by NR INDRAN / INT

Intellecap, the India based social advisory firm is hosting a 2-day residential program for 10 social entrepreneurs from eight of the poorest states in India, on Oct 3and 4 in the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) in Greater Noida.

These entrepreneurs are all finalists of the Sankalp Forum-Samridhi Social Enterprise Recognition, an initiative to bring forth early-stage enterprises that are impacting the poor in India’s low-income states (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan,Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal).

The trainers included Richard Weingarten, MD Intellecap, Reeta Gupta Media strategist and Communication advisor, Anil Mehta,ISFC,  Nisha Dutt, Director- Consulting, Intellecap, Satish Pai, Vice President,Investment Banking Group, Intellecap, Puneet Jhajharia, Grassroot Business Fund, Ravi Sinha, Adjunct Professor, Centre for Social Innovation, BIMTech.

The 10 enterprises that underwent training were selected from over 50 nominations received from enterprises operating in the low-income-states and represent 3 sectors – Agriculture and Rural Business, Clean Energy/Technology and Provision of Basic Services (Healthcare, Education, Water and Sanitation). Several of these also impact women positively. These social ventures had been shortlisted after a rigorous selection process by a panel of impact investors and were based on the sustainability and scalability of their business models. Says Aparajita Agarwal, Director Initiatives at Intellecap, “The enterprises got a first-hand feel of what it’s like toramp up and bootstrap for newer challenges, whether in terms of geography or reach or communication”. The finalists will be eligible for a chance to win cash grants up to INR 7 Lacs and will be recognized at the Regional Summit scheduled for October 16, 2012 in Patna, Bihar.

The Sankalp Forum-Samridhi initiative has been established in collaboration with the Sankalp Forum [www.sankalpforum.com promoted by Intellecap; the Department for International Development (DFID, UK); and Deutsche GesellschaftfürInternationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under the framework of Indo-German Cooperation funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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