This duo incubates early-stage non-profits. Their goal: Bring 1 crore Indians out of poverty by 2025.
India is a country of contrasts. On one hand, it is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with a vibrant startup ecosystem and a large consumer market. On the other hand, it is home to over 364 million people who live below the poverty line, facing multiple challenges such as lack of education, health care, sanitation, livelihoods and social security.
How can we bridge this gap and ensure that every Indian lives a life with dignity and opportunity? How can we unleash the potential of the millions of Indians who are trapped in poverty and vulnerability?
This is the mission of Sudha Srinivasan and her team at The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), a non-profit initiative that supports early-stage non-profits with innovative solutions to address India's most critical livelihood challenges.
What is The/Nudge CSI?
The/Nudge CSI is a part of The/Nudge Institute, an action institute that works with governments, markets and civil society to build resilient livelihoods for all². The/Nudge CSI was launched in 2017 with the vision of creating a pipeline of high-impact non-profits that can disrupt the status quo and solve problems at the base of the pyramid.
The/Nudge CSI runs two flagship programs: The Incubator and The Accelerator. The Incubator supports non-profit founders in the pilot to grow phase, providing them with innovation grants, dedicated mentoring, sector connects and access to a network of partners and funders. The Accelerator helps non-profits in the grow to scale phase, offering them growth capital, strategic guidance, operational support and market linkages.
Since its inception, The/Nudge CSI has supported over 100 non-profits across various sectors such as education, health, agriculture, environment, gender, governance and financial inclusion. Some of their notable portfolio organizations include:
- Gramophone: A platform that provides farmers with personalized crop advisory, quality inputs and market linkages.
- Haqdarshak: A mobile app that connects citizens with government schemes and entitlements.
- Kshamtalaya: A fellowship program that trains young leaders to work with rural schools and communities.
- S4S Technologies: A social enterprise that develops solar-powered food dehydrators for small farmers and women entrepreneurs.
- Samagra: A sanitation service provider that designs and operates community toilets with user-centric features and incentives.
What is their goal?
The/Nudge CSI's goal is to bring 1 crore Indians out of poverty by 2025. They aim to achieve this by supporting at least 500 non-profits that can collectively impact 10 crore lives in the next five years.
To realize this ambitious goal, The/Nudge CSI has adopted a three-pronged strategy:
- Focus on livelihoods: Livelihoods are the key to building resilience and breaking the cycle of poverty. The/Nudge CSI prioritizes non-profits that work on improving livelihood outcomes for the poor and vulnerable segments of society.
- Leverage platforms: Platforms are the enablers of scale and collaboration. The/Nudge CSI fosters platforms that can amplify the impact of non-profits by creating shared infrastructure, data, standards and networks.
- Nurture talent: Talent is the driver of innovation and change. The/Nudge CSI nurtures talent by attracting top professionals from diverse backgrounds to work on social issues, providing them with learning opportunities, mentoring and career support.
How do they do it?
The/Nudge CSI believes that it takes a village to create a successful, scalable non-profit startup. They have built an infrastructure that promotes disruptive, differentiated thinking and fosters a culture of experimentation, learning and growth.
Some of the key elements of their approach are:
- Curated cohorts: The/Nudge CSI selects non-profits based on their potential for impact, innovation and scalability. They also ensure diversity in terms of sectors, geographies, models and stages.
- Customized support: The/Nudge CSI provides tailored support to each non-profit based on their specific needs and challenges. They also match them with relevant mentors, experts and partners who can guide them along their journey.
- Collaborative community: The/Nudge CSI fosters a collaborative community of non-profit founders, mentors, partners and funders who share a common vision and values. They create opportunities for peer learning, knowledge sharing and co-creation among the community members.
What are their challenges?
The/Nudge CSI operates in a complex and dynamic environment, where they face multiple challenges and uncertainties. Some of the key challenges are:
- Finding and attracting top talent: The/Nudge CSI recognizes that talent is the most critical factor for creating social impact. However, finding and attracting top talent to work on social issues is not easy, as there are many barriers such as lack of awareness, incentives, opportunities and support.
- Scaling and sustaining impact: The/Nudge CSI supports non-profits that have the potential to scale and sustain their impact. However, scaling and sustaining impact requires overcoming many hurdles such as regulatory constraints, market failures, resource constraints and stakeholder alignment.
- Measuring and communicating impact: The/Nudge CSI strives to measure and communicate the impact of their non-profits and their own work. However, measuring and communicating impact is challenging due to the lack of standardized frameworks, tools and data sources for social impact assessment.
How can you support them?
The/Nudge CSI invites you to join them in their quest to bring 1 crore Indians out of poverty by 2025. You can support them in various ways, such as:
- Apply or nominate: If you are a non-profit founder or know someone who is working on an innovative solution to address India's livelihood challenges, you can apply or nominate them for The/Nudge CSI's Incubator or Accelerator programs.
- Mentor or partner: If you are a leader, expert or organization who can provide guidance, insights or resources to The/Nudge CSI's non-profits, you can become a mentor or partner for their programs.
- Donate or invest: If you are a philanthropist, investor or funder who can provide financial support to The/Nudge CSI's non-profits, you can donate or invest in their programs.
The/Nudge CSI is a remarkable example of how social innovation can transform lives and create lasting change. By incubating and accelerating early-stage non-profits, they are not only solving India’s most critical livelihood challenges, but also inspiring and empowering a new generation of social entrepreneurs and leaders. Their goal of bringing 1 crore Indians out of poverty by 2025 is ambitious, but achievable with their passion, vision and action. We salute their efforts and wish them all the best in their journey. If you want to support them or join them, you can visit their website or follow them on social media.
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