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In recent years, social entrepreneurship is entering the mainstream by creating business models which are economically viable and socially impactful. We have approximately 11 million social enterprises startups globally according to a report by British Council and Social Enterprise UK. The research highlights that these global social enterprises are often young organizations with 2010 as the average establishment year across all countries. The newest enterprises are established in Singapore and Algeria while the oldest in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Interestingly, women leaders have come to the forefront in driving the social enterprises with the greatest proportion found in Turkey, UAE and Kyrgyzstan and fewer women leaders in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In India particularly, social tech startups are leveraging technology to solve some of the long-standing societal challenges with their unique, innovative, and sustainable solutions. With an estimated 20 lakh[1] social enterprises in India, the fast growth of social tech startups can be attributed to the increased technology adoption and the need for change makers to solve the myriad challenges in India. As per data by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), approximately 23% of startups in the social impact segment are spanning from sectors such as Healthcare and Lifesciences (7537), Education (5309), Agriculture (3887), Green Technology (1,844), Social Impact (500).
Structurally, these social enterprises can operate both as a not-for-profit or a for-profit company structure suitable to their business needs. Below are some of the prominent sectors wherein the combination of business and technology have created significant social impact:
- Agriculture: Startups operating in this sector are building products and services to bridge the existing gaps in the sector and ensuring the last-mile delivery of new technologies to farmers and consumers at an affordable price. Some of the key offerings of agritech startups are farm automation, post-harvest management, weather forecasting, direct linkages with farmers, equipment renting, online selling, among others. As per a NASSCOM Report published in 2019, every 9th Agritech startup in the world is from India.
- Clean Technology: There has been rapid growth in India’s renewable energy sector, which is driving demand for new technologies to modernize the country’s energy sector to make it increasingly sustainable and environment friendly. Some of the key areas wherein Indian clean technology startups are innovating are Clean Energy, including Solar Energy, Hydropower, Wind Energy, Electric Vehicles, Residual Waste, Energy Storage and Efficiency. Key stakeholders including sustainability-focused investors, corporates, incubators, and accelerators are actively engaging to ensure that environment-conscious frameworks are being used in business models.
- Education: The Education Technology industry, saw a further boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Startups are focusing on areas such as webinars, skill testing, and online test preparation, online courses, career advice.
- Healthcare and Lifesciences: New health technologies such as wearable tech, telemedicine, genomics, virtual reality (VR), robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the landscape of the Indian healthcare system. Some of the key areas where startups have started adopting digital technologies include patient engagement, physician engagement, field force effectiveness, R&D efficiency, and supply chain management.
Startups recognised by the Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) have been at the forefront of innovating at scale to create meaningful impact. A few examples of the offerings that such startups are providing across sectors are:
- A platform to rent, buy & sell tractors along with farm mechanization equipment.
- Li-ion battery packs with Proprietary Battery Management System and Proprietary Electro-mechanical assembly technology with the objective of playing a role in the electrification of mobility by making it environmentally sustainable and economically affordable.
- Aggregator of budget educational institutes and classes, making inventory discoverable and bookable online.
- A cost-effective voice restoration medical device that helps throat cancer patients speak.
The social innovation of startups are recognised and awarded by initiatives such as the National Startup Awards (NSA) conceived by the Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in 2020, which awards startups innovating under special categories and sectors focusing on social impact, such as Rural Impact, Innovation for COVID-19, Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Education & Skill Development, and Health & Wellness.
To scale the growth of such impact-driven startups, several Venture Capital (VC) firms and Angel Funds, such as Unitus Capital, Social Alpha, Aavishkaar Capital, Acumen, Lok Capital, Omnivore, among others have earmarked a specific percentage of yearly investments or have created a separate fund dedicated to startups solving specific social challenges. These include funds dedicated solely to ESG and Sustainability, Education in Tier-2 and Tier-3 districts, Skilling and Development of Women, and Accessible Healthcare, among other focus areas. Similarly, corporates, incubators, accelerators, and other institutes have come up with grand challenges, hackathons, and incubation, acceleration, and mentorship programs that focus on problem statements specific to social impact.
To conclude, with a combination of myriad social challenges and increased social innovation, social enterprises will make a strong case for growth in India.
https://immersives.pioneerspost.com/how-many-social-enterprises-worldwide/index.html
http://socialgoodstuff.com/2016/06/untapped-potential-philanthropy-and-social-enterprise/
