India Inc buckles up to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
“Whether to safeguard their workers or help strengthen the country
Enabling Stakeholders to Take Purposeful Action for Large-Scale Social Impact
“Beyond CSR, we believe in companies integrating social responsibility into their business practices. We have developed the Responsible Corporate Citizenship Continuum (RCCC) to articulate the role of the private sector in society and to provide companies with a framework to conceive human rights and social and environmental responsibility in their business practices as well as CSR.”
Priya Naik, Founder and CEO, Samhita Social Ventures is interviewed by CSR Mandate where she shares Samhita’s strategies and learnings over the last 10 years while collaborating with a variety of stakeholder such as companies, social enterprises, NGOs, governments, multilaterals and donors. Samhita has curated a number of collaborative platforms to address challenges such as gender inequality, water and sanitation and sustainable livelihoods, with each contributing stakeholder honing their core competencies to collectively create significant impact. In response to COVID, Samhita set up the India Protectors Alliance (IPA) to provide support and equipment to India’s frontline health care and sanitation workers, and REVIVE to pave the path for sustainable recovery of jobs and livelihoods by providing financial and technical assistance.
Solutions for a Pandemic
We can
How India Inc can craft an effective response to the pandemic
Corporate India plays a critical and urgent role in mitigating the economic, and health impacts of the pandemic. Industry leaders, public health experts, experienced members of social enterprises and thought leaders such as Nobel laureate Esther Duflo came together for Samhita’s ‘Leaders with a Purpose’ webinar series, to address the need for collaborative partnerships across stakeholders. Read on to find out more about the invaluable role corporate India can play in the arena of promoting behaviour change, providing innovative and technological solutions to secure their own supply chains, microentrepreneurs, hospitals, and rural and distant communities.
How India Inc can craft an effective response to the pandemic
Corporate India plays a critical and urgent role in mitigating the economic, and health impacts of the pandemic. Industry leaders, public health experts, experienced members of social enterprises and thought leaders such as Nobel laureate Esther Duflo came together for Samhita’s ‘Leaders with a Purpose’ webinar series, to address the need for collaborative partnerships across stakeholders. Read on to find out more about the invaluable role corporate India can play in the arena of promoting behaviour change, providing innovative and technological solutions to secure their own supply chains, microentrepreneurs, hospitals, and rural and distant communities.
Co-creating solutions with Samaj, Sarkar and Bazaar
While navigating the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy, industry and society, Samhita Social Ventures and IDFC Institute co-hosted
Investing CSR in Incubators
Authored by P.R. Ganapathy, President ( India), Villgro Innovations Foundation
After, USA and China, India has the largest incubator and accelerator ecosystem in the world. But few companies have sufficient information on this ecosystem to be able to invest in it.
Samhita, and Villgro, supported by GIZ are addressing this information asymmetry and facilitating partnerships between companies and incubators and social enterprises(SEs).
The traditional model of CSR involves selecting an NGO working in an area of your interest (livelihoods, education, etc.) and funding them for a specific project, say, training 500 women artisans, or setting up a computer lab in a school.
But, the smart CSR managers of today are asking harder questions of this model.
What happened to those women artisans after the training was completed? Who buys their products and connects them to consumers? Is the model sustainable? What do children actually learn from the computer lab? Who teaches them? What content is available? Who maintains the computers and the lab to ensure it continues to deliver value?
One way to find these answers is to partner with social enterprises or for-profit entities who use market-based approaches to solve social problems.
The next logical question is :
Optimising CSR for Rural Development
According to the 2011 census, 69 per cent of India
Demystifying the CSR law: with Nishith Desai
Nishith Desai, founder of Nishith Desai Associates led an enlightening discussion on approaching CSR strategically, building knowledge about the CSR and the various legislations affecting the development sector. The discussion was held with CSR and sustainability heads of India
Small-Scale Financial Literacy Projects: Catalysts for Transformation
Financial literacy has long been recognized as a key driver of economic growth and prosperity. This blog delves into the urgent requirement for financial literacy programs in India, especially in the backdrop of remarkable economic progress. Despite the broader accessibility of financial services, a substantial portion of the population lacks fundamental financial knowledge. The blog underscores how these programs can empower women, stimulate entrepreneurship, mitigate debt-related pitfalls, and contribute to economic advancement. It also examines the difficulties encountered by smaller-scale initiatives and draws valuable insights from REVIVE’s endeavors in promoting comprehensive financial empowerment.
