Managing over four hundred million rupees of corporate investment in the social sector, directly impacting nearly 1.5 lakh underprivileged in the country and partnering global leaders in the social space like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, NASSCOM Foundation is an idea whose time has come
The buzz these days is always about Donald Trump, the potential impact of protectionism on export oriented-economies like India, China and Mexico and of course the continuing sluggishness of the Indian economy. The recent NASSCOM Leadership summit also saw many discussions on the future of technology and its impact on jobs and economic growth.
Amidst all this, it was heartening to have NASSCOM Foundation (NF) and the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum (NSIF) share the spotlight with industry outlook discussions in the opening hour of the three day conference. The willingness to do this is itself an endorsement of the inclusive and collaborative nature of the IT and Business Process Industry in the country and its single voice NASSCOM. And for good reason — NASSCOM Foundation has grown in scale and scope from a small adjunct of the industry managing a few collaborative projects to a full-fledged program manager of some of the most significant initiatives in the “Tech for Good” space of the social sector. Managing over four hundred million rupees of corporate investment in the social sector, directly impacting nearly 1.5 lakh underprivileged in the country and partnering global leaders in the social space like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, NF is an idea whose time has come, thanks to the genuine interest of a world class industry to do great work locally in the countries in which we operate!
A few data points will serve to highlight the excellent work being done across multiple tracks. The flagship program – National Digital Literacy Mission of the Government which NF is implementing across multiple Indian cities has scaled to 160 centres and other interesting interaction points like refitted municipal schools, buses and even shipping containers parked in school yards. The related agenda of skills has also received support from corporations not just in the IT and BPM sector but also national and global majors in Financial Services who see NASSCOM Foundation and its network of NGOs and social enterprise implementation partners as worthy participants in their own mission to skill India. Over 80,000 youth from the under-privileged segments of society and Tier 3 and 4 locations in the country have participated in these programs and efforts are underway to build and deploy digital platforms for community building, mentoring and ongoing future skills and opportunities for all participants.
Beyond these ambitious programs that affect the lives of individuals all over the country, the Indian Public Libraries Movement which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by NF has got off to a robust beginning in its first year, with 106 libraries in 25 states touched and opportunities being explored to restore the public libraries that many of us who grew up in small towns in India regarded as a primary fountainhead of knowledge. The Big Bridge program for software donations to NGOs has enabled over 75 crores of software donations and the Big Tech program which accepts computer hardware from corporations, refurbishes them and makes them available to NGOs has not only ensured minimization of e-waste but also benefited over 4500 NGOs over the last five years and more.
NF and NASSCOM over the years have also done a great job in recognizing individuals, NGOs and corporations. An ambitious program called “Mobile for Good” launched in partnership with the Vodafone Foundation attracted 550 applications this year and over 1.4 crores grants were disbursed. And NF’s own NSIF initiative, where over 500 applications have been received, 23 worthy NGOs recognized and in some cases provided both cash awards and mentoring has grown in popularity and relevance and is today seen as a prestigious milestone in the journey of any social enterprise seeking to deploy “Tech for Good” in the country.
NASSCOM Foundation has grown in scale and scope from a small adjunct of the industry managing a few collaborative projects to a fullfledged program manager of some of the most significant initiatives
With all the seeding that has been done by NF, Social Venture Partners, Dasra, Samhita, NES and so many other active and well managed initiatives in the country, there are opportunities for cities and states to truly leverage the strategic thinking and implementation capabilities of willing corporate led initiatives and build virtuous partnerships for social good. An exemplar in this area is Pune City Connect, led by IIMA graduate Ruchi Mathur. Ruchi and her team have brought many years of corporate and social sector experience to bear to enable five tracks – Digital Literacy, Municipal School Education, Swachh, Citizen Engagement and Skills Lighthouses, to do great work for the city. The success of Pune City Connect can be attributed to three elements – the active support of the corporate sector, an excellent partnership with the Pune Municipal Corporation under the admirable leadership of Commissioner Kunal Kumar and Assistant Commissioner Ganesh Sonune and last but not the least the willing support lent by many NGOs .
by Ganesh Natarajan
