Newsletter
April 2015
Dear Friends,
Impact investing – financing sustainable and scalable enterprises that
deliver social impact along with decent returns – may be a relatively
new phenomenon, but it has caught the attention of capital providers,
corporations, governments and the public alike for good reason. Can
it really be possible to do well financially and also do good for society
at the same time? This is a question that both philanthropists and
commercial investors have increasingly been answering in the
affirmative as they deploy substantial funds, as well as their valuable
management know-how, to for-profit social enterprises providing
basic services to low-income and underserved populations.
Having worked in financial services for several decades and advising large
investors on deploying long-term funds into India, as well through my
philanthropic initiatives and work with the Grameen Foundation, I have been
dealing with this question and the associated issues of business models,
intentionality, scalability, management capacity and impact measurement for several
years. Asha Impact is an attempt to bring to bear this experience – both my own and that
of others friends and colleagues who share this perspective – to help address critical social
problems in India through a combination of impact investing, venture philanthropy, ecosystem development and policy advocacy.
As a new organization, and one that hopes to be results-based, we have started with three core areas: affordable housing, financial
inclusion and access to energy. In each of these, we are evaluating equity investments combined with strategic support to high quality
entrepreneurs and impact funds (through VSG Capital Advisors), as well as developing knowledge capital and an actionable policy
advocacy agenda for the government (through the Asha Impact trust).
Having thus far closed four equity investments, with several more in the pipeline, and our engagement
with policymakers on issues like project finance for affordable housing developers and priority
sector lending for SME finance, we are off to a good start. We have also established
partnerships with key players in the ecosystem including the Impact Investors
Council and Sankalp Forum, and continue to increase our engagement with
various leaders in our three focus sectors and more broadly in the area of social
finance. There is a lot that needs to get done, and many possibilities in how
innovation, capital and policy can combine effectively, from social impact
bonds to other public-private initiatives.
page 2
It is gratifying to see the emergence of a robust organization giving
shape to the vision of ‘Providing Life and Hope to the
Underserved’ (Asha means ‘hope’ in Hindi and ‘life’ in Swahili).
page 3
We are now a team of four full-time employees and multiple
fellows and consultants, growing and learning every day.
Working at the intersection of impact investing and public
policy, with the objective of making a meaningful contribution
page 4-5
to some of the toughest problems facing our society, we are
humbled by the challenges we face. But now that we are on our
way, we are optimistic about the future and looking forward to
page 6
the journey ahead.
Investments
Policy
Op-Ed
Guest Column
Ecosystem
page 7
Vikram S. Gandhi
Investments
Apr’15
Janaadhar
Grameen Capital
Grameen Capital’s impact debt vehicle provides
debt financing to social enterprises in India. By
leveraging its balance sheet and syndication, it
offers senior and venture debt, structured finance
and debt advisory services to enterprises in
financial services, education, healthcare and
agriculture that have demonstrated social
performance requirements. The company is
promoted by Grameen Capital India, an advisory
firm providing capital market access that has raised
and syndicated over US$160m across equity and
debt primarily for microfinance and financial
inclusion clients. In addition to Vikram, Mr. Ratan
Tata, Mr. Shrinivas Dempo, Mr. Amit Patni, Mr.
Arihant Patni and Grameen Foundation are equity
investors in the company.
Janaadhar is a Bangalore-based developer of
affordable housing in urban India, one of the only
companies focused exclusively on this sector. It has
completed projects in Bangalore and is in the
process of scaling up to a national presence
including developing low-income housing in the
marquee GIFT City project in Gujarat and Sri City
SEZ in Andhra Pradesh. The company is jointly
promoted by Ramesh Ramanathan, his stake being
held through the not-profit Jana Urban
Foundation, and Sterling Developers, a reputed
Bangalore based real estate developer. In addition
to Vikram, Mr. Narayan Ramachandran, Mr.
Vallabh Bhansali and Treeline Asia Master Fund
are equity investors in the company.
Gawa Capital
Unitus Seed Fund
Gawa Capital is a Madrid based investment advisor
to two global impact investing funds, the Gawa
Microfinance Fund and the Global Financial
Inclusion Fund. The funds have made multiple
equity and debt investments in MFIs and financial
inclusion across emerging markets in Asia, Africa,
Eastern Europe and South America. Gawa was an
early investor in Janalakshmi Financial Services,
one of the largest and most reputed MFIs in India.
The funds are managed by Agustin Vitorica and
Luca Torre, each having over 15 years of
experience in financial services. Vikram is an
advisor to Gawa in addition to serving on its
investment committee and being an investor in the
Global Financial Inclusion Fund.
Unitus Seed Fund is a US$23m seed-stage impact
investment fund based in Bangalore and Seattle
that invests in startups innovating for the masses in
India. The fund invests through Unitus Seed Fund
India, a SEBI-registered venture capital fund, and
Unitus Seed Fund, LP, an offshore venture capital
fund. It is managed by Will Poole, Dave Richards
and Srikrishna Ramamoorthy and has several well
known investors including Bill Gates, Vinod
Khosla, Mohandas Pai, Ravi Venkatesan and
Hemendra Kothari among others. Vikram has
invested in Unitus Seed Fund India along with Mr.
Pramod Bhasin as part of their collaborative efforts
to create a ‘virtual fund’ by business leaders
focused on investing in and developing the
management capacity of multiple enterprises that
can deliver social impact.
Please note that these investments have been made by Mr. Vikram Gandhi and other individuals in their personal capacity, in some cases
with investment advisory services provided by VSG Capital Advisors, a private limited company affiliated with Asha Impact. Asha
Impact is a not-profit trust and does not operate any investment vehicle.
page 2
Policy
Apr’15
Affordable Housing
Challenges :
• Aﬀordability gap for
low-income families
• High cost of land and long
approval timelines
• Availability of project finance
for development
India has an urban population of 330 million of which over 60% or 180 million live in slums or
sub standard housing, making this one of the most acute problems facing the country. It is one
of the highest priority areas for the government, which has declared a target of providing a
house to every Indian by 2020, and is in the process of announcing an ambitious National
Housing Mission to achieve this objective. With the existing shortage and increasing
urbanization it is estimated that the country needs to add a minimum of 2.5 million additional
homes each year, over 90% of which are for low-income families. Asha Impact is working to
address this challenge in multiple ways: through our partnership with Janaadhar, one of the
only private developers focused on affordable housing on a national basis and led by one of the
country’s most respected social entrepreneurs and an authority on urban issues; and via our
engagement with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, where we are
advocating for easier capital access and rationalized policy frameworks for affordable housing
developers. Asha is also supporting industry-building initiatives (e.g. in ratings and market
aggregation) and establishing additional partnerships in areas including affordable housing
finance, incremental housing, building materials and rental/temporary housing.
Financial Inclusion
Challenges :
• Last-mile delivery of financial
products
• Managing credit risks and
scaling
• Access to low-cost debt
financing
Despite a well developed banking system and a microfinance industry that has scaled rapidly,
India continues to fare poorly on financial inclusion indicators. The government has been
extremely active in this area with both the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India
making critical policy interventions in the past year including the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan
Yojana, which aims to provide every family with a bank account, and the RBI’s introduction of
payment bank and small bank licenses. India has also seen a lot of private sector activity and
innovation by non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) to address the last mile delivery
challenge faced by banks in reaching rural and low-income customers. Asha Impact has been
focused on the SME lending sector, the ‘missing middle’ between microfinance and formalized
banking, an area that has seen considerable interest from equity investors in the last year,
looking carefully at each segment of micro, small and medium enterprise lending. One of the
biggest challenges for the sector is the availability of debt financing. Asha Impact is establishing
partnerships with Grameen Capital’s venture debt financing entity and other NBFCs lending to
specific segments of MSME borrowers, and encouraging the government to catalyze the sector
by permitting priority sector on-lending to micro and small enterprises through NBFCs.
Access to Energy
Challenges :
• Customer understanding and
product adoption
• Business model challenges in
scaling up
• Eﬀective implementation of
government schemes
Providing access to energy is critical for addressing poverty as it produces social impact in
livelihood creation and health benefits, with a specific focus on women and children, in
addition to substantial environmental benefits in case of renewable energy. Access to energy
includes lighting, electricity on demand and reducing dependence on ‘dirty’ cooking fuels.
More broadly the energy value chain can include interventions in waste management and
water. The government has accorded high priority to renewable energy in particular solar
energy, with an ambitious National Solar Mission target of 100 GW by 2022. Thus far, Asha
Impact’s focus has been in the off-grid solar and clean cookstoves subsectors. Through
engagement with social entrepreneurs, investors, industry associations, think tanks,
foundations and policymakers who are focused on this sector, Asha Impact is trying to
understand the challenges facing private players and bottlenecks for government schemes to
identify and support business models that can scale and recommend relevant policy changes.
In the area of solar mini-grids, some of the issues where Asha Impact is advocating for
appropriate policy interventions include reform of capital expenditure subsidies, debt
financing for off-grid energy, restructuring the Distributed Decentralized Generation Scheme,
de-risking development in semi-electrified villages and fuel subsidy reform.
page 3
Op - Ed
Apr’15
Housing for All – Making the Promise a Reality
Vikram S. Gandhi
With the impending announcement of the Sardar Patel National
Housing Mission, the issue of low-cost housing has acquired
significant visibility. But beyond focusing national attention on
this critical issue, to actually
implement the Prime Minister’s
ambitious goal of ‘Housing For All’,
the government needs to streamline
the multiple policies in the sector and
create robust and realizable incentives
for affordable housing developers.
for affordable housing developers who operate on thin
margins and rely on high througput for viability. Access to
finance is also a major challenge for developers as banks are
reluctant to lend to the real estate
sector, and particularly to affordable
housing developers. The higher costs
of financing ultimately get transferred
to the beneficiary in the form of higher
prices.
So what can make the market take
As highlighted in the FY16
off? Clearly, the affordability gap needs
budget, India faces a shortage of about
to be reduced for EWS and LIG
20 million urban housing units, 90%
segments, both through capital grants
of this for the so-called Economically
and interest subvention on mortgages.
Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low
But the single most important policy
Income Groups (LIG), families with
driver
would
be
revamping
monthly income up to Rs 16,000.
supply-side incentives for developers
Despite the efforts of the government
to create low-income housing at a scale
so far – through initiatives like the
that can meaningfully address the
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
challenge. In addition, the government
The Shubha housing project of Janaadhar, a Bangalore based
Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Rajiv
needs to rationalize the policy
housing developer focused exclusively on EWS and LIG
Awas Yojana (RAY) and Affordable aﬀordable
framework to ensure consistency in
segments, contains a combination of 1 and 2 bedroom units and a
Housing in Partnership (AHIP)
implementation of the schemes of
range of common facilities like the playground above.
scheme – less than 250,000 homes
Ministry of Housing, National
have been built through such programs in the last three years. To
Housing Bank and HUDCO, and operationalization of these
reach its target, the government will have to create at least 2.5
at the state level.
million houses per year by 2022.
The challenge in implementing the policy toolkit is
While the numbers look daunting, this translates into a
the lack of a clear definition and separate category for
large opportunity for housing developers and mortgage finance
affordable housing, which is the need of the hour. With a
companies. And indeed to achieve its goals, the government
consistent understanding of what constitutes an affordable
must bring in private builders to complement its own efforts. But
housing project, appropriate schemes and incentives can be
to successfully address this market, the private sector needs an
channeled to the developers building EWS and LIG housing,
effective repackaging of the policy framework with a focus on
and not to the real estate industry more broadly. Besides the
proper implementation.
capital subsidy there are many other incentives which ought to
be provided to affordable housing development: setting aside
The first step in designing appropriate policy is to
of land banks; reducing time for approvals through a single
understand the challenges the customer faces. The household
window mechanism; availability of low-cost project finance
income of the average consumer is Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000 per
and specialized funding; and giving the sector infrastructure
month. As one goes down the income pyramid, the amount of
status.
free cash flow for low-income consumers decreases and is
further reduced by the fact that first time home buyers need to
Recent years have seen substantial activity in the
also pay their existing rent during the period of home
affordable housing finance sector, with various specialized
construction. A sensible EMI for purchasing a home for
housing finance companies focusing on low-ticket mortgages.
EWS-LIG segments should be around 20% of monthly
However, there has not been as much attention paid to actually
household income or Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000 a month.
developing the stock of houses priced below Rs. 10 lac and
thus affordable to low-income workers. It is heartening to see
The second step is to understand the challenges facing
that the issue of housing being a major priority of the
developers. The high cost of urban land and lengthy approval
government. The time has come for the policy framework to
processes are the biggest bottlenecks. The longer it takes to
become rationalized and for the states and private sector to
complete a project, the higher the market price – making homes
work together to unlock the potential of this market and
unaffordable for the target segment while reducing profitability
achieve the promise of housing for every Indian.
A version of the article above was published in the Economic Times on 5 March, 2015.
page 4
Op - Ed
Apr’15
Focus on MSME for ‘Make in India’
Vikram S. Gandhi
Emblematic of the NDA government’s economic philosophy of
improving the productive capacity of India, as opposed to the
demand side approach of the previous government, is the ‘Make
in India’ campaign to develop a robust manufacturing sector
critical to creating jobs. It’s well
recognized that the success of this
campaign lies in liberalizing input
markets for land, labour and power to
allow large businesses to set up
mega-plants and industrial corridors, a
political challenge for any government.
What is less well understood is that the
success of ‘Make in India’ is just as
dependent on the smallest of businesses
and hinges upon creating a thriving
MSME industry reflective of the
structure of Indian manufacturing.
focused on this ticket size, lenders able to extend loans as low
as few lakhs rupees to micro-enterprises engaged in
manufacturing and trading activities.
To do this, these NBFCs
have innovated new business
models leveraging technology as
well as elements of the
microfinance delivery system.
They have started to attract
interest from equity investors.
However, despite successfully
plugging the gap in the market
and
channeling
debt
to
micro-enterprises
while
maintaining a good track record
of portfolio growth and quality,
these NBFCs are not able to avail
The MSME sector as a whole
of bank financing needed to scale
contributes approximately 10 per cent to
up as on-lending to MSMEs
India's GDP, accounts for roughly 30 per
through such NBFCs does not fall
cent of our exports and 45 per cent of Owner of a small manufacturing enterprise in the automotive supply under the priority sector
chain next to a machine to produce auto components procured through
manufacturing output. It’s the largest a loan from Kinara Capital, an NBFC lending exclusively to such micro requirement. In addition to
employer after agriculture. MSMEs,
channeling refinance through the
and small enterprise borrowers.
comprising a range of enterprises with
MFIs, the government ought to
investment ranging from Rs. 25 lacs to 5 crore, are a critical part
consider giving priority sector status to NBFCs lending to
of manufacturing supply chains across industries from
micro & small enterprises.
auto-components to textiles, in addition to industries like
handicrafts and agro-processing that also generate significant
Beyond financing, the other challenges faced by the
employment for informal sector workers.
MSME sector relate to market access and capacity. In this
respect, the government’s announcement of an electronic
It is thus good to see the creation of the Micro Units
trade receivables discounting system is an important step in
Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) with a large corpus
helping SMEs address their working capital challenges and
of Rs. 20,000 crore plus a Rs. 3,000 crore credit guarantee corpus
connect with large customers. For capacity development, it is
to refinance lending by MFIs. However, to address the challenge
important to help small manufacturers with the adoption of
of debt and equity financing to the MSME universe requires
new technology and to address the gap in skilled manpower.
more than another government institution but rather for the
For this, the government’s ‘Skill India’ mission will need to be
government to unlock private capital to lend to MSMEs on a
aligned with ‘Make in India’ priorities and enhance the
profitable basis. Currently only a third of MSMEs in India have
employability of unskilled youth.
access to formalized banking, and these are typically the larger
enterprises. The overall addressable credit gap is estimated at Rs.
Finally, it is stating the obvious that making
3.5 lakh crore, of which the 80% is missing credit to
announcements does not always translate into results. The
micro-enterprises.
focus of the government must be on proper implementation.
MUDRA, if it is targeted at the right segment of MSMEs and
Banks are justifiably reluctant to lend to
well executed without delays or bureaucratic challenges, has
micro-enterprises due to the higher risk of these loans and the
the potential to partially address the large gap in financing for
cost required in originating them. They are able to fulfill their
micro-enterprises. But it cannot address the problem alone
SME priority sector quotas by lending to the relatively larger
and would be well complemented by allowing NBFCs that are
SMEs, and the micro-enterprise sub-quota by on-lending
not MFIs to benefit from priority sector on-lending from
through MFIs. But MSMEs in the ‘missing middle’, those
banks. Such a move, along with more equity funding and
needing loans between Rs. 1 to 10 lakhs, fall through the cracks.
capacity development support to MSMEs, are the kind of steps
To address this opportunity, there are a host of NBFCs that are
required to make ‘Make in India’ a reality.
A version of the article above was published in Business World on 7 March, 2015.
page 5
Guest Column
Apr’15
Scaling Decentralized Electricity – Entering a Virtuous Cycle
Arielle Clynes
The Ministry of Power's flagship rural electrification scheme, the
Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), relies on
centralised grid expansion and has officially achieved a village
electrification rate of over 90 percent. However there are still 300
million people across the country without electricity, 200 million
of which live in 'electrified' villages but do not have connections,
partly due to the negative impact of unreliable electricity supply
on consumer adoption. The remaining
100 million live in remote villages
explicitly excluded by RGGVY because
grid supply to these locations is not
feasible or cost effective.
electricity have remained high, and rural customers have not
become consistent consumers, ensuring that tariffs remain
high and creating a vicious cycle.
Financial experts have stressed the importance of
debt financing in order to drive scale and realize the potential
of DRE minigrids. Grant money is typically available for pilot
programs, but there is a lack of
accessible debt capital for
minigrid ventures. This could be
achieved through priority sector
lending, reducing the cost of
domestic debt financing, as well
as by lowering restrictions on
foreign debt funding. Although
DRE minigrids function as
infrastructure assets, which
traditionally rely on debt
financing, they are not treated as
such due to the nascent stage of
the sector and perceived
riskiness of DRE minigrid
Children in the village of Dharnai, located in northwest Bihar, sitting
below solar panels installed by Greenpeace. Dharnai has become the first projects.
It is becoming increasingly
accepted that this problem can be
address by decentralized electricity
generation and distribution, which has
potential to scale through innovative
sales models, anchor customers and an
encouraging
policy
framework.
Decentralized generation usually
utilizes renewable energy resources –
solar, wind, biomass, and water – along
village in India to be 100% powered by micro solar grid systems.
with battery storage and sometimes a
diesel
generator
for
backup.
In addition to accessing
Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) plants generate
debt, developers can achieve scale through ensuring
electricity and can distribute it through microgrids, minigrids,
substantial and consistent revenue stream. Partnering with
or other product distribution systems.
micro-entrepreneurs running water pumps, dairy chillers or
charging stations can improve profitability and increase
The first challenge to financial feasibility of DRE-based
impact through livelihood generation. Minigrid operators can
microgrids is the high capital expenditure associated with
also sign power purchasing agreements with large power
inverters, batteries, transmission infrastructure, security
consumers such as mobile towers, banks, hospitals and other
systems, and land acquisition, which creates long pay-back
institutions to ensure a fixed amount of revenue will be
periods and makes investment risky. Government incentives
collected upon completion of the DRE minigrid. These anchor
have tried to encourage off-grid developments through capital
customers ease risks associated with catering to underserved
subsidies under the MNRE's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
households. Following in the footsteps of the telecom industry,
Mission. But policy experts have suggested that
a pay-per-use model can free customers from high initial costs
performance-based subsidies, in addition to or in replacement of
and technology can facilitate payment and recharge, attracting
capital subsidies, would better incentivize maintenance,
a larger consumer base, albeit at lower average revenues per
administration, and management of DRE systems.
customer. A consistent revenue stream enables service
Entrepreneurs have called for improved accessibility to subsidies
providers to lower their prices to compete with
and reduced fees on technology imports. However in the Union
kerosene-based lighting and significantly penetrate the
Budget for FY2015-16, allocations to renewable energy do not
market, therefore positioning DRE enterprises on a virtuous
adequately cover the financing needed to meet the ambitious
cycle of growth.
targets. There is also no mention of electrification of villages that
have not been connected under RGGVY.
Scaling off-grid solutions will continue to be
challenging for the DRE sector, but there is potential for
In addition to high capex, DRE plants developers also
growth, especially when considering falling prices of solar
have difficulties scaling up their operations. This stems from the
photovoltaic and advances in battery technology. With its
fact that DRE minigrids have relatively low capacity utilization
enormous benefits in social and environmental impact, and
factors, which result in high tariffs, further limiting the customer
potential to provide electricity to millions in rural India, it is
base. The biggest challenge for the sector is to get prices down for
time for impact investors and the government to give a big
consumers, but without scaled operations, prices for DRE-based
push to distributed renewable energy solutions.
Asha Impact would like to thank its Young India fellows – Arielle, Arushi and Manit – for their research contributions
page 6
Ecosystem
Events
Lecture on Social Entrepreneurship,
Ambedkar University
27 June, 2014
Consultation on Invention Based
Entrepreneurship, Lemelson and ANDE
31 July, 2014
TiE Con Annual Summit 2014
17-18 October, 2014
India Economic Forum, World Economic
Forum
4-6 November, 2014
Apr’15
Asha Impact is a knowledge partner of the Global Sankalp
Summit, a leading industry platform bringing together
policymakers, business leaders, social entrepreneurs, media
and civil society to promote thought leadership and drive
collaboration in the social impact space. Each year the
Summit convenes in India and Africa and showcases high
quality social enterprises to prospective investors. Since its
inception in 2009, it has connected over 400 enterprises to funders and helped
facilitate US$120m of social investments. Sankalp Forum 2015 was held in April
2015 in Delhi and focused on the role of innovation and government in supporting
social entrepreneurship and impact investing.
Launch of India PE and VC Industry
Report, IIT Madras
5 November, 2014
Start-up Weekend Northeast
7-9 November, 2014
India Clean Cookstoves Forum, GIZ &
MNRE
10-11 November, 2014
Social Entrepreneruship Panel, Start-up
Leadership Program
6 December, 2014
Inclusive Finance India Summit 2014
8-9 December, 2014
Moderating the plenary panel on social
enterprise between entrepreneurs and
funders at TiECon 2014 in Delhi (Oct
2014), the annual conference focused on
entrepreneurship and venture capital.
Speaking to members of the Rotary
Club, Delhi Midtown Chapter (Dec
2014) about social entrepreneurship by
describing case studies of scalable and
sustainable impact creating businesses.
Rotary Club – Delhi Midtown Chapter
19 December, 2014
India-Africa Start-up Bootcamp, Ministry
of External Affairs
8-13 December, 2014
Tech for Citizen Engagement, Omidyar
Network
11 December, 2014
UnConvention Local (Noida), Villgro
17 January, 2015
Roundtable on Energy Access, Shell
Foundation
February 16, 2015
Social Investment Roundtable – Global
Perspective, AVPN
17 March, 2015
Dasra Philanthropy Week
19-21 March, 2015
Global Sankalp Summit 2015, Intellecap &
FICCI
8-10 April, 2015
Partners
Impact Investors Council (IIC)
The Impact Investors Council is a member-based industry body for
the development of impact investing in India. It is focused on impact
measurement and standardization, research, policy support and
self-regulation. The council was established in 2014 and currently has
~30 impact investors as members.
Intellecap Impact Investment Network (I3N)
I3N is India’s first and largest angel investment network focused on
funding early stage impact enterprises. Launched 2.5 years ago, it has
screened over 400 enterprises annually and comprises a network of
70 high net-worth individuals, family offices, and early stage funds.
Young India Fellowship, Ashoka University (YIF)
The YIF is a multi-disciplinary higher education program at Ashoka
University, India’s leading liberal arts college, supported by leading
philanthropists and entrepreneurs and taught by some of the best
faculty from leading international universities including UPenn,
Berkeley, Science Po, Kings College London and others.
page 7
Newsletter
April 2015
Team
Vikram Gandhi
Kartik Desai
Founder
Principal
Shahina Saaeed
Arielle Clynes
Executive Assistant
Young India Fellow
Rachana Ramchand
Alpana Srivastava
Arushi Massey
Manit Bhandari
Associate
Associate
Young India Fellow
Young India Fellow
Press
Indo-US Collaboration in Social
Impact Investing
The Social Banker – Interview
with Vikram Gandhi
‘Ache Din’ for the Financially
Excluded or too much din?
“There is a natural synergy between the work
of impact investors in the US and social
enterprises in India. By exploiting this
synergy, President Obama and Prime
Minister Modi can help achieve their
common vision of Indo-US collaboration to
achieve inclusive growth and social progress.
This five-point agenda for the US and India
outlines how we can leverage the power of
social impact investing to harness
entrepreneurship, innovation and capital to
solve the toughest problems facing society.”
“My journey in impact investing began
through Grameen Foundation and National
Innovation Council. Having worked in
financial services and looking at how
businesses can be run, I felt social impact
funds are where I can add value. In addition,
there are many levels of policy – centre, state
and local – and getting everyone aligned is
always a challenge. India is a hot test bed to
try our ideas. The key, with lessons from
microfinance, is to maintain a balance
between impact and profitability.”
“Policymakers have positioned financial
inclusion as an obligation rather than an
opportunity. Various efforts over the years,
especially annual financial inclusion targets
on which banks are obliged to deliver, have
created a mindset that the poor are
unbankable. What is required instead is an
innovation mindset to overcome the real
operational challenges of serving a large
populace with small transaction amounts in
areas where infrastructure and technology
are rudimentary at best.”
7 February, 2014
23 November, 2014
August 20, 2014
Contact
One Imperial Place, The Imperial, Janpath, New Delhi 110001
+91 11 4111 6773
[email protected]
www.ashaimpact.com