Tamul Plates Named Winner of NSDC 2014 “Power to Empower” Challenge

Upaya congratulates Tamul Plates CEO Arindam Dasgupta for winning the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and India@75 “Power to Empower 2013 Challenge” (P2E 2013). 

“Winning this award is a great recognition of all the hard work Arindam and his team have put into growing Tamul Plates and the Tambul Plates brand,” said Upaya’s Director, Business Development Sreejith Nedumpully. “Not only is Tamul Plates building new skills in rural communities across the North East, but the company is ensuring that those who do gain new skills have a direct opportunity to earn a steady livelihood from them,” said Nedumpully.

Tamul Plates was selected for Upaya's LiftUP Project initiative in December 2013, a choice that has resulted in equity funding and ongoing business development advisory support for the Barpeta, Assam-based company.

With this win Tamul Plates receives a cash gift from the Muthoot Pappachan Foundation. Additionally, Tamul Plates will gain access to the capacity building Empretec program (an initiative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), along with admission to the iDiya program at Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad and to the upcoming Diffusion workshop at ISB. Each of these forums will provide increased visibility for the company, its palm leaf plates and bowls, and its innovative technology for producing the highest quality disposable dinnerware products.

Tamul Plates CEO Arindam Dasgupta (left) receives the first place prize at the Power to Empower 2013 Challenge

Catch Upaya Onstage at Sankalp Unconvention Summit 2014!

Upaya's Sreejith Nedumpully will join a panel of industry leaders to discuss the experience of supporting promising entrepreneurs in their earliest days.

Bridging the Pioneer Gap: Are We Meeting the Needs of Social Startups & What Can We Do Better?

11:45 AM - 1:15 PM, April 11 2014

Grand Ballroom A3

Hotel Renaissance, Powai, Mumbai

Over the past few years we have heard the conversation about the needs of businesses in the “Pioneer Gap“ reach a fever pitch – particularly in a frothy impact investment market that finds itself starving for more established, less risky opportunities. At the same time, a chorus of ambitious social entrepreneurs with promising models talks about finding themselves in a desert of funding and advisory support. The reality is that, if we rely on traditional venture capital models, most social investment funds will be financially unable to find, fund, and advise these companies in their infancy.

With the majority of these entrepreneurs exhausting their limited runways long before their transformative potential can be realized, there is a strong need to mobilize our peers and create an ecosystem for Pioneering Capital to fill the gap. The assembled panel will explore what’s working, what’s not, and what steps the sector can take to mobilize more resources for the next generation of effective social enterprises.

Moderator:

Ashish Karamchandani, Partner, Monitor Group

Speakers:

Sreejith Nedumpully, Director, Business Development Upaya Social Ventures

Harish Hande, MD, SELCO

Aditi Shrivastava, Head, Intellecap Impact Investment Network

Simon Desjardins, Programme Manager, Shell Foundation

Paul Breloff, Managing Director, Accion Venture Lab

Elrhino and Upaya Social Ventures Come Together to Create Jobs, Protect Wildlife in Assam

Upaya Social Ventures is proud to announce that it has begun work with Guwahati, Assam-based Elrhino, a promising venture with an unlikely product - handcrafted luxury paper, stationery products, and packaging materials made from recycled rhinoceros and elephant dung and other natural waste. The company will receive seed capital and ongoing business development support from Upaya through the latter’s LiftUP Project framework.

Elrhino manages the entire dung paper production chain including collection, preparation, processing, and sale of finished dung paper goods. The company is led by Nisha Bora, a young Assam native who is building on the work begun by her father over three years ago to create new livelihoods and increase the value of rhinoceros and elephants to local villagers. In the two years since its creation, Elrhino has made its mark in the Indian market as well as in France, and has created significant brand equity.

“We started Elrhino because we wanted to see Assam and its rhinos thrive,” said Elrhino CEO Nisha Bora. “We are creating opportunities for people to earn a truly sustainable living, one that provides economic stability for families and encourages people to preserve the natural habitats of these great animals,” said Bora.

Elrhino sees opportunities to create jobs for and build the skills of people - in the rural areas around Guwahati and the reserve forests of Assam. With its current infrastructure, Elrhino has the capacity to produce 15 tonnes of paper per year, which at capacity will equate to approximately 100 full-time jobs in paper processing and an additional 500 part-time jobs through a combination of resource collection and value-add production.

“We are committed to creating rural livelihoods and a skilled workforce in Assam,” said Sreejith Nedumpully, Upaya’s Director, Business Development. “At Elrhino, people learn two skill sets: how to make paper, and how to convert paper into products. We are very excited by the job creation potential in both areas,” Nedumpully said.

While Elrhino is Upaya’s sixth overall investment and second partnership in Assam, Nisha Bora is the first female entrepreneur in Upaya’s LiftUP Project network.

“Trust is a critical element of building successful companies in ultra poor communities, and across our portfolio we have seen a unique trust dynamic emerge between female managers and the women who work for the company,” said Nedumpully. “While she is the first woman leader we’ve partnered with, she will certainly not be the last,” he said.

Upaya's Sreejith Nedumpully Joined By Several LiftUP Project Partners at 3rd Annual Action for India Forum

This January Upaya's Director, Business Development Sreejith Nedumpully travelled to Delhi to participate in the 3rd Annual Action for India forum. The two-day, invitation-only national conference brought together 100 leading social innovators with an equal number of donors, technology leaders, impact investors, and senior government officials.

At the event Sreejith was joined by many of Upaya's LiftUP Project partners including Dr. Ravi Chandra of Eco Kargha, Swapnil Chaturvedi of Samagra, and Ajaya Mohapatra of Justrojgar.

"The forum was a wonderful opportunity for Upaya to meet the best of India's emerging and established social entrepreneurs, and to introduce our current LiftUP Project partners to the country's leading supporters of social innovation," said Nedumpully.

This year's forum was headlined by leaders from across the spectrum of Indian innovation and industry including Mr. Sam Pitroda, Mr. Desh Deshpande, and Mr. R Chandrasekaran.

Tamul Plates Teams With Upaya to Expand Arecanut Tableware Production Across Northeast India

Assam-based natural dinnerware producer Tamul Plates Marketing Pvt. Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has received a seed investment from Upaya Social Ventures through Upaya’s LiftUP Project. Based in the Barpeta District of Assam, Tamul Plates produces and markets high-quality, all-natural disposable plates and bowls made from arecanut (palm) tree leaves under the “Tambul Leaf Plates” brand.

Disposable arecanut dinnerware is hygienic, chemical-free, compostable, microwave safe, and in high demand among urban consumers around the world.

The production and sale of natural arecanut dinnerware not only reduces the deforestation and pollution associated with the production of traditional disposable dishes, but also provides a viable livelihood to disadvantaged communities.

“Unemployment is the root cause of so many problems plaguing the Northeast today, and Tamul Plates was launched to create new opportunities for rural youth to earn a dependable income,” said Tamul Plates CEO Arindam Dasgupta. “We feel that this partnership with Upaya affords us the resources needed to expand our operations and be a positive economic force in these communities,” said Dasgupta.

Tamul Plates produces dinnerware through a network of affiliates across tribal regions of Northeast India. The company ensures that each affiliate has the skills and machinery needed to produce superior-quality dinnerware. These affiliates are located in communities otherwise struggling with stubbornly high rates of unemployment, especially as heavy annual monsoons and floods diminish the ability of farmers to earn a dependable income from conventional agriculture alone.

Two men work a pair of presses in a community-run Tamul Plates production unit.

A woman cleans recently collected arecanut leaves to prepare them for pressing.

“There are more than 100,000 hectares of arecanut plantation in Northeast India - one of the poorest and most backward areas of the country - but there is virtually no one connecting these small farmers to the equipment and support needed to produce high-quality disposable arecanut leaf dinnerware,” said Upaya’s Director, Business Development Sreejith Nedumpully. “Upaya is very excited to be working with Arindam and his team as we believe they can provide those services and be a major employer in poor tribal communities across the Northeast,” said Nedumpully.

The International Foundation Announces Grant Support to Upaya

Upaya Social Ventures has been selected by the trustees of The International Foundation to receive grant funding to support the organization’s LiftUP Project work.

Supporting world-wide development since its founding in 1948, the International Foundation continually looks for opportunities to learn from experience and to gain an understanding of what produces satisfactory results in the promotion of sustainable development.

Upaya Bolsters India Team With Addition of Tanya Jairaj as Director, Strategy & Operations

Upaya Social Ventures is thrilled to welcome Tanya Jairaj as the organization’s Director, Strategy & Operations. Based in Bangalore, Tanya will complement Upaya’s current leadership in India by overseeing the organization’s domestic operations, expanding its social performance capability, leading local outreach and brand-building, and contributing to the success of Upaya’s LiftUP Project partnerships.

“I am excited to be joining an organization with such a unique approach to meeting the basic needs of the very poorest,” said Jairaj. “I’ve spent the majority of my career promoting real change for those facing the injustices produced by extreme poverty, and believe Upaya’s work can have a very positive impact on India’s neediest communities,” she said.

A trained lawyer with experience litigating civil and consumer cases in Indian courts, Tanya has spent the last 10 years working in the development space in areas of good governance, education, women's and children's rights.

“From the first conversation we were impressed with Tanya's passion and desire to make a difference in the lives of the ultra poor,” said Upaya’s Executive Sachi Shenoy. “As we enter the next phase of the organization’s growth, we believe that Tanya’s unique blend of skills and experiences will be a tremendous asset to Upaya, its partners, and all those we are working to serve,” said Shenoy.

Prior to joining Upaya, Tanya was a Rural Business Development Advisor with Sun Edison, one of the world’s largest solar development and management companies. This followed several years with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public where she set up an initiative that gave access to social entrepreneurs to high quality legal services, helped law firms in India systematise pro bono lawyering into their practice, and managed a fellowship program that has since engaged more than 350 Ashoka Fellows. Tanya holds a B.A.LL.B, Law from University Law College.

With this addition, Tanya is taking over the title of Director, Strategy & Operations from Upaya Co-Founder Steve Schwartz, a move that reflects Upaya’s expansion of its India-based team and infrastructure. Steve is transitioning to Director, External Relations where he will lead the organization’s fundraising and outreach efforts, as well as continue providing ongoing strategic marketing support to Upaya's partners. 

Upaya Announces Collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Samagra

Starting in November 2013, Upaya Social Ventures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are teaming up to incubate a Foundation-backed urban sanitation venture within Upaya's LiftUP Project framework.

Through this collaboration, members of the Upaya team will work with the founder of Pune-based Samagra to explore and refine the promising start-up's business model, and prepare the venture for follow-on growth funding.

Upaya at Clinton Global Initiative 2013 in New York City

The Upaya Social Ventures team attended the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative in New York City on September 23rd - 26th, joining an esteemed group of organizations who have made far-reaching Commitments to Action in order to resolve the world's most pressing problems. The Annual Meeting's theme was "Mobilizing for Impact," and strongly encouraged the forming of partnerships and action plans in order to meet members' ambitious goals.

Executive Director Sachi Shenoy, represented Upaya at the meeting and had the opportunity to make a public Commitment to Action: to create dignified jobs for the ultra poor, primarily women, in India by October 2014 by doubling the number of enterprise partners in Upaya's LiftUP Project network. 

"The meeting was a fantastic opportunity to meet and collaborate with hundreds of other organizations -- both large and small -- who are all passionate about global social impact," said Shenoy. "Over the course of four days, we met influential thought leaders and other social entrepreneurs, and forged connections over a variety of working sessions and social events. The meeting left us energized, validated, and excited by all the potential partnerships that lie ahead!"

A particular highlight was the "Impact Investing: The Second Act" session. The room was filled with many prominent impact investors and entrepreneurs who engaged in an extremely frank discussion about both the opportunities and very real challenges that still face social start-ups in the so-called Pioneer Gap. "With so many leaders on both sides in the same room, it was a good reminder for me that Upaya is not alone in seeing the growth of Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) as a transformative force in the fight against extreme poverty," said Shenoy, "but it also reinforced that we have a long way to go in realizing our goal."

Upaya Welcomes Neal Winterhof as Director, New Initiatives

Upaya Social Ventures is proud to announce that Neal Winterhof has joined as the organization’s Director, New Initiatives. Working with the global Upaya team, Neal will lead the development of new strategies, tools, and relationships for the expansion of Upaya’s job creation capacity.

“Upaya is doing innovative work applying business principles and entrepreneurship to break the cycle of poverty,” said Winterhof. “The team built an incredible foundation over the past couple of years and I'm excited to help further Upaya's mission in the coming years,” he said.

A veteran of the financial services industry, Neal brings nine years of investment management and social investing experience to Upaya. He joins Upaya from Woven Fund, an investment fund he established to make early stage investments in positive impact companies. He was also Strategist at the derivatives hedge fund AlphaBet Management, leading the build out of the firm's global trading capabilities in the US, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining AlphaBet, Neal launched the physical oil trading business at Lehman Brothers after starting his career in investment banking.

“From our first conversation I was struck by the similarities between Neal’s thinking about poverty alleviation and the Upaya vision,” said Upaya’s Executive Director Sachi Shenoy . “His skills, experience and passion are a tremendous addition to the team as we look at new ways of scouting, selecting, and supporting promising entrepreneurs,” Shenoy said.

Driven by a commitment to fight social injustice in all of its forms, Neal is on the Board of Directors of Hope for New York and previously served on the Board of Restore NYC and advised Isaac Slade of The Fray on his philanthropic efforts.

Upaya Joins Grassroots Business Fund, Lumana at SOCAP13

Bringing the exploration of the Pioneer Gap to one of the nation's largest social enterprise gatherings, Upaya Board Chair Kate Cochran presented alongside Grassroots Business Fund COO Robert Webster and Lumana Village Ventures co-founder Sammie Rayner at the Social Capital Markets 2013 (SOCAP13) conference in San Francisco. 

Moderated by NextBillion.net Managing Editor Scott Anderson, the panel explored the challenges impact investors face in supporting entrepreneurs in the startup phase and how different organizations  - Upaya included - have developed creative models for filling the void.

(L to R) Scott Anderson, Kate Cochran, Robert Webster, and Sammie Rayner discuss enterprise support in the Pioneer Gap at SOCAP13.

"It is exciting to see how much interest there is in nurturing early stage social enterprises, as well as the acknowledgement that this stage of investment is best served by philanthropic capital--from foundations, the public sector, and individuals," said Cochran. "Although our panel included people working at different points in the continuum--some providing returns and some not--we all agreed that priming the pump with "public good" money is the best way to build a thriving ecosystem for impact investing," she said.

The SOCAP13 audience posed questions to the panelists about the opportunities and challenges of supporting early-stage businesses.

Sreejith Nedumpully Joins the Upaya Team as Director, Business Development

Upaya Social Ventures is proud to announce that Sreejith Nedumpully has joined the organization as Director, Business Development. In his role, Sreejith will lead Upaya’s LiftUP Project in India.

Sreejith brings to Upaya over 12 years of experience in retail, emerging markets, financial inclusion, SME promotion, incubation and entrepreneurship. Most recently, he was the Co-Founder and Managing Director of ROPE International, a premium brand of natural, handmade lifestyle products from renewable materials. Today the company creates employment opportunities for over 1,000 rural artisans through its village cluster model, and wholesales its products to a variety of well-recognized domestic and international retailers.

Throughout his career, Sreejith has been involved with several social enterprise efforts including work with TeNeT Group, IIT Madras, Villgro Innovations Foundation, and the DHAN Foundation, and has consulted for organizations including Business and Finance Consulting GmbH Zurich, Women on Wings, the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, and Simpa Networks.

Nedumpully’s arrival follows the spring departure of Upaya Co-Founder Sriram Gutta. Gutta was recently named a Fulbright scholar and is pursuing a Masters degree.

Celebrating Upaya's Second Anniversary!

Two years! 24 months of highs and lows unlike any I've ever experienced. 730 busy days and long nights spent working with Upaya's ambitious partners, building our team, and expanding a network of wonderful supporters.

Has it been worth it? Absolutely. Over the past two years we've discovered some great entrepreneurs doing remarkable work, and are excited by the opportunities that the next few years of their growth will open up. We have also had the opportunity to visit families whose lives can be transformed by something as simple as a job milking a cow or weaving a silk saree. My colleagues and I have sat in their homes and listened not just to stories of their struggles, but also to their hopes for a better future. These stories, more than any other factor, have given us the inspiration and the resilience to keep moving Upaya forward.

Going into our third year, we are doing everything we can to keep building on that momentum. I want to personally thank you for supporting Upaya through these early days - we never would have made it this far without you, and I sincerely hope you will continue on this journey with us.

With boundless gratitude,

Sachi Shenoy

Executive Director

Upaya Social Ventures

July Newsletter: More Than a Job

The past few months have marked an exciting period in Upaya's evolution - our team has had the opportunity to share our story with some incredible groups, we have forged new partnerships to expand the breadth and depth of our work, and our partners have been acknowledged broadly for their successes. 

Click to read the full newsletter.

Upaya Awarded GuideStar Exchange Gold Seal

Upaya has been awarded a GuideStar Exchange Gold certification for its demonstrated commitment to transparency.

GuideStar's recently expanded Exchange program is designed to encourage greater nonprofit transparency and allow nonprofits to supplement the public information that is available from the IRS. The program's gold, silver, and bronze participation levels are structured to reward nonprofits based on the amount of information they share with the public.

Click here to view Upaya's GuideStar profile or to learn more about the Exchange program.

Upaya Partners with the Open Road Alliance to Bring its Social Metrics Online

Upaya Social Ventures is proud to announce that it has received a grant from the Open Road Alliance for the creation of an online platform that will be used by Upaya partners to collect and analyze data about the progress made out of poverty by their employees. This data will not only give Upaya’s partners critical business intelligence about the state of their workforce, but it will also allow them to quantify their social impact to prospective follow-on funders.

Through this system Upaya will also have the ability to aggregate data across partners, strengthening both the organization’s understanding of the key indicators of ultra poverty and its ability to identify trends among households benefiting from increased income stability.

Open Road provides fast funding for non-profits either to overcome unexpected obstacles that imperil an on-going project or to grow substantially with a one-time, targeted grant. This grant fits within the latter category as Open Road feels that an online platform for collecting and analyzing social metrics will significantly expand Upaya’s capacity to create employment.

“Measuring social performance has been a part of Upaya’s DNA from the very beginning, and this system will empower our partners to maximize their potential,” said Upaya’s Executive Director Sachi Shenoy.

Upaya’s Partnership with Chicago Booth School of Business on Display at 2013 Social New Venture Competition

As part of the organization’s partnership with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Upaya’s Executive Director Sachi Shenoy recently joined a distinguished group of Booth alumni as final round judges for the school’s Social New Venture Competition (SNVC). While in Chicago, she also participated in the annual advisory board meeting of the school’s Social Enterprise Initiative.

The judging panel – which included leadership from organizations such as the Arabella Advisors, TransUnion Corp., CDW and Shorebank International – evaluated 16 finalists based on the strength of their business models and ability of their work to realize a positive social benefit. Upaya was well represented at the event.

The SNVC is lead by Chicago Booth Deputy Dean Robert Gertner, who also serves Upaya as an Advisor. Additionally, Upaya Board member Sonny Garg was involved in the planning of this year’s competition.

Upaya at Clinton Global Initiative Mid-Year Meeting

Upaya’s Executive Director Sachi Shenoy joined impact investing thought leaders from around the world at the Clinton Global Initiative’s May Mid-Year Meeting in New York City. Over the course of two days, the group discussed the ongoing maturation of the sector and explored the mechanisms needed to ensure that early-stage social businesses are given the support they need to launch, grow, and prepare for follow-on investment.

“I heard so often over the two day meeting that there are simply too few scale-ready, socially transformative businesses reaching the desks of impact investors, and that organizations like Upaya are exactly what is needed to solve this problem,” said Shenoy. “The conversation reaffirmed for me the power of Upaya’s model to empower small and growing businesses, build a pipeline of sound investment opportunities, and bring significant change to the people living below the extreme poverty line,” she said.

For more information on the Clinton Global Initiative, click

here

.

Upaya Selected for 2013 Clinton Global Initiative Membership

Upaya is proud to announce that the organization has been selected as a complimentary member of theClinton Global Initiative (CGI) for 2013.As part of CGI’s Market-Based Approachestrack, Upaya will share broadly its perspective on job creation as a solution for ultra poverty.

“We are honored that Upaya has been selected for complimentary membership and are excited about the opportunity to share our experience with other CGI members,” said Upaya’s Executive Director Sachi Shenoy.

CGImembership includes access totrack convenings, as well as admission to the CGI Annual Meeting to be held September 23 – 26 in New York City. The Upaya team will also work with CGI staff to develop a new partnercommitmentthat will extend the benefits of Upaya’s work to thousands of Indian families in need.

“For many years the ultra poor were either overlooked or deemed ‘too hard to reach’ by conventional development programs,” Shenoy said. “This is a great chance to show that not only is it possible to meaningfully help the poorest make progress out of poverty, but that it can be done in a financially self-sustaining way,” she said. 

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton as an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, CGI convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,300 commitments, which have improved the lives of over 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at more than $73.1 billion. 

For more information on CGI, please click here.

Sachi Shenoy Judges Global Social Venture Competition, Discusses Job Creation for the Poorest with Berkeley-Haas Students

Upaya’s Executive Director Sachi Shenoy was among the distinguished business leaders invited to Berkeley, CA to judge the 18 finalists of the Haas School of Business’s annual Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC). Founded in 1999, the GSVC is the world’s longest running social business plan competition. In regional competitions held between November 2012 and April 2013, more than 650 entrant teams from 37 countries pitched their social impact business plans.

While in Berkeley, Sachi also joined peers from the Omidyar Network, Riders for Health, and The Citizens Foundation USA on a panel titled “Social Enterprises in the Developing World.” During the discussion she shared insights from Upaya’s experience creating jobs and measuring social change with Berkeley Haas students and GSVC participants. That video can be viewed in its entirety here or by clicking the video image below. For more information on the GSVC, please click here.