Sankalp Forum announces 24 Indian social enterprises as Sankalp Awards Finalists for 2014

SANKALP FORUM LOGOFinalists looking for nearly INR 200 Crores in impact investments over the next two years.

  • Also competing for Sankalp People’s Choice Awards to be decided by the global online community.

 

Mumbai, February 3, 2014: Sankalp Forum, an Intellecap initiative, today announced 24 high impact finalists of Sankalp Awards 2014 – India’s leading social enterprise recognition platform. The finalists have been shortlisted from across seven critical needs sectors including – Agriculture, Food and Livelihood; Clean Energy and Technology; Health, Water and Sanitation, Education and Vocational Training; Financial Inclusion; Technology for Development; and Women Empowerment.

The finalists include three enterprises that have been shortlisted for the Sankalp Alliance Award for Innovation in Clean Cooking solutions that address the problem of indoor air pollution that impacts nearly 3 billion people around the world.

The Awards create a well-rounded enabling platform for early-stage enterprises that show the maximum potential to scale and drive impact. Director-Sankalp Forum, Aparajita Agrawal said, “We are excited to see great innovations focused on tackling social challenges at the BoP. This year, over a third of our finalists cater to India’s low income states, and about 45% of them have a woman in their senior leadership teams.” She added, “The finalists are looking to raise nearly 200 Cr (USD 32 Mn) cumulatively, and this a great opportunity for impact and mainstream investors. Sankalp Forum will enable up to USD 70,000 in cash grants, and forge several investor and mentoring connects.”

These finalists will also be competing for the Sankalp People’s Choice Awards, which will be decided by the global online community. Voting is now open here.

List of Finalists:

Award Category

Enterprises

Agriculture, Food & Livelihood

 

 

Akshayakalpa Farms and Foods Pvt Ltd
Krishi Star
Swayambhu Biologics Private Limited
Clean Energy & Clean Technology Aura Herbal Textiles Limited
Navdurga Metal Industries(Bharat)
Pollinate Energy
Education & Vocational Training CAP Workforce Development Institute Private Limited
InOpen Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Karadi Path Education Company Pvt. Ltd.
Financial Inclusion BeWo Technologies Pvt Ltd
Kinara (Visage Holdings and Finance Private Limited)
MicroGraam
Health, Water & Sanitation Aaji Care-at-Home Services LLP
iKure Techsoft Pvt Ltd
Sevamob Ventures
Technology for Development DreamWeavers InfoCom Private Limited
iMerit Technology Services Pvt Ltd
Spatial Ideas Web Solutions Private Limited
Women Empowerment Hello Health Services Pvt. Ltd.
iSTAR Skill Development Pvt Ltd
Menstrupedia
MicroGraam
Sankalp-Alliance Award for Clean Cooking Solutions Nokooda Solution Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Project Dharma
Swami Samarth Electronics Private Limited

Instituted to discover and bring to the spotlight leading social innovations for wide scale impact, the Sankalp Social Enterprise Awards are also designed create a holistic nurturing environment for early-stage businesses and address key issues faced by entrepreneurs. Furthermore, with its recent expansion into Africa, the Forum opens up knowledge corridors and business opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs there.

The Sankalp Awards Finalists will also have the opportunity to present to a global audience of donors, investors, foundations & enablers at the global annual conference in Mumbai in April, the Sankalp Unconvention Summit 2014.

About Intellecap

Intellecap is a pioneer in providing innovative business solutions that help build and scale profitable and sustainable enterprises dedicated to social and environmental change. Intellecap provides a broad range of Investment Banking, Consulting and Knowledge Services to clients around the world.

Our unique positioning at the intersection of social and commercial business sectors allows us to attract and nurture intellectual capital that combines the business training of the commercial world with the passion and commitment of the social world to shape distinctive solutions. Founded in 2002, we have worked with more than 60 clients on over 250 engagements across 15 countries.

For more details, www.intellecap.com

 

About Sankalp Forum

About Sankalp Forum

Sankalp Forum (www.sankalpforum.com), an Intellecap initiative, recognizes & supports innovative, sustainable, high impact social enterprises. It builds an enabling ecosystem for early-stage businesses, channels impact investments, and engages over 11,000 stakeholders globally through collaborative year-round initiatives. It has developed an involved community of entrepreneurs, investors, enablers and policy-makers to encourage innovation, facilitate scalability, and drive consensus on matters that aid social enterprise development.

Since 2009, Sankalp’s Annual Summit has been the largest social enterprise focused gathering in the world and in 2013 has partnered with Villgro’s Unconvention to become the Sankalp Unconvention Summit. The Summit brings together more than 1,000 delegates, thought leaders, industry experts, policy makers from around the world to voice, discuss, debate issues, trends and solutions that aid social enterprise development.

For more information: http://sankalpforum.com/.  For more details, www.sankalpforum.com