[PhotoSparks] Tech for good: meet the social entrepreneurs at CSR Leadership Conference 2016

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this photo essay, we showcase the social entrepreneurs exhibiting at the CSR Leadership Conference in Bengaluru.

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The NASSCOM Foundation’s annual CSR Leadership Conference (CLC) was held in Bengaluru this week with the theme of ‘Technology for Good,’ and addressed a number of wide-ranging issues. How can ICTs spur development impacts in areas where the government and private sector have been less effective? How can CSR spur tech-social enterprises with philanthropic capital?

YourStory moderated a panel on the theme of scaling social enterprises, featuring Madan Padaki, CEO of Head Held High Services; Nagaraja Prakasam, Advisor, Acumen Fund; and Tom Hyland, Co-Founder and Partner of Aspada Investment Advisors. It was agreed upon that technology such as mobiles can scale up a number of social enterprises in India; social entrepreneurs need to bring in professional managerial talent to expand; investors need to provide not just funds but operational support, mentorship, customers and talent; and Indian corporate CSR heads need to work more closely with one another and with social entrepreneurs.

Here are some of the social entrepreneurs who exhibited at CLC 2016. Meetups for knowledge-sharing between social entrepreneurs are a practical way for them to inspire one another, create best practices, and pool resources.

Fields of View designs games and simulations in the domains of urban systems, public safety and security. The Bengaluru NGO’s games can be used for learning and education; decision-making; and participatory planning. They include the Indian Energy Game (to understand the complexity of energy policy design in India), Electricity Markets Simulation, ₹ubbish! (focusing on dry waste collection centres) and Triage Game (to understand CPR).

Uber Diagnostics is a healthcare diagnostics company that is making healthcare delivery more efficient via medical electronics, data analytics, cloud storage and diagnostics workflow management. Its products include CardioTrack, a portable and affordable 12-lead ECG machine. The results are clinical grade and can be displayed on an Android tablet to which the CardioTrack unit is connected via Bluetooth. The reading is then uploaded to the cloud.

Innovision is co-founded by IIT Bombay graduates Shyam Shah and Surabhi Srivastava. It aims to provide affordable technology solutions in the education, energy and healthcare sectors. Its first product is BrailleMe, a low cost electronic Braille display. It enables the blind to read any form of information in print or online form, and enables them to write or edit digital documents.

Theertha Info Solutions provides solutions for e-learning, publishing and advertising on mobiles and IPTV. Its offerings cover dynamic publishing, corporate games, and stress management training. The target audiences range from schools and colleges to independent professionals and corporate workforces.

Sohum Innovation Lab provides early screening solutions for infants to detect potential hearing problems. 500,000 hearing impaired babies are born every year all over the world, of which 100,000 are in India. Early screening leads to timely treatment and rehabilitation, particularly in resource-poor settings. The founders are Nitin Sisodia, a Stanford India Bio-design fellow, and Tushar Katira, former Managing Director at PIKA Medical.

vChalk designs complimentary educational modules for primary school children. Millions of Indian children fail to meet minimum learning standards, and many are first generation English learners. vChalk’s solutions won the D-Prize competition in San Francisco. Its founders are Anil Bishnoi from India and Daniela Gheorghe from Romania.

Enability Foundation for Rehabilitation is a Chennai-based NGO that develops assistive technology solutions for the marginalised and disadvantaged sections of society. They include embedded systems and mechatronics, which can be used in schools, resource centres and rehabilitation centres. Target users are individuals who are non-verbal or have some form of visual or motor impairments. Some of the projects are under development at IIT-Madras.

Ginger Mind has developed a device for the visually impaired, called Eye-D. The handheld device can work with a smartphone. Its other offerings include ShareCard, an app to improve networking during events, and which can synch with LinkedIn. It has also developed a tool to help startups effectively implement Lean Startup methodology.

CfBT Education Services is a not-for-profit education services provider, affiliated to CfBT Education Trust UK. It provides a range of services from thought leadership in schools to parent and student orientation programmes. Its Whole School Improvement Programme (WSIP) focuses on capacity building of all stakeholders in the school. It has collaborated with HSBC, Child Fund India, and Women Self Help Groups on Vidya Chaitanyam and Vidya Jyothi Projects.

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See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.