IIM Calcutta[/b]
IIM Calcutta launches Incubation Unit
IIM Calcutta campus, Kolkata, July 18, 2013: Business Incubation Centres have been receiving increasing attention as a tool to promote entrepreneurship, both in the developed and developing countries. They have become an integral part of the business assistance framework to offer critical support to newly formed enterprises. Recognizing its importance, IIM Calcutta, the premier management institutes in India has started its journey in incubation with a focus on social entrepreneurship. IIM Calcutta has signed agreements with four social entrepreneurs. These social enterprises have been chosen from the ventures which had qualified for the final rounds of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge, a joint initiative of the Tata Group and IIM Calcutta, which was held jointly earlier this year. The Incubation unit of IIM Calcutta is a part of Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) of the Institute.
The principal mentor of the incubation unit is Professor Ashok Banerjee, the Dean of new initiatives and external relations who feels, "the incubation unit at IIM Calcutta will focus on social enterprises. The incubation facilities at IIM Calcutta will include mentorship support of faculty and alumni. We have developed a unique model of mentorship to ensure better monitoring and effectiveness of the programme. "
Doctors For You (DFY) is a SAARC award winning humanitarian NGO in the health-care sector. DFY's disaster relief and rehabilitation work has won it the British Medical Journal (BMJ) 'Best Medical Team in Crisis Situation' Award in 2011. DFY rolled out a project called DFY-MISP on a pilot basis (tie up with Tata Institute of Social Sciences) during Assam ethnic violence. DFY plans to spin-off this venture. DFY will deploy disaster relief teams in major Indian cities. These teams will respond to a disaster and provide primary relief and Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) within 48 hours. Revenue would be by branding MISP camps and by rolling out disaster preparedness and capacity building packages to corporate. MISP is a (UN-FPA recommended) co-ordinated set of priority activities used for the reproductive well-being of women in crisis situations. DFY customizes MISP to suit the Indian scenario thereby reduce maternal and infant mortality.
SwitchON-ONergy is a hybrid social enterprise start-up creating an ecosystem for the uptake of complete energy solutions to rural India. ONergy is an ISO Certified (TUV) for-profit venture, setting up last mile energy distribution and service networks. ONergy serves the undeserved households and business by deploying solar LED lighting, solar electrification systems and cooking / thermal solutions, across East India. Switch ON is the not for profit arm that creates an ecosystem to facilitate last mile access to energy and promote livelihoods through rural energy entrepreneurship by training, capacity building and supporting innovation. They create a linkage between energy access, income generation and community development. Switch ON-ONergy has become a 30 Member strong team; set up 7 renewable energy centers across West Bengal and Odisha; and impacted the lives of over 100,000 people. Their mission is to impact one million lives by 2016.
Edwell Solutions Private Limited is already operating tuition centres in Chamba block of Tehri Garhwal district and Doiwala block of Dehradun district in Uttarakhand with a plan to add more 8 such centres in Uttarakhand by FY 2013-14. Edwell Solutions' future plan includes establishing 250 IT based tuition centre by 2018 in states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh & Bihar and reaching 15000 unserved students studying in class 3-6 from small towns.
Utopia is a Social Enterprise which has leveraged the automotive engineering & innovative design skills of its founders to create prototypes of low-maintenance, high-efficiency, low-pollution rickshaws specifically designed for Indian cities & towns. These innovatively designed rickshaws are hybrid vehicles that combine the best of efficiency and coverage of auto rickshaws with the economy & eco-friendliness of cycle rickshaws. Added innovative design benefits include ability of differently-abled people to drive the vehicles, and simultaneous water purification capability. The venture has already won a number of awards and is preparing for production & delivery of its vehicles. It aims to use superior technology, innovative design capabilities to serve larger societal goals of sustainability, inclusiveness, pollution reduction & poverty alleviation. The initial plan of the venture involves to inject around 3000 rickshaws on the roads with around 500 rickshaws for differently-abled people and to produce around 1000 water purifier kits which can be fitted on rickshaws. Initially, around 2000 families across the country are expected to be benefited under this project.
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