Issue #2

📰 FRONT PAGE

Welcome to the second issue of Chronicles, your passport to the world of social impact and innovation. Happy New Year to our subscribers! 🎉

In this month’s rundown of social impact space:

🧠What is a Business Model?
🤓 Looking Back: Social Impact Sector in 2023 & Beyond
👇️Genrobotics Innovation: Social impact startup using robotics to make the workplace safer.
💬 How the Graduation Approach is helping communities escape poverty?
🆕A round-up of our 2023 activities & plan for 2024

🧠KNOWLEDGE SPOTLIGHT

Business Model

A business model outlines how a company generates revenue by providing products or services to users. It delineates the target users, product offerings, revenue generation from sales, incurred costs, and the profits necessary for growth and sustainability. A good business model facilitates informed decisions, contributing to the company's success.

In the context of social enterprises, achieving financial sustainability while making a positive impact is crucial. These enterprises must combine conventional business strategies with their social impact mission. They must ensure that their impact reaches the intended demographic, strike a balance between societal impact and profitability, and diligently track the positive change done by their offerings. This dual approach enables them to create value, foster social good, and remain financially viable.

🤓 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Looking Back: Social Impact Sector in 2023 & Beyond

2023 wasn't just a ripple of impact in the social impact sector; it was a tidal wave! From boardrooms to backstreets, changemakers worldwide generated a wave of solutions, redefining the very meaning of progress. 

Let's dive into the depths of the impact revolution:

Investing in Innovation:

• Green Tech Boom: Global clean energy investment hit $363 billion in 2023, a 54% increase from the previous year. Companies like Tesla and Ørsted led the charge, making renewable energy increasingly viable and attractive.

Tech for Change:

• AI for Social Good: From using AI to detect illegal deforestation to developing chatbots for mental health support, the applications of AI for social impact expanded rapidly. Companies like Microsoft and IBM have made significant strides in responsible AI development.

• Automation Empowers: Robotic process automation (RPA) created 2 million new jobs in developing countries, empowering marginalized communities and bridging the digital divide.

• Global Collaboration Platform: Online platforms like UpBuild, Acumen Academy connected social entrepreneurs across borders, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration on critical issues.

Grassroots Groundswell:

• Indigenous Knowledge Leads the Way: Indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest used ancient techniques to combat deforestation, proving the power of traditional knowledge in tackling environmental challenges.

• Locally-Led Solutions: Community gardens sprouted in urban deserts, rooftop farms flourished in megacities, and decentralized renewable energy projects empowered local communities to take control of their energy needs.

The 2024 Outlook: Riding the Waves of Change:

• Collaboration Amplified: As silos crumble, governments, businesses, NGOs, and communities are joining forces to tackle complex challenges like climate change and poverty.

• Embracing Uncertainty: From economic volatility, climate, human issues etc, the future holds unforeseen challenges. But the spirit of innovation thrives in uncertain times, urging us to adapt, reimagine, and build resilience.

2023 was a year of profound change, leaving us with powerful momentum to carry forward. As we navigate the turbulent waters of 2024 and beyond, let's ride the waves of collaboration, equity, and innovation, together creating a tsunami of positive change that washes over every corner of the world.

Stay tuned for future issues where we'll explore these trends in depth and showcase the inspiring changemakers leading the way!

Facts & Figures

🔎 According to a survey by Young Folks Australia, companies with strong sustainability practices have 55% higher employee morale and 43% more efficient innovation processes.
💰According to Social Enterprise UK, social impact firms contributed over £60 billion to the UK economy.
📈Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has provided microloans to over 9 million borrowers, mostly women, helping them lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

💬 INNOVATIONS

How the Graduation Approach is helping communities escape poverty?

The graduation approach is an innovative model pioneered by the microfinance organization BRAC to create lasting pathway out of extreme poverty & build sustainable livelihoods. While traditional graduation celebrates academic achievement, here we celebrate a person’s holistic achievement of climbing out of despair, marginalization & poverty.

This approach offers a package of interventions tailored to each person's specific needs. It typically includes a combination of skills training, access to financial services like microloans or savings accounts, free productive assets (like livestock or tools) for starting an enterprise, healthcare, and social support. With the training programs, the trainee is taught to climb out of the poverty cycle, & build a better future for themselves & community too. The individuals who join the program are given a stipend to ensure that they can focus on the training. The individual is guided by a mentor at all stages who ensures & tracks the results.

The method is now globally influential with over 100+ organisations using it resulting in over 14 million people graduations in over 50 countries and a 90% success rate of never returning to the utter destitution they start from.

👇️ STARTUP IN FOCUS

Genrobotics Innovation: Social Impact Startup using Robotics to make the Workplace Safer

From humble beginnings in Kerala (a state in India), Genrobotic Innovations has emerged as an international leader in robotics, tackling real-world problems with ingenuity and compassion. Their mission? To empower individuals and communities through technology that cleans, cares, and creates a better future. Genrobotic has truly pioneered the act of solving societal issues using technology.

Genrobotic is most famous for its product Bandicoot. It is a robotic scavenger that tackles the hazardous and dehumanizing task of manual scavenging and sewer cleaning. Some of their other products are Wilboar, G-Beetle & Mobility+ which also deals in sanitation & G-Gaiter deals in neuro-rehabilitation of accident victims.

Genrobotic has a market presence in 4 countries & has deployed over 350 of its robots. Supported & funded by the likes of Sridhar Vembu(Founder of Zoho), Anand Mahindra, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) & others, Genrobotics is not just building robots; they are building a better future, one clean sweep, one regained step, one disinfected surface at a time.

🆕 SOCIAL UPDATES

A Round-up of our 2023 Activities & Plan for 2024

2023 was a whirlwind of exciting initiatives at SOCIAL! Here's a glimpse of the remarkable programs & milestones we achieved:

• Empowering Startups: We organised the 2^nd edition of PITCH-IT, our flagship startup support program, providing mentorship, networking, and a platform for social impact ventures to shine. PLAT Exam Private Limited emerged victorious, securing a grant and consulting from 180 Degrees Consulting NSUT to overcome its challenges.

• Knowledge Sharing: We launched Chronicles, our informative newsletter, keeping you updated on the latest trends and inspiring stories in the social impact landscape. Stay tuned for insightful content in the next issue!

• Hacking for Good: In collaboration with Google Developer Student Club RSET, CSI RSET, and RSET IEEE SB, we hosted HacKernel, our first offline event. HacKernel was a 24-hour hackathon where tech-savvy minds tackled social and other issues with innovative solutions.

Also, we are thrilled to share a sneak peek into our 2024 plan

• PITCH-IT 3.0: We're scaling up PITCH-IT, our flagship startup support program, to connect more visionary social impact ventures with the resources and exposure they need to thrive. Mark your calendars, applications open soon!

• Mini-Guide Revolution: Watch out for a series of bite-sized online information guides on social impact, social entrepreneurship, and social innovation. Some exclusive gems are reserved for our loyal Chronicles subscribers, so watch your inbox!

• Deep Dives with Online Courses: For those hungry for deeper exploration, we're launching comprehensive online courses on critical social impact topics and emerge empowered to make a difference.

• Voices of Change: Get ready for insightful interviews with leading changemakers on both Chronicles and our YouTube channel. Learn from their journeys, discover inspiring solutions, and be ignited to create your impact story.

This is just a taste of what's brewing for 2024. Stay tuned for exciting updates, announcements, and opportunities to join our vibrant community of changemakers.