Social Innovators who Changed the Face of India
Written by Anjum Shaikh, May 15, 2019
With modern technologies there has been an increase in the demand of innovations in our ever growing busy lives. These innovations help us to improve our livelihood. Social innovation has gained rising popularity in developing nations because it is essential for the growth of its people and communities.
Meet the top social innovators that have changed the face of our country:
1) Shaheen Mistri: Founder of Akanksha Foundation and CEO of Teach for India
Shaheen Mistri is a social activist and educator. With a mission to provide quality education to every child irrespective of their background, Shaheen founded Akanksha Foundation at a very young age. The Foundation collaborates with municipal schools to deliver high quality education to the students. Akanksha Centre started with 15 students which gradually grew to 21 schools in Mumbai and Pune. Currently, she is serving as the CEO of Teach for India where volunteers join as teachers for a 2-year full time fellowship program to provide education opportunities to underprivileged children.
2) Adam Khorakiwala: Founder of mGuru- Mobile Learning Apps for Literacy and Numeracy
Founded by Adam Khorakiwala, mGuru is an app developed for K-5 students to enhance their English and Arithmetic skills. This app is available in all the major regional languages of India. The mGuru app provides financially disadvantaged students with a platform where they can enjoy while learning and building their foundation.
3) Aarushi Batra: Founder of Robin Hood Army
At a very young age, Aarushi founded the Robin Hood Army based out of Mumbai. The mission of this foundation is to provide food to the poor and needy. This foundation is basically a volunteer based organisation that operates through different networks of hotels and restaurants. The volunteers collect surplus food from these places and distribute it to the needy and poor. Truly an amazing way to be able to make a difference in this world.
4) Girish Singhania: Founder of Edubridge
Girish Singhania launched Edubridge in 2009 with a mission to fill the skills gap and empower the youth of India. This institute provides employable skills training to youth from semi-urban and rural areas. It also connects youth with different job opportunities available in corporate India. So far, they have successfully trained and placed 7000+ youth from rural India.
5) Ajaita Shah: Founder & CEO of Frontier Markets
Frontier Markets is a sales and marketing distribution with a mission to provide quality consumer durables to low income households in rural India. So far, the company has sold over 20,000 clean energy products and other solutions in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The company aims to reach 5 million households in the next 5 years.
The list is endless. Many creative minds have contributed towards the social development of the communities by developing great technologies and services. Being a developing country, India provides ample opportunities to social entrepreneurs for addressing such issues. However, there are a lot of challenges in funding these social projects for their sustainability. Where there is a will, there’s a way, and so we should continue trying to find unique solutions to fund projects with social benefits for our country and people. Do you have an idea that can change the lives of people? Share it with us in the comment box below!
