NSRCEL, the entrepreneurship centre of IIM Bangalore, has signed an MoU with Yunus Social Business Fund Bengaluru (YSBFB) in social business financing and scaling. NSRCEL’s Impact Orbit Incubation Vertical recently launched its first-ever Rural Entrepreneurship Incubation program, which aims to identify, nurture and scale social innovations in rural India.
According to the company, NSRCEL will support nine early-stage startups in scaling their revenues through specialised businesses and investment-readiness training through this program. The goal of this incubation program is to support at least 25% of the cohort to double their revenue and to directly impact 500-700 livelihoods and indirectly benefit 2500-3000 lives.
While NSRCEL is leading the incubation program, YSBFB will facilitate modules on investment readiness, working capital management, and exposure to different forms of funding, including an opportunity for two ventures to raise debt from the fund, an official statement read.
Anand Sri Ganesh, COO of NSRCEL said that the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting digitization helped the centre serve entrepreneurs from all over. “We also started to see first-time founders moving to rural areas, noticing a local problem or a market opportunity, and innovating for the same. This incubation program is a result of unearthing such ventures with a focus on innovative route-to-market solutions & rural livelihood creation, especially employing local women,” Ganesh added.
“We are excited to work with an experienced partner like Yunus Social Business fund Bengaluru (YSBFB), which has worked with such ventures globally in other emerging markets like Kenya, Uganda, Colombia and Brazil. We look forward to having YSBFB team engage with our ventures during our November Bootcamp and ready them for future investments in the impact ecosystem.”
Suresh K Krishna, CEO of YSBFB said that YSBFB has always supported social businesses that intrinsically work with rural populations, creating decentralised livelihood opportunities or enabling access to essential products and services. “The Rural Entrepreneurship Program comes at an opportune time to build back a resilient India. YSBFB is thrilled to partner with NSRCEL, which has for the last many years promoted the entrepreneurship movement in India,” he said.
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