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Overview of the India DM 2013 Finalists

Parvathi Menon's picture

The 2013 India DM is focused on identifying social enterprise projects that have the potential to scale the impact of their work in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Read more about the eligibility criteria for the 2013 India DM.

The call for proposal was launched in January 2013 and we received over a 190 proposals in response. After a series of rigorous, merit based evaluations by a panel of development experts from inside and outside the World Bank, 30 projects were shortlisted for the due diligence and capacity building diagnostic. Seven teams comprising of senior assessors from the World Bank, Innovation Alchemy and independent subject matter experts have been traveling all across the country in the last two weeks to meet with the teams at the head office as well as in the field to identify the gaps in the model (if any) and determine how the World Bank could support these projects in addressing them, if they won the grant funding.

Following the in-depth evaluation and needs assessment review of the projects, 20 projects have been invited to showcase their projects at the Development Marketplace event in Bhopal on 1st May 2013.

An Introduction to the finalists

The projects include a very rich and diverse range of products & services targeted to impact the base of the pyramid in these states. Models built around low-cost infant warmers; mobile science labs for rural schools and mobile phone based information & case research systems demonstrate innovative application of technology. Other programs target complex social challenges such as adolescent girl trafficking; connecting school drop out youth to skills & jobs; managing tuberculosis treatment in very poor communities and facilitating use of organic fertilizers. And some of the projects demonstrate extensive experiments in enhancing business models, such as a hybrid model for facilitating bee keeping, exploring sustainable business through carbon credits, agro forestry and rural productivity hubs for farmer collectives.

Of the twenty finalist projects, seven of them are registered for-profit organizations, twelve projects have a non-profit base and one operates as a hybrid. Six of the finalist projects are targeting Madhya Pradesh for scale and replication; seven projects are targeting their work in Jharkhand; 4 in Chhattisgarh and 3 projects intend to work in more than one target state.

Four projects are intended to directly impact women and another four projects are seeking to impact children, including one that is focused on the girl child. Apart from that projects are designed to impact tuberculosis patients in poor communities, farmers, rickshaw drivers and the youth.

Projects Targeting Jharkhand

  • SOUTH VIHAR WELFARE SOCIETY FOR TRIBALS – Combating human trafficking by empowering adolescent girls and improving their health status.
  • ALTERNATIVE FOR INDIA DEVELOPMENT – Delivery of banking/ financial inclusion products/ services to excluded families by combining Panchayat kiosk banking outlets and Self Help Group strategies.
  • WATER LIFE INDIA – Sustainable community water systems for safe drinking water.OpAsha-2
  • EMBRACE INNOVATION – Deployment of Embrace infant warmers in low-resource government hospitals and measuring impact over time.
  • OPERATION ASHA – Implementation of eCompliance to supplement their treatment/ prevention of tuberculosis and turn the tap off on Multi-Drug Resistant TB in Jharkhand’s tribal regions.
  • DIMAGI SOCIAL INNOVATION – Working on using/ developing technology to increase the quality of services provided by community health workers.
  • IMERIT TECHNOLOGY SERVICES – Empowering marginalized women by training them in IT-based livelihoods.

Deadline extended! The Tech Awards is now accepting applications for 2013.

Dougg Jimenez's picture

Please note that deadline to submit your applications for the Tech Awards has been extended to May 8th!
 


Know someone who is changing the world?
Encourage them to apply to the Tech Awards 2013!

Photo Credit: Charlotte Fiorito"There is not a group that you would rather
be stuck on an island with than The Tech Awards laureates." -Michael MacHarg, Simpa Networks,
laureate, The Tech Awards 2012

The Tech Awards, a signature program of The Tech Museum, is an international awards program that honors innovators from around the world who are applying technology to benefit humanity.

In 2013, The Tech Awards will honor 10 international innovators who are applying technology to confront humanity’s most urgent challenges. The Tech Awards honors individuals, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies who are using technology to significantly improve human conditions in 5 awards categories. The technology used can be either a new invention or an innovative use of an existing technology.

Opportunities for Innovation at the BoP within India’s Healthcare Industry

Perzen Patel's picture

Healthcare has become one of India’s largest sectors – both in terms of revenue and employment. Although the country’s healthcare industry is projected to continue its rapid expansion, with an estimated market value of US $280 billion by 2020, increased population growth in India’s low-income communities has resulted in a lack of affordable and easily accessible quality healthcare for millions of people.

As a comparison China has 30 hospital beds every 10,000 people, whereas India has only 12. The figures are even more alarming for nurses. In the United States there are 98 nurses per 10,000 people and in India there are only 13.

Despite government efforts to improve widespread access to quality healthcare, India’s existing infrastructure continues to be insufficient resulting in limited treatment options, especially for low-income families.

Recognizing the need for innovation within healthcare, in 2012, Ennovent, a business accelerator, partnered with the University Impact Fund, one of the world’s first student driven impact-investing firms, to research the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and experts to add value to the Indian healthcare industry.

Former DM Grantee D.Light Wins Prize!

Dougg Jimenez's picture

d.light logo - photo credit: www.zayedfutureenergyprize.comD.Light design, a Development Marketplace (DM) grantee (through the Lighting Africa Program in 2008), was chosen as the recipient of the prestigious Zayed Future Energy Prize, the world’s largest annual award in the renewable energy and sustainability sector.

"We are very honored to win the Zayed Future Energy Prize," said d.light Chairman and CEO Donn Tice. "d.light represents an essential part of the future of energy: small-scale, distributed energy solutions at the community, household and individual level. Winning this prize will enable us to transform millions more lives that we would not otherwise reach as quickly. This is not just a win for d.light, but for everyone without access to reliable grid power.“

From Water Pumps in Cambodia to Global Social Enterprise Support

Dougg Jimenez's picture

Combining the experience of running the DM2006 award winning social enterprise: Ideas-at-Work (IaW), the knowledge acquired with the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) program (2007), and her recent completion of an MBA (2012), Angelique Smit decided to found the Social Enterprise Support initiative, a network group that provides support and advice to fellow social entrepreneurs in a variety of areas.

Created after intense consultation with social entrepreneurs about their support needs in their path to build successful business models, Social Enterprise Support (SE-Support) emerged as a place where social entrepreneurs from all over the world find fellow social-minded entrepreneurs for a sounding board, bouncing ideas, brainstorming or advice.

Over 190 social impact projects seek to leverage catalytic grant funding to scale their work in 3 key states in India

Parvathi Menon's picture

THE WORLD BANK 2013 INDIA DEVELOPMENT MARKETPLACE COMPETITIVE GRANT

With a grant pledge of USD 1 million, the 2013 India Development Marketplace (India DM) seeks to build on the work it has done in supporting social enterprises in India so far. This World Bank initiative aims to surface high-impact social development solutions that have demonstrated initial outcomes and provide catalytic support in helping to scale their work further.

Applying a multi-layer approach, the DM meets this objective first by providing crucial funding to back these projects (USD 50,000 to USD 100,000 per project funded) and then by enabling necessary technical assistance (through an empaneled group of local and regional firms & experts) to help organizations effectively address challenges of scale.

Launched on January 21st of this year, the 2013 India DM focused on 3 low-income states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The call for proposal invited all social sector organizations (for-profit and non-profit entities) seeking to scale projects in these states, to apply for the grant. Over 190 project proposals have been received from across India in response to the call for proposal, within the stipulated timeline of 30 days, while the call was open.

Why the Arab awakening depends on social entrepreneurs

Iman Bibars's picture

This blog was originally posted in The Guardian, for the full blog, click here.

Social enterprise is naturally democratic and plays an important role in finding solutions to the social upheaval of the Middle EastA protester waves the national flagin front of the burnt out National Democratic Party building of former President Mubarak's ruling party in November 2011. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP
A protester waves the national flagin front of the burnt out National Democratic Party building of former President Mubarak's ruling party in November 2011. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP

For two years, I have resisted use of the term Arab Spring to describe the events that have been unfolding in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa. It is an unrealistic label to use, its application verging on naïve, even lazy, in this situation. Spring is a time where something with strong roots, carefully nurtured, flourishes and grows. We are not there yet; I hope that we may be soon.

What the world witnessed in the initial 18 days of uprising and subsequent political and social developments was a rediscovery of our ability to effect change, a realisation that mass protest is one way to make our collective voice heard.

REMINDER! Call for entries open for 2014 Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value!

Dougg Jimenez's picture

Nominate innovative initiatives in nutrition, water or rural development!

CSV Prize 2012 Winner - Photo Credit: Nestle via Flickr PhotostreamNestlé has recently launched the call for entries for the 2014 Prize in Creating Shared Value. The deadline to apply is 31st March 2013.

Do you know an innovative scheme related to water, nutrition or rural development? You can help it scale up by nominating it for the Prize. They are looking for innovative, commercially viable and high-impact initiatives with the objective of helping them achieve scale and financial sustainability.

The winner is selected by the Nestlé CSV Advisory Board and benefits from an investment of up to CHF 500,000 (approx. USD 530,000) to scale up or replicate its project. The goal is also to learn from each other and to identify possible areas of collaboration. They value the experience and insight that their prize winners share with them and those winners value the technical expertise Nestlé may bring.

The Prize is open to individuals, not-for-profit organizations, governmental and inter-governmental organizations, private and social enterprises, and academic institutions.

After 20 years, Fundación Tzedaká is Still Changing Lives.

Ruth Heymann's picture

For 21 years, Fundación Tzedaká, who won an award at the 2010 Latin America Development Marketplace, has been developing social programs and actions to improve the living conditions of citizens who live in poverty in Argentina. Based on a model that works in partnerships, and with a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach, they develop programs in areas such as health, education, housing, job training, food, seniors and children, taking family as the focal point of intervention. Transparency, efficient management of resources and consistent accountability are the organization’s pillars.

Some of their programs have been recognized for their contribution to society, as is the case of "Refuot", the largest Community Medicine Bank in the country and “Accion Joven”; a training program that helps young adults improve their development and employment performance and the program which won the LAC DM award. Over 750 young adults have been trained for different positions with a high opportunity rate in the job scenarios.

AVN Wins Dubai International Award for Best Practices!

Tony Kaye's picture

Association La Voute Nubienne (AVN) LogoAssociation La Voûte Nubienne (AVN) was awarded a DM grant in 2009 to test an innovative strategy for scaling up and accelerating the recruitment and training of Nubian Vault (NV) apprentices and the growth of a self-sustaining market in NV houses in Burkina Faso. The Nubian Vault is an ancient Egyptian technique of building vaulted roofs made from local bricks without using any wood, instead of typical tin roofs that are more expensive and use scarce wood during construction. AVN is transforming traditional housing available in the harsh climate of the Sahel region by providing a sustainable housing alternative and helping to avoid further deforestation.

AVN has won one of the Dubai International Award for Best Practice (DIABP) to Improve the Living Environment. The Award, co-sponsored by UN-Habitat, specifically recognised the program in Burkina Faso for 'best practice transfer'.

The DIABP was established under the directives of late Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, during the United Nations International Conference in Dubai in November, 1995 with 914 participants from 95 countries, to recognize the best practices with positive impact on improving the living environment.

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