Relevance Is Vital For Social Entrepreneurship

Without a clear perspective of the relevance of the product or service and the readiness of the society to accept it, the chances of social entrepreneurship to succeed are difficult. Knowing the people to whom the venture or product is meant for is critical according to Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures and Co-founder, Infosys. Talking at the UK-India Social Entrepreneurship Education Network (UKISEEN) seminar, he said innovating and scaled up follows.

Naveen Jha, Chief Executive Officer, Deshpande Foundation, stated that the relevance is missing in most of the social entrepreneurship, especially in the farming sector. Gururaj Deshpande, President, and Chairman, Sparta Group LLC attributed the success to funding, self-sustaining and profit-making.

Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CSIE), IIT-M and Social Impact Lab, University of Southampton came together for an initiative called Social Enterprise Education Programme (SEEP). UKISEEN is initiated by British Council.

Alumni of IIT-M, who shared their experiences and the challenges they faced while pursuing social ventures. Deshpande said “Technological innovations are all about coming up with an innovation that the world hadn’t seen before and had an impact. Social changes, on the other hand, deal more with relevance. The ideas you bring to solve the problem need not be patent-able or a new concept.”

Without bridging the gap between the entrepreneurs and people, the success would be elusive. The social change being dynamic process the purpose needs to change as per the needs of the people. The supply chain management would see the percolation of benefits is up to all levels of beneficiaries. Kris is of the opinion that rather than relying on the data, direct interaction with people would be more realistic. A good rapport and trust would be the key.

Stressing the need for proper funding, Deshpande concluded “In the non-profit sector, due to the lack of feedback, you could be developing a product that the people don’t necessarily require. The need of the hour is to bring execution excellence to the non-profit sector and compassion back into the for-profit sector,”.

Reference URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/relevance-is-vital-for-social entrepreneurship/article9479324.ece

Sixto Cancel, CEO, Think of Us

Sixto Cancel is the founder and CEO of Think of Us, a non-profit organization that aims at bridging the gap between technology and human welfare. It is a web and mobile life-coaching platform that helps foster youth navigate their transition to adulthood. The organization was incorporated in 2014, and since then, there has been no looking back!

Today, Think of Us is a team of volunteers, freelancers, and part-time staff. The team has engaged child welfare systems across the nation to accelerate integration. In less than two years, Think of Us has been able to co-ordinate with a pool of leaders in child development, and established cordial relationships with national agencies and philanthropies. Slowly and gradually, Think of Us has leveraged technology, data, and multimedia to improve outcomes for youth. It ensures that the youth is aware of all of the steps that are taken to navigate the foster-care system and are prepared to live independently once they enter adulthood. The organization sincerely believes that merely surviving to adulthood is not enough. Youth deserve the opportunity to become what they aspire to be. It envisages a future where communities are designed in a ways so as to maximize the development and wellness of maturing youth, leading them to healthy, stable, and thriving adults.

Sixto Cancel moved through several foster homes before entering college in 2011. As a young member at Jim Casey Youth Opportunity, Sixto had the opportunity to participate in the national conversations on how to improve outcomes for youth who leave foster care. In 2017, Sixto has been selected as Forbes “Top 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs”. He has also been recognized by the White House as a “White House Champion of Change”. His goal is to help young people utilize the resources at their disposal.

https://www.forbes.com/profile/sixto-cancel/ & http://thinkof-us.org/