Deadline: September 30, 2017
Does your organization use technology and innovation for the good of the society? Then apply for the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum Challenge 2017. The NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum is India’s largest technology for good platform that aims to, recognize and support technology-led social innovations that fill critical gaps in key developmental areas such as Education, Healthcare, Disability and much more solutions that can lead to transformational social impact across India.
Instituted in 2008 the program has attracted more than 1,000 innovative projects from NGO’s, Social Enterprises and individual entrepreneurs. The mission of NASSCOM is to mainstream responsible business, promote and develop social and environmental solutions, build capacities of individuals and organizations to achieve these, and influence policy making & create thought leadership, using the capacities and competencies of the ecosystem of the IT-BPM industry in India. The program showcases and supports Information Communication Technology Innovations that address gaps and foster inclusive growth.
Benefits
- Winners would get access to industry-led mentoring workshops and project planning.
- Awards and grants would be given to winning projects.
- All winners (NGOs & Social Enterprises) will receive a grant of INR 10 lakhs each along with structured mentoring for a year. The only category winners that will NOT receive a grant is the Other Social Issues category. However, all winners will receive mentoring.
- Winners get continuous support and visibility.
Eligibility
- Social innovators from across NGOs, Early Stage Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises can apply for any of these thematic categories: Education, Accessibility, Healthcare and Sanitation, Financial Inclusion, Environment, Other Social Issues – Disaster Management, Financial Inclusion, Women’s Empowerment, Child Labour, Governance, Civic Rights and more.
- Not for Profit:
- They should be Indian entities or foreign entities with a registered presence in India.
- They should be a registered under the Indian Trust Act, 1882, Societies Registration Act, 1860 or as a Section 8, Companies Act 2013.
- The innovation that is submitted for the award and grant must benefit India or a community in India.
- To be considered for the NSIF award the innovation/programme must be in at least the prototype stage.
- The organisation can be operational for less than one year for both the Grant and Challenge.
- The innovation/project entered by the organisation should not have won the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum challenge in the previous three years (Since 2015).
- For Profit/Social Enterprise:
- To be considered a Social enterprise your organisation should drive profits from pursuing only socially relevant activities and goals, with the profit being re-invested into driving social impact.
- To qualify as a Social enterprise, for the purpose of the Social Innovation Award and Grant, the annual turnover of the applicant organisation must not exceed INR 10,00,00,000 (10 crores/100 million).
- They should be Indian entities or foreign entities with a registered presence in India (or in the process of registering by 30th November 2017).
- The innovation that is submitted for the award and grant must benefit India or a community in India.
- To be considered for the NSIF award the innovation/programme must be in at least the prototype stage.
- The organisation can be operational for less than one year for both the Grant and Challenge.
- The innovation/programme entered by the organisation should not have won the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum Challenge in the previous three years (Since 2015).
- Early Stage Entrepreneurs:
- The individual/group of individuals should be Indian citizens.
- They should be a registered presence in India (or in the process of registering by 30th November 2017).
- The innovation that is submitted for the challenge must benefit India, or a community in India.
- If the applicant is an individual, he/she must be over the age of 18 to apply for the Challenge.
- The innovation in question must be in prototype stage to be considered for the Challenge.
- The innovation/programme entered by the organisation should not have won the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum challenge in the previous three years ((Since 2015).
Application
- You must first register online.
- If you meet the eligibility criteria, NASSCOM will get back to you in about a week with a detailed application form.
- If applicants are unclear as to the rules or any element of the Forum or have any queries/concerns pertaining to the Forum, they can email their questions, problems or queries to [email protected] or write to us at NASSCOM Foundation, #13-16, Ground Floor, Samruddhi Venture Park, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400 093.
For more information, read the application process or visit NASSCOM.
