malaria detector called Rapid Assessment of Malaria (RAM). Out of every 1000 malaria infections, only 500 fevers are identified, 250 tests are performed and only 125 diagnoses are accurate. This device, called RAM for short, detects a magnetic substance that malaria parasites release when digesting red blood cells thus providing a faster and more accurate diagnostic test than those used currently, and at a much lower cost. The device is reusable, mechanical, fast and sensitive, and the technology is clinically approved.
The ceremony saw talks by inspiring leaders in the space of social entrepreneurship like Dr. N.V. Prajna, Chief of Medical Education at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai; Mr. Vinayak Lohani, Founder of the NGO Parivaar; Mr. Manoj Kumar Nambiar, Managing Director of Arohan Financial Services; and Dr. Mammen Chandy, Director, Tata Medical Centre, Kolkata, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Ashok Banerjee, Director, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, said, “Social entrepreneurship is all about innovative solutions to social problems. At IIMC, we want to take this as a challenge and as a movement. In the last four years, as part of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge, we have reached out to different parts of the country meeting students, entrepreneurs and NGOs, getting all stakeholders together, and creating awareness about social entrepreneurship. Going forward, we want to continue on this journey and contribute towards bringing about change through enabling social enterprises in India.”
Felicitating the winners, Dr. Mammen Chandy, Director, Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, said, “Today students of management should seek to find fulfillment in social entrepreneurship rather than only seeking personal material gain. The lives of people like Ida Scudder show how Social Enterprise can be transforming and change the lives of millions of people.”
Read MoreThe second Roundtable of the “Thinking Social” series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) and Ennovent, was held on 30th November 2015 at the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata under the aegis of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) 2015-16. The theme of the Roundtable was ‘”Social Enterprises in India”.
The British Council has commissioned a baseline study on the Social Enterprise Landscape in India, which is being conducted by Ennovent. The aim of the study is to provide a summary of the current size and scale of the social enterprise sector and give stakeholders a clear picture of the existing landscape and help them identify areas in which their support is most needed. The aim of the baseline study is to provide a summary of the current size and scale of the social enterprise sector in India. The survey will contribute to the improvement of the social enterprise ecosystem by obtaining currently unavailable numbers on various indicators, giving stakeholders a clear picture of the existing scenario and helping them identify areas in which their support is needed.
The objective of the roundtable was to disseminate the findings of the Landscape Survey of Social Enterprises in India captured through survey responses and interviews conducted so far, with a specific focus on East India. The audience mainly comprised of eminent social entrepreneurs, academicians and NGOs mainly from the Eastern part of the country.
The discussion was initiated by Juhi from Ennovent who shared with the audience the findings of the survey which they had conducted. The following points were discussed:
Distribution of Social Enterprises by State
The panel discussed that a lot of innovative business models exist at the ground level but they often go unnoticed because they do not have access to communication services like the internet. They also decided to do a search on the operational presence of SEs and conduct the survey in regional languages.
Distribution of Social Enterprises by Sector
The panel decided that methodology of framing sectors need more work as there are alot of activities which were not talked about. It was also pointed out that there should be a break up of skill development activities into non-farm livelihood and non-traditional livelihood.
Barriers to growth and Funding Challenges
Discussions took place regarding the lack of skilled manpower and training institutes is the biggest challenge for social enterprises. Also, there needs to be a more focussed sectorial analysis which needs to be carried out so that it gives us the dta about the most emerging areas in the SE space.
Feedback on the Study Report and Analysis
The survey should add an option of Lack of Training and Skill development institutes under the barriers to growth. It should also remove Micro Finance Institutes from the database. A proper definition about Social Enterprise must be formulated which would define the enterprise as a business which aims to be financially viable and creates an impact for the people at the BOP.
The first event of the “Thinking Social” series of roundtables, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP), was held on 16th October 2015 at the India International Center, Delhi under the aegis of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) 2015-16. The theme of the Roundtable was ‘”Enhancing Quality and Affordability of Education through Technology”. The discussion was centered on three broad themes – Quality, Access, and Affordability of education for the masses. The overarching focus was the use of technology in meeting these three objectives.
The thematic Roundtable included an overview on Thinking Social, an interactive Panel discussion followed by Q&A and presentations from two social entrepreneurs working in the education domain.
The speakers for the day comprised eminent entrepreneurs and academician who have rich experience in the Education sector in India. The audience (a strong presence of 40 participants) comprised of Professionals, entrepreneurs, Impact investors, innovators, NGOs and students mainly from the Education sector.
In the inaugural session, Subhrangshu Sanyal – CEO, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park introduced the theme and shared with the audience IIMC’s journey on entrepreneurship, IIMCIP’s vision & activities and how TSEC emerged as one of the biggest platform for the social entrepreneurs in India.
Prof Raghabendra Chattopadhyay, IIM Calcutta moderated the Panel discussion and requested all the Panelists to share their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities around the theme.
Read MoreTata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) – a joint initiative of the Tata Group and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) held the second seminar series, ‘Thinking Social’, at Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (PG), Pune on 3rd October 2015. The day-long seminar sought to introduce students from top professional colleges in India to the spirit of social entrepreneurship in a rapidly evolving global economy and addressed the concerns of young, budding entrepreneurs belonging to reputed B-Schools such as Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communications (SIMC), Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIMB) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). The speakers for the day comprised eminent social entrepreneurs, academicians and senior corporate executives working extensively in the Indian social entrepreneurship space.
The event kick-started with Prof. Chandan Chatterjee, Director, SIMC Pune, delivering the inaugural address and welcoming all the dignitaries. Highlighting the institute’s keenness towards inculcating a spirit of social sensitivity and proactivity amongst its students, he spoke of the student-initiated and driven Social Responsibility Cell called SIMCare, the acronym CARE standing for Compassion, Appreciation, Respect and Empathy.
Subhrangshu Sanyal, CEO – IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) shared with the audience IIMC’s journey on entrepreneurship, IIMCIP’s vision & activities and how TSEC emerged as one of the biggest platform for the social entrepreneurs in India. He stressed on the importance of involving fresh minds in solving some of the social challenges faced by India. He motivated the students by saying, “Young minds like you can provide innovative solutions to our current problems”.
Read MoreTata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) – a joint initiative of the Tata Group and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) held the second edition of the student seminars, ‘Thinking Social’, at IIT Guwahati on 29 August 2015.
The day-long seminar had about 90 participants and it sought to introduce students to the concept of social entrepreneurship and inspire them to start their own venture that solves some of the challenges faced by the society. The speakers for the day comprised eminent entrepreneurs, who have established their own outstanding ventures in the Indian social entrepreneurship space and sought to address the concerns of young, budding entrepreneurs.
Mr Subhrangshu Sanyal, CEO IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, welcomed the participants for this event and explained the objective of the seminar on “Thinking Social.”
Mr Biswanath Sinha, Associate Director of Tata Trusts addressed the audience by presenting the core values of the TATA group. He gave an overview of the activities conducted by TATA trusts to support social enterprises that benefit the community and the country. Concluding his speech he said “I hope many young entrepreneurs will emerge from this region and make changes which are beneficial to the society.”
Read MoreThe most awaited and one of the biggest social entrepreneurship event of India, Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) was launched on 7th August 2015. TATA Social Enterprise Challenge is a joint initiative by the TATA group and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta). This challenge aims to raise awareness about social entrepreneurship, promotes social entrepreneurship and encourages the youth to step up to be the next generation of social entrepreneurs. After completing 3 successful years, it has entered the 4th edition with a lot more expectations and innovative ideas.
The featured speakers in the event launch were Prof. Ashok Banerjee – Director, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, Mr Subhrangshu Sanyal – CEO, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park and Anindya Kar – an Entrepreneur and an IIM Calcutta Alumnus. Prof. Banerjee encouraged students to conceive ideas for start-ups and make use of the facilities provided by the IIMC Innovation Park.
Anindya Kar, alumnus of IIM Calcutta’s 2003-05 batch, inspired students with his own entrepreneurship journey and inspired students to take up entrepreneurship as a career.
Mr. Subhrangshu Sanyal distributed the prizes to students who topped in TSEC quiz and complemented them for showing interest to be part of the TSEC family.
This year TSEC aims to get bigger and better. We are aiming to reach out to Institutes not only in India but also aiming to reach out to International Institutions. The last day to submit the Impact Proposal is 7 October 2015.
Read MoreTata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) – a joint initiative of the Tata group and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) held the fourth in the series of student seminars on ‘Thinking Social’ seminar series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP), on March 21st 2015 at Tiruchirapalli, with the National Institute of Technology- Tiruchirapalli, as the host Institution. The day-long seminar was attended by around 100 strong audience representing the students, academia and NGOs/Institutions.
The speakers of the day comprised of Prof Satyajit Majumdar from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences; eminent social entrepreneur Sriram V Ayer, founder of Nalanda Way Foundation; local social entrepreneur Dr Ajay Kumar Tannirkulam, Founder of Magasool, Prof G. Kannabiran from NIT-Trichy and Prof Chandradeep Mitra from IIM Calcutta. Connecting the youth to social enterprise, the speakers shared their perspective on the key challenges, opportunities and learning’s in the social entrepreneurship space.
Read MoreThe third thematic roundtable of “TSEC Thinking Social Roundtable” series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIP), was held on 27th February 2015 in Mumbai, under the aegis of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC).
The Mumbai Chapter of IIM Calcutta Alumni Association was instrumental in supporting the Roundtable. The theme of the Roundtable was ‘Bridging the Education Gap’. The main objective of this roundtable was to provide a platform, for the champions of education entrepreneurship ecosystem to exchange their experiences and ideas thereby perhaps create a set of best practices for the industry to emulate.
The thematic TSEC Roundtable was structured with an introductory address from IIP and the TATA Groups followed by Panel discussion with subsequent Q&A round and ending with a valedictory and thanking note from the IIMC Alumni Mumbai Chapter.
Read MoreTata Social Enterprise Challenge 2014-15 kicked-off on August 25, 2014 and invited social entrepreneurs who either had an early stage venture (not older than three years) or a promising idea with a plan that could create sustainable social impact in India. Impact proposals (detailed business plans) were invited in the areas of education, health, agriculture, technology, sanitation, and handicrafts, among others.
These proposals were to be judged on three parameters – business model, social impact and sustainability. The last day to submit them online was November 15, 2014.
All the top 20 teams which were selected were mentored by Ashoka Innovators for the Public and Villgro, and the IIM Calcutta faculty. The social VC partners of the initiative were Acumen, Ankur Capital, Yunus Social Business and Ennovent. The teams also had an opportunity to network with mentors, experts and fellow social entrepreneurs.
The ceremony featured special talks by M Anshu Gupta, Founder Goonj, Dr SP Gon Chaudhuri, founder of India’s first renewable energy college – NB Institute for Rural Development (NBIRT), Dr Sabahat Azim, Founder Glocal and Dr NS Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Chief Group Human Resources Officer, Tata Sons.
The winners of the contest were announced during the grand finale which was held on 17 January 2015 at the IIM Calcutta campus. SAANS from Bangalore (Winner), Godavari Women Weaver’s Services Producer Company (GWWSPC) from Mandapeta, Andhra Pradesh (first runners-up) and Ultrasafe Ultrasound from Kolkata (second runners-up) emerged as the top three most promising social ventures, winning prize money of Rs 2 lakhs, Rs 1.5 lakhs and Rs 1.25 lakhs, respectively.
Read MoreThe second thematic roundtable of “TSEC Thinking Social Roundtable” series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIP), was held on 19th December 2014 at the Park Sheraton Hotels & Tower in Chennai, under the aegis of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC). The Chennai chapter of IIM Calcutta Alumni Association was instrumental in supporting the Roundtable. The theme of the Roundtable was ‘Clean Energy’. The main objective of this roundtable was to provide a platform, for the champions of Clean Energy entrepreneurship ecosystem to exchange their experiences and ideas thereby perhaps create a set of best practices for the industry to emulate.
The thematic TSEC Roundtable was structured around an introductory address from IIP and the Chennai chapter of IIM Calcutta Alumni Association followed by Panel discussion with subsequent Q&A round and ending with a valedictory and vote of thanks from the IIMC Alumni Chennai chapter.
Read MoreTata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) – a joint initiative of the Tata group and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) held the third in the series of student seminars on ‘Thinking Social’ seminar series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIP), on December 13 2014 at Noida, with the School of Management & Entrepreneurship, Shiv Nadar University, as the host Institution. Fulfilling the main objective of these TSEC “Thinking Social” seminars of connecting youth to social enterprise there was a strong student presence at the TSEC “Thinking Social” seminar in Noida, with many amongst them budding entrepreneurs.
The day-long seminar was attended by almost 100 students from across colleges in NCR. The speakers for the day comprised eminent social entrepreneurs like Ms. Kamini Prakash, Board Member, Pravah and Ms. Meenu Vadera, Director, Sakha Consulting Wings Pvt. Ltd. and Trustee, Azad Foundation who have established their own outstanding ventures in the Indian social entrepreneurship space. They shared their experience as social entrepreneurs with those present and addressed the issues and concerns of the young, budding entrepreneurs in the audience.
Read MoreThe second “Thinking Social” seminar series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIP), was held on November 29th 2014 at Pune, with Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (Pune), a constituent institute under Symbiosis International University as the host Institution under the aegis of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC). As the main objective of these TSEC “Thinking Social” seminars is to connect youth to social enterprise it was very heartening to see a strong student presence at the TSEC “Thinking Social” seminar in Pune.
The speakers for the day comprised eminent entrepreneurs, who have established their own outstanding ventures in the Indian social entrepreneurship space and sought to address the concerns of young, budding entrepreneurs. The speakers shared their immense knowledge on social entrepreneurship with around 200 strong audience representing the students, academia and NGOs/ institutions.
Read MoreThe maiden thematic roundtable of “TSEC Thinking Social Roundtable” series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIP), was held on 28th November 2014 in Bengaluru, under the aegis of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC).
The Bengaluru Chapter of IIM Calcutta Alumni Association was instrumental in supporting the Roundtable. The theme of the Roundtable was ‘Providing Affordable Healthcare’. The main objective of this roundtable was to provide a platform, for the champions of healthcare entrepreneurship ecosystem to exchange their experiences and ideas thereby perhaps create a set of best practices for the industry to emulate.
The thematic TSEC Roundtable was structured with an introductory address from IIP and the TATA Groups followed by Panel discussion with subsequent Q&A round and ending with a valedictory and thanking note from the IIMC Alumni Bengaluru Chapter.
Read MoreThe first “Thinking Social” seminar series, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIP), was held on 1 November 2014 at IIT Guwahati as the host Institution under the aegis of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC).The primary objective of the seminar was to create awareness about social enterprises among the students and showcase the pioneering efforts of the social entrepreneurs in North East.
The list of speakers included noted social entrepreneurs like Mr. Anshu Gupta, the founder of Goonj, Ms. Hasina Kharbhih, the founder of the Impulse NGO Network and Impulse Social Enterprises, Mr. Neichute Doulo, the Founder of Entrepreneurs Associates in Nagaland, and a team from Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research.
Read MoreThe second edition of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge began in November 2013 with Impact Proposals (detailed Business Plans) being invited in the areas of agriculture, food and dairy, healthcare, water and sanitation, technology and development, education, housing, handicrafts, energy and microfinance/financial inclusion. The last day to submit the impact proposal (business plan) online was 21 November 2013.
This year’s edition attracted over 160 entries from across India and Bulgaria, showing wide interest in the area of social entrepreneurship.
The challenge included special session by Dr Harish Hande, co-founder and MD, SELCO India and Shankar Venkateswaran, chief, Tata Sustainability Group. There was also a one-day themed workshop organised between the semi-finals and finals of the challenge. The workshop was not only for the participants but also to other social entrepreneurs and people with a general interest in the social enterprise sector.
The winners of the contest were announced during the grand finale which was held on 17 January 2014 at the IIM Calcutta campus. MicroXlabs (winner), Bodhi Health Care (first runners-up) and Green Agrevolution Pvt Ltd (second runners-up), emerged as the top three most promising social ventures, winning prize money of Rs 1.75 lakh, Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 1 lakh, respectively.
Read MoreThe first edition of the Tata Social Enterprise challenge commenced in December 2012 with entries received from around the world. The shortlisted Top 20 teams were given a platform to experience first-class mentorship and training at the IIM-C campus as a part of the challenge.
Overall top 20 promising ventures, including the 2 winning entries, were selected from a pool of 164 impact proposals, submitted entries, from across multiple sectors, namely education, health, agriculture, energy, technology, housing, handicrafts and microfinance, amongst others. The entries received were from different corners of the world, including the US, the Netherlands, Nigeria and South Africa. The bulk of the entries were from India, including places like Delhi, Dehradun, Nainital and Tehri Garhwal in the north; Chennai, Pollachi, Coimbatore, Mysore and Trichy in the south; Jaipur, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai in the west; and Bhubaneshwar, Patna and Kolkata in the east.
IIM Calcutta hosted the grand finale event of the first Tata Social Enterprise Challenge on 20 January 2013 followed by a Social Entrepreneurship Conference where the winners were felicitated. Greenway Grameen Infra and Ottoclave were declared winners of the first edition of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge, winning prize money of Rs 1.5 and Rs 1 lakh respectively
Read More
