The Nudge Foundation has been working towards unshackling the country from chains of poverty since its establishment. The non-profit organization takes a step forward in the same direction as of today. The Nudge foundation announced its plans to launch an incubator to support non-profit ventures working towards poverty alleviation. The committee will be funding Rs 50 crore in the initiative named as ‘N/Core’ and has support from some prominent mentors.
Under the N/Core program, the foundation will be building a ‘Collective’ of 100 leaders. The leaders selected for the collective will possess versatile skills and rich experience to mentor the startups selected under the initiative. The organization plans to select about 100 non-profit startups for the program over the next five years.
Presently, the association has attracted over 30 senior executives to mentor the startups and be a part of the collective. These executives have been chosen from bigwig companies of the industry and massive institutions including Twitter, Flipkart, SAIF Partners, InMobi, HelpAge, Goonj, GiveIndia, Azim Premji Philanthropy Initiatives, Deshpande Foundation, Wadhwani Foundation, Nilekani Philanthropies, among others.
Atul Sathija, Founder for The Nudge foundation spoke over the idea of N/Core and said,
India’s largest non-profit is not even $50 million. Dhaka-based Brac that works in the areas of nutrition, water and sanitation is $650 million, while Kenya-based OneAcre Fund is $69 million.Not one single person we have approached has said `No’ to our request to be mentors.
Moreover, the incubator program will last for six months initiating from July, this year. The first batch will incorporate 10 startups which will receive experienced guidance that will be beneficial for their non-profit ventures. To select these 10 startups, The Nudge Foundation will host a 15-day intense boot camp evaluating their ideas and future goals. The boot camp will also act as a teaser for the six-month long incubation — encouraging entrepreneurs starting a non-profit venture.
The Nudge was set up by former InMobi executive Atul Sathija in July 2014 with a mission to impart basic skill sets such as housekeeping, delivery, beautician, driving, and housekeeping, primarily to prepare individuals from the below-poverty line for gray-collar jobs. It was backed by the former chairman of UIDAI, Nandan Nilekani, in September 2015 with an investment of about $200k. The Nudge aims to raise about 1 million people out of poverty through its initiatives.
Apart from providing the needed leadership, the foundation will offer seed grants, co-working space, networking opportunities, etc. to the selected startups. This will enable them to scale their venture in hand with building a product fit market. The organization details a range of fields amidst which the startups will be chosen. This includes areas such as education, healthcare, employability, finance, agriculture, water, sanitation, energy, gender equality, human rights, and disaster management.
Anantha Padmanabhan, CEO, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives who will be mentoring the startups commented on the initiative and said,
The team at The/Nudge has the capabilities to pull off this audacious project. Moreover, the roster of mentors and leaders who have come together at N/Core is sure to make any non-profit feel welcome.
