The/Nudge Accelerator calls for applications from nonprofit startups alleviating poverty

The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation has called for applications from nonprofit startups ready to scale up their solutions for India’s economically disadvantaged communities. This marks the third round for The/Nudge’s 5-year Accelerator fund which has enabled 10 exceptional nonprofits to touch over 10 million lives till date.

Selected nonprofits will receive grants up to Rs 2 crore and mentoring by some of India’s most admired change leaders. The/Nudge CSI Partners such as K R Lakshminarayana, Chief Endowment Officer of Azim Premji Foundation, Sanjay Purohit, Chief Curator – Societal Platform, and Surendra Kumar Jain, Co-Founder and Former Managing Director of WestBridge Capital, will invest their time and expertise to provide hands on support to the entrepreneurs throughout the 12-24 months of acceleration. In addition to the founders, CXOs will benefit from training and mentoring by renowned subject matter experts.

The accelerator portfolio currently includes some of India’s fastest growing and deeply impactful startups such as Intelehealth – a telemedicine platform extending reach of quality healthcare to underserved geographies, Saarthi – an educational technology platform enabling parents from low-income families to participate in their childrens’ education and Transform – A remedial program driving secondary school readiness and excellence in 4 states, to name a few.

Akshay Soni, Managing Director for The/Nudge Accelerator, said, “We are excited to work with some of the best entrepreneurs working to solve pressing developmental issues. The pandemic has set India back in the progress we had made in alleviating poverty. It is important more than ever before to invest in audacious nonprofit founders and teams with the potential to solve problems at large scale.”

The/Nudge Accelerator, supported by StateStreet Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Facebook CSR and Mphasis F1 Foundation will induct up to 6 startups in this round. Startups working to improve employability and economic empowerment of women and youth will have an added advantage. Applications will remain open till May 26, 2021.

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The/Nudge Centre of Social Innovation is an impact stream of The/Nudge Foundation, with a purpose to “nudge and nurture top talent to solve India’s biggest challenges”. Its initiatives provide hands-on support to individuals and early stage for-purpose startups working on problems of poverty through grants, deep mentoring and ecosystem connect. The AIC NCore SPV, an incubator under the Atal Innovation Mission, specifically focuses on promoting application of technology to solve development problems of national importance. Since starting up in 2017, The/Nudge has selected and supported 80 non-profits through its incubator and accelerator programs. Many of these have gone on to win national and international accolades for their path breaking work, and deliver meaningful impact at scale.