YT Awards: Recognizing finest Indian social entrepreneurs

Young Turks, over the past eight years, showcased entrepreneurs attempting to address real problems in education, healthcare, skills development and access to finance through innovative models. The show partnered with the World Economic Forum and the Schwab Foundation to recognize social change agents via the India Social Entrepreneur Awards for the last eight years.

This year YT join hands with the Sankalp Forum and Intellecap Initiative. Sankalp recognises and supports innovative, sustainable, high impact social enterprises. Over the last four years, it has mentored 100's of social entrepreneurs and facilitated over USD 120 million in equity investments in more than 30 enterprises.

The Sankalp Social Enterprise Awards were organized to recognise the best social enterprise models in five major categories. They are agriculture, food and rural business, clean energy technology, education, vocational training, healthcare, water and sanitisation and technology for development.

The applications for the fifth edition of these awards came in from across the country. The finalists competed to win funding worth Rs 5 crore and a cash price of USD 40,000 as part of the Sankalp-Artha Grand Prize. The finest were vetted through a rigorous three month process by a panel of global investors. Around 21 companies made it to the finals and the winners will be announced on the April 18.

Some of the young finalists of the 2013 Sankalp Social Enterprise Awards are mationed below:

Dialogue in the Dark

Dialogue in the Dark (DID) traces back its journey to Germany in 1988. It has so far reached at 10 million visitors across 23 countries, while also providing employment to more than 8,000 visually impaired candidates. Once, when SV Krishnan tumbled on to one such exhibit, thanks to a delayed flight in Atlanta, it left a lasting and profound impression. Determined to introduce Indian audiences to such an experience, he along with cofounder Sudha Krishnan started an exhibit centre of Ace DID in Hyderabad in 2011.

The concept of Dialogue in the Dark is simple. Visitors are led by blind guides in groups into an area of pitch darkness forcing them to experience what it is like to live life without the ability to see and orient them to a world without pictures. The tour lasts about an hour but the impact Krishnan says is for life.

"We have had more than 25,000 school children coming to Dialogue in the Dark and experiencing darkness and taking back a message on social inclusion and divest education" says SV Krishnan, Co-Founder, Ace Experiences Asia. DID goes to colleges and corporates as well.

The only venture in the world that uses entertainment to educate people on socially relevant themes, Dialogue in the Dark also generates revenues through exhibition ticket sales, its restaurant Taste of Darkness and corporate workshops. DID has grown 80 percent per annum and Krishnan says has grossed revenues of Rs 2.5 crore. After the success of Dialogue in the Dark in Hyderabad, Ace Experiences Asia now wants to create 35 miniatures makeshift versions of Dialogue in the Dark to take the initiative pan India over the next five years.

Institute for Quality Skill Training

Around 80 percent of India's skill development means are at the bottom of the Pyramid. A 39 year old, Aditya Baran Mallik wants to address that market. Founded in 2009, Aditya's Brain Child, the Institute for Quality Skill Training helps skill youth from low income homes investment gold in Jharkhand to ensure a better livelihood. It has trained and placed nearly 10,000 candidates since inception.

Aditya Baran Mallik, founder says, "around the end of 2008, I came up with the idea that maybe we should have a specific model of vocational education, which would enable livelihood for all through skill training. That's how we developed this concept". In January of 2009, he started this company. The idea was to provide the easiest, fastest, cheapest and safest option for livelihoods through skilled training to everyone in the society specifically the disadvantaged.

Aditya and his team of over 100 plan to set up training centers in 13 states of India over the next three years to reach a training capacity of 50,000 students annually. With a turnover of Rs 2.5 crore, Institute for Quality Skill Training has been funded by Kitendo Capital. It is a Switzerland based angel impact investment fund. Aditya is currently working towards a second round of funding through mix of equity and debt.

Hippocampus Learning Centres

It was founded in 2010 by former Infosys employee, Umesh Malhotra. Hippocampus Learning Center provides affordable education to children living in rural India. The venture has established education centers in villages offering a full day kindergarten program and after school primary education as well.

Charging between Rs 1,200-3,000 a year, Hippocampus Learning Centres have taught over 3,000 students across 78 villages in Karnataka. Now it plans to reach three lakh students by 2018. Umesh and team have roped in 220 teachers so far with the emphasis being on training women from within the local communities.

Umesh Malhotra the founder feels that if looking at competition, the government schooling starts at class one. So, for many children, they actually do not have access to any kindergarten in the formal environment. At the same time, the government offers anganwadi. "These anganwadis are free, but they are largely run as day care centers. Therefore, even these centers do not offer pre-primary education to children", he added.

Having received funds from Unitus Seed Fund, the Acumen Fund and Lok capital, Umesh has allocated the money to fuel expansion plans and also provide scholarships to children who cannot afford the fee. It is hoping to clock a turnover of Rs 84 lakh this year. Umesh is now working on expanding Hippocampus's geographical reach.