1 Top 10 Social Enterprises: India Vibhu Arya, Managing Editor, Think Change vibhu@thinkchangeindia.org 2012
2 What is a Social Enterprise? Nothing fancy, it may not even call itself social A Social Enterprise could be engaged in any business activity fulfilling any need (see right: Maslow s need hierarchy). E.g. Entertainment, Nutrition, Sanitation, Communication, Livelihoods, Transportation, Education, Training, Financial Inclusion. Impact ranges from a pilot serving 10 people to serving 1 billion people. Focused on the underserved/unserved segment Profit is not the only motive. Social Entrepreneurs earn respect of the community.
3 Criteria for Selecting the Top 10 Enterprise must be the clear leader in the category. Serves the bottom of the pyramid. Scaled Up and Not a Forever Pilot. i.e. impacts at least 1 Million clients, directly/indirectly Does not operate only on grants. Covers its costs and ensures a small surplus. Man Hours Spent On Operations/Field > Man Hours Inside Conference Halls & Importantly, Wows Clients Creates Employment Pays statutory taxes & levies, follows the law, is driven by values i.e. net-net, a responsible corporate citizen Ensures a Double+ Bottom-line Scaled Up Viable Wows Clients Responsible Corporate Citizen
4 Sector: Renewable Energy, Health, Sanitation, Entertainment Enterprise Name: Indian Traders + Chinese Manufacturers + www.alibaba.com No Ivy League Case Studies, No Awards. Plain Demand=Supply; Thanks to Chinese Manufacturers+ Indian Traders = Indians at the lower end of SEC Pyramid are availing essential products which a decade earlier were luxury. A Regular watch which costed $20 in 1995, now costs ~$5. A DVD player which costed ~$500 in 2000,now costs $20. A Solar Rechargeable Lanterns costs ~$20. A Water Filter $20. A Mosquito Net $5. A Mobile Phone now begins at $15. Products: Solar Rechargeable Lanterns, Mosquito Nets, Water Filters, DVD Players, Radio Sets, Watches USP: Chinese Manufacturers, Indian Importers and Alibaba.com made these products accessible to the common man. Target Clientele: Sec D & E Impact: 500 Million+ people Status: Privately Held, Anonymous www.alibaba.com
5 Sector: Transportation Enterprise Name: Indian Railways ~15,000 trains cover a distance equaling three & half times the distance to moon. 8000 Railway Stations covering entire India. 1.6 Million Employees Product: Passenger and Freight USP: Inflation Resistant Passenger Fares. Freight subsidizes the passenger fare. Lifeline of India. Target Clientele: Sec C,D & E Indians Impact: Carries 13 million passengers & 1.3 million tones of freight daily Status: Government of India Owned www.indianrail.gov.in/
6 Sector: MSME s Enterprise Name: Just Dial Just Dial is a local search engine with listings of over ~7.5 million products and service providers Products: Local Search via Phone (Voice and SMS), Internet Efficient Advertising channel for micro, small and medium enterprises. USP: 90% of JustDial database comprises of micro, small and medium enterprises. Target Clientele: Sec B, C, D & E Impact: Covers 240 cities and receives 250,000 calls daily with over 200 million annual searches, 200,000 advertising campaigns ALL focused on MSME s Status: Privately Owned, 2013 IPO Candidate. www.justdial.com
7 Sector: Vocational Training Enterprise Name: JetKing InfoTrain 130 Pan India Centres Product: Job Oriented IT Networking & Hardware Training USP: $150-$200/month Job Guarantee Target Clientele: 10+2 pass outs from SEC D & E Impact: Over ~ 0.5 Million students trained and placed Status: Profitable, Traded, Public Listed Company http://www.jetkinginfotrain.com/
8 Sector: Communication, Savings and Remittances Enterprise Name: Indian Post Indian postal service has the most widely distributed post office system in the world with total of 155,618 post offices of which 90% are in rural areas. Products: Postal Services: Mail and Freight Remittance facilities : money orders & postal orders No frills banking and insurance facilities 0.6 Million Employees USP: Frozen in TimeTariff. Freight subsidizes the postal tariff. Postcard (see right) costs Re 0.5 ( i.e. for a $1 send 100+ postcards) Made it to Ripley s. Target Clientele: Sec D & E Impact: 200 Million+ people who access Postal Banking Services. Status: Government of India Owned www.indiapost.gov.in/
9 Sector: Entertainment & Education = Edutainment Enterprise Name: Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) 90% of India receives Prasar Bharati (DoorDarshan i.e. TV) programmes through a network of nearly 1400 terrestrial transmitters whereas 95% receives All India Radio programs through 277 stations in 23 languages and 146 dialects. Products: Programs on entertainment, education, agriculture, rural development, environment, social justice, health and family welfare and science and technology USP: Safeguards the Indian citizen s right to be informed freely, truthfully and objectively on all matters of public interest, national or international, and presenting a fair and balanced flow of information including contrasting views without advocating any opinion or ideology of its own. Target Clientele: Sec D & E Impact: Over 1 Billion Indians Status: Government of India Owned www.prasarbharati.gov.in/
10 Sector: Livelihoods & Transportation Enterprise Name: $800, 80Km/L, 100 CC Motorcycles Co s With non existent city public transport systems, 100 CC motorcyles provide affordable passenger and cargo transportation services to over 500 million Indians. Product Features: Price: $800 Mileage: 80 km/litre Seating Capacity: 2 Official, 2-6 unofficial Over 5 Million Employees (Direct/Indirect) USP: 80 kilometers to a liters / can seat 2-6 Target Clientele: Sec C, D & E Impact: Over 100 Million+ motorcycles on Indian roads with ~8 million motorcycles sold/year. Status: Profitable, Traded Public Listed Companies
11 Sector: Health & Nutrition Enterprise Name: Tata Salt Tata Salt is a super-refined, vacuum-evaporated iodised salt produced by Tata with a 65 percent market share in the national branded salt segment. It sells an average of 50,000 metric tons per month and is available at over 1.2 mm outlets providing a safe alternative to Rock Salt. Products: Salt, a healthy alternative to Rock Salt. 0.6 Million Employees USP: Amongst India s most trusted brand. Target Clientele: Sec A,B,C,D & E Impact: Consumed by nearly 40 million households each month Status: Profitable, Traded Public Listed Companies http://www.tatachemicals.com/products/tata_salt.htm
12 Sector: Micro Credit Enterprise Name: 200+ Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFI s); Bank-SHG India has the world s largest Microfinance Industry serving over ~50 Million Indians. The Government has finally recognized its potential with several measures announced & planned to build a truly enabling legislative and policy environment Products Microcredit USP: Effective pricing lower than banks. Target Clientele: Sec C, D & E, both Urban and Rural Impact: 75 Million+ clients. Status: Privately Held to Public Companies
13 Sector: Catalyzing Innovation & Social Enterprise Institution Building Enterprise Name: Aavishkaar 21 st May 2012, SEBI notified the word social venture fund. Aavishkar has been social venture investing for over a decade, catalyzing innovation at the bottom on the pyramid. Products: Venture Capital Investments focused on seven key sectors: Agriculture and Dairy, Education, Energy, Handicrafts, Health, Water and Sanitation, Technology for Development and Microfinance and Financial Inclusion USP: Aavishkar created the category of social venture funds with several new social venture funds being raised. Target Clientele: Portfolio Companies target Sec D & E clients Impact: Collectively Aavishkar portfolio companies can impact over ~25 Million+ people directly/indirectly Status: SEBI Registered Venture Capital Fund. http://www.aavishkaar.in/investee-portfolio/
14 Sector: Communication & Livelihoods Enterprise Name: Prepaid Mobile Phone Service Operators Indian Mobile Phone Operators are brave. They face the lowest ARPU s and the muddiest regulatory /policy environment, globally. The prepaid mobile phone services customer is king. Products Free Incoming Outgoing @ Rock Bottom Tariff SMS @ Rock Bottom Tariff USP: 1 Paisa per Second Tariff & India s unique missed call technique of communicating. Target Clientele: Sec C, D & E Impact: 800 Million+ people access Prepaid Mobile Services for communication and facilitating business. Status: Privately Held to Public Companies www.coai.com/
15 Vibhu Arya is a consultant in the impact investing, microfinance and branchless banking space. vibhuarya@gmail.com Formerly, The ShakespeareWalla Mirage At The Bottom Of The Pyramid The Three Witches of Microfinance