Doing Well By Doing Good
Social Entrepreneurs play a great role in nation building , from developing economy to alleviating community problems to creating positive impact and touching people’s lives. In simple words, a true-blue social entrepreneur will have a great passion for solving a problem through a business model. The more successful social entrepreneurs are, the better tye world will be. While India has seen accomplished social entrepreneurs in Ratan Tata, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Azim Premji, Shiv Nadar etc, Please find below some of the other social entrepreneurs who foster positivity and bring about a social change on a consistent basis,
Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) founded by Urvashi Sahni has been instrumental in impacting the lives of millions of young children — especially those of girls through its network of model schools and several outreach programs. They firmly believe that girls need better access to education as lack of education leads to lack of job readiness thereby creating a vicious circle. Spanning over three decades, SHEF has enabled affordable education to over 5 million children from disadvantaged communities.
Tata Conglomerate, much to their tender-hearted nature, is deeply committed to instilling the spirit of social entrepreneurship in young talents. Tata Sons, in association with IIM Calcutta, have set up Tata Social Enterprise Challenge to invigorate young students to strive for social entrepreneurship and thereby solve complex community problems.
Murugappa Group, The story of the Murugappa Group in India is a legacy of entrepreneurship and has a rich history of over a hundred years. They have been pioneers in charity as well through their AMM Foundation’s unwavering dedication to serving communities through healthcare, education, and various social initiatives. The AMM Foundation runs five educational institutions and help many students from undeserved backgrounds with fee waivers. Not only in academics, they also emphasize holistic development. They have been training 400 students from less affluent backgrounds through the Murugappa Youth Football Academy (MYFA), forming tie-ups with German and European football giants Borussia Dortmund in 2023.
Amul by Dr. Verghese Kurian, The name Amul is derived from the Sanskrit word Amulaya meaning priceless. Amul is fondly known for its iconic marketing strategies, be it the tagline The Taste Of India or the Amul Girl logo, which has been an integral part of every Indian household. Dr. Verghese Kurien — known as the Milkman of India, along with his associates, launched the White Revolution in India, which aimed to increase milk production and create a sustainable model for dairy farming. They introduced modern techniques in dairy farming, improved the quality of cattle, and provided training to farmers. This way, they enhanced the quality of life for farmers, thereby helping them rise up.
Pipal Tree Foundation by Santosh Parulekar is committed to empowering the lives of several youths with less affluent backgrounds by helping them undergo rigourous training on vocational education, sustainable livelihood, and women empowerment in Andhra Pradesh , Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
ImpactGuru founded by the social entrepreneur duo Piyush (37) and Khushboo (35), has played a pivotal role in assisting the individuals from marginalized communities to crowdsource funds to meet their hospital expenses.
Teach For India, founded by Shaheen Mistri, envisions a future where all children have access to education. Teach For America’s vision ignited Shaheen Mistri to initiate this in India. They recruit college graduates as fellows, who will be asked to commit two years to teaching children from less affluent backgrounds.
Goonj founded by Anshu Gupta — is an NGO headquartered in Delhi that strongly believes that good clothing is fundamental for every individual. They collect usable clothes, woollens, blankets, dry ration, school material, toys, utensils and usable electronic devices (mobiles, laptops, computers) and distribute it to the people in need.
Mirakle Couriers founded by Dhruv Lakra — A courier company with a difference. They provide employment for the hearing-impaired(deaf) community.
Saalumarada Foundation founded by Saalumarada Thimmakka — Saalumarada Thimmakka is fondly called as the tree mother of India. She works relentlessly to increase the canopy cover and has planted over 385 banyan saplings and 8000 other saplings.
Childline founded by Ms.Billimoria — 1098 as the national crisis toll-free number for children. This helpline was formed to help the children in the streets, a quick support that comes in helpful when they are sick or injured.
Akshaya Patra Foundation, By Madhu Pandit Dasa aims for an India in which no child starves for food. It provides nutritious meals to children studying in government schools and government-aided schools.
Leap For Word By Satyen Das, is a registered Mumbai-based non-profit organization committed to enhancing the English proficiency of students from undeserved backgrounds and thereby enabling them better employment opportunities. It has a flagship solution in which the teacher can teach English in their mother tongue and the translation algorithm will take care of converting it to English language and help the students converse in English seamlessly.
Inspired by Muhammed Yunus’s Grameen Bank social startup from Bangladesh, Vikram Akula from Hyderabad, India, emulated the same model and founded SKS Microfinance Institution, which provided microloans to many underprivileged women, thereby enabling them to buy seamstress machines, buy cattle, etc., and manage their expenses by themselves.
Dexterity Global by Sharda Sagar, has its emphasis on creating a conducive environment for young talents to excel at entrepreneurship. The numbers are overwhelming. In the past five years, the company has helped over 1,00,000 students to become entrepreneurs.
Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, focuses on eradicating needless blindness and providing high-quality, affordable care. They provide the option to the patient to either pay for the treatment or to avail of free treatment in case they go through any financial hardship. 50% of its services either free of cost or at a steeply subsidized rate.