Mumbai:The Sankalp Unconvention Summit 2014 held in Mumbai on April 9 announced 20 finalists for its prestigious Social Enterprise Award. Considered the biggest conference on social enterprise in Asia, the event had more than 800 participants to discuss ways in which the social sector, business and capital can work together. The event was organised by Intellecap, whose mission is to combine intellect, capital and networks to shape positive outcomes. The 20 finalists in different categories were selected from over 170 applications. All the finalists will get an opportunity to join a bootcamp and to have a one-on-one coaching with mentors.
Agriculture, Food and Livelihoods (Rs 500,000)
Nominee: Akshayakalpa Dairy, Krishi Star, Swayambhu Biologics Winner: Swayambhu Biologics: “Thank you Sankalp Forum. I would like to dedicate to my parents, who were responsible to make us work in rural areas. It has been a great honour.”
Clean Energy and Clean Technology
Nominee: Aura Herbal, Navdurga Metal Industries, Pollinate Energy Winner: Aura Herbal: “This inspires us to go even further. I would like to dedicate this to my husband. He is a co-founder, innovator and patent holder and today is his birthday.”
Education and Vocational Training
Nominee: iStar, inOpen Technologies, Karadi Path Winner: Karadi Path: “India is the largest non-native country that speaks English. Our vision starts here.”
Financial Inclusion
Nominee: Kinara Capital, Micrograam, Bewo Technologies Winner: Kinara Capital: “Thank you Sankalp especially for bringing financial inclusion in the award. We are maybe not the sexy one, but we are needed. I want to thank our CEO for being in the field and making an impact.”
Technology for Development
Nominee: Spatial Ideas, iMerit, DreamWeavers Winner: Spatial Ideas: “Thank you so much. It makes us believe that together we can slowly remove corruption from India.” Sankalp – WISH Awards for Health,
Water and Sanitation (Rs 1,200,000)
Sankalp – Alliance Award for Innovation in Clean Cooking Solutions (USD 15000)
Nominee: Nokooda, Project Dharma, Swami Samarth Winner: Nokooda: “Thanks a lot. We were able to scale to this level thanks to people’s concern about the environment. And to the amazing feedback we received.”
Sankalp – DFID Recognition for Women Empowerment (Rs 500,000)
Nominee: Micro Graam, iStar, Menstrupedia, Hello Health Winner: MicroGraam: Peer-to-peer platform which works on lending money to women in rural villages. “Thank you very much. We are really happy. We will keep working hard.”
People’s Choice Awards: iMerit
Day 1 also saw the launch of the StartUp Wave platform, a virtual incubation platform supported by GIZ and DFID, which will provide pre-incubation and incubation services, followed by pitching opportunities to over 350 investors.
Source: Lokesh Shastri