As the need for well-meaning social interventions expands in our fast-growing country with an even faster- growing digital divide emerging between the have and the have-nots, Social Venture Partners (SVP) itself is in the process of scaling from a set of local interventions to a truly national organisation
In India, one of the most admired and often the least understood segments of society are the social enterprises or NGOs. The passion of those who set up NGOs or for-profit social enterprises is often the object of “how could she do that” comments but their place in civil society and the enormous value a well-run social enterprise can add to the cause of inclusive growth by supporting underprivileged sections of society is well recognised.
However, when it comes to the management of social enterprises, most except some of the exceptional ones like ‘Pratham’, ‘Teach for India’ and ‘Pune City Connect’ are seen as less than optimal. But because of the causes they espouse, the lack of processes and systems and a weak strategy and governance are seen as minor flaws that need to be papered over even when large national, global or CSR Foundations evaluate them for potential funding. Seeking to make an exception to this differential yardstick is the approach of Social Venture Partners (SVP) India, a social entity that has grown from humble beginnings in 2012 to become one of the fast-growing professional social outfits in the country.
SVP India was inspired by the well-established Social Venture Partners movement in US which started in Seattle and grew over two decades to multiple locations in the USA and new beginnings in China and Japan. The partner model helped well-meaning individuals in a city to form a chapter which adapted venture capital principles to identify, fund, support and scale social enterprises in the city. SVP International has grown to over 3,000 chapters and has been widely recognised as a model that can make sustainable social change happen! In the year 2012, Ravi Venkatesan who had been Chairman of Microsoft India brought the concept to India and with the first chapter starting in Bengaluru, the Indian version evolved from the US model of several loosely coupled chapters to a well-knit network of chapters in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and of course Bengaluru. Touching 300 partners, over twenty NGOs funded mentored and scaled and some like Jagruti in Pune which trains nursing assistants transformed to a scale of nearly twenty times with professional process and technology interventions, SVP has proved to be a model that truly adds value and makes a difference!
Happy SVP partnerships: Ganesh Natarajan with colleaguesAs the need for well-meaning social interventions expands in our fast-growing country with an even faster-growing digital divide emerging between the have and the have-nots, SVP itself is in the process of scaling from a set of local interventions to a truly national organisation. The launch of the Million Jobs Mission, now supported by Tata Trust has seen the identification of 15 entities each with the capacity to take a successful local model and expand to national scale and make a huge impact. From Vrutti which brings professional expertise to marginal farmers in Karnataka to Virohan, which has a successful model of paramedics skilling in UP, from Youth For Jobs enabling otherwise-abled youth to take their place in the workforce in Hyderabad to NES Khushi in Pune, the scope of the Sustainable Livelihoods drive in SVP India has created a structure of engagement between scalable social enterprises —a national network of partners and a support consortium—that is highly replicable in any model of high-touch engagement for social good. With the number of impacted lives expected to cross 200,000 this year and move to the aspirational million marks before India turns seventy five, SVP India is becoming an exemplar in the social sector.
It is time well-meaning citizens in every city and the entire country came together to architect a new change model and work together for the cause of a billion people
The model of SVP is robust because of the checks and balances created in the system. The partner group in each city consists of a mix of senior industry leaders, successful executives and young first-time philanthropists who take on roles of grants management, leading NGO partnerships and chapter partner engagement. Each chapter has a Chair and a General Manager (Meher Pudumjee and Parul Vaidya in Pune), who join the National Board. The Board itself with Advisors like Arun Maira is connected with the global movement with the National Chair participating on the global Board and the flow of knowledge intent and support is unobstructed and beneficial to all parts of the network.
In India, we have no shortage of major causes. National Digital Literacy, Municipal School Education, Healthcare, Agriculture and Sustainable Livelihoods are causes that spring to mind, each of which will need many entities to come together, work in a transparent partnership with local and Central Governments and set a lofty agenda for transformation, with several milestones to be achieved on the path to success. Civil society, supported by individual and corporate social responsibility, volunteer movements and symbiotic partnerships with Governments can make true change happen. It is time well-meaning citizens in every city and the entire country came together to architect a new change model and work together for the cause of a billion people! Entities like Social Venture Partners and Pune City Connect are true exemplars.
Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman of 5F World, Pune City Connect & Social Venture Partners, Pune.
By Ganesh Natarajan
