Digital Partners India’s Social Venture Fund invites members
of the Brain Trust, corporations, and angel investors to support
the expansion and enhancement of IT-based, anti-poverty efforts.
Click here for more information on how you can contribute
to this innovative funding solution.
Goal
To provide seed capital to social entrepreneurs to leverage
commercially viable information technology to impact education,
healthcare, commerce, governance and communication.
Objectives
To raise an equivalent of $50 Million over 5 years for the
Social Venture Fund from contributors in the US, India, and
around the world interested in developing IT solutions that
empower the poor. We are hoping to leverage 10 times this
amount from foundations, development and aid agencies, local
governments, etc.
Criteria
The Fund will identify and support nonprofit and for-profit
entrepreneurs that are serving the poor and that meet the
following criteria. Activities must be:
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Scalable
— The concept must be able to scale, to have
an impact beyond its immediate target area and preferably
globally.
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Catalytic
— The concept should be a catalyst for substantial
social, technical, commercial and/or market change.
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Bottom-up
and Market-Based — The concept should be initiated
at the grassroots, local level and then broaden its
scope. In addition, it should be commercially viable
in the medium-to-long term.
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Public/Private
— The concept should include and foster partnerships
between the public and private sectors.
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IT-Driven
— Information technology must be the primary
driver of change.
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Metrics of Analysis
Each investment will be analyzed for its ability both to
meet its core social mission and to generate revenue. Evaluation
criteria will be:
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Does the project empower the poor?
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Does it elicit further investments
from public and private sectors?
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Does it facilitate the removal
of institutional roadblocks?
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Does it allow activities previously
confined to small numbers of beneficiaries to benefit
larger number of the poor?
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Does the project increase the management
efficiency (e.g., cost savings) of those organizations
and individuals working directly with the poor?
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Does the project contribute to
public policy reform?
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Targets
| Immediate |
1 Million from contributors
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| Year One |
2-3 Million from
contributors
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| Year Two |
10 million from contributors
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| Year Five |
50 million from contributors
from around the world
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Contributors
| Patron |
$250K of Rs 1 Crore initial
with larger contributions after the start-up period.
Patrons may sit on the Social Venture Fund Board and
assist in directing the operation of the Fund and the
distribution of its resources.
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| Benefactor |
$50K or Rs 20 Lakhs initial with
the possibility of larger contributions after the
start-up period.
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| Sponsor |
$25K or Rs 10 Lakhs initial with
the possibility of larger contributions after the
start-up period.
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| Supporter |
Smaller contributions with
a willingness to become mentors to specific projects.
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Management
Digital Partners India will manage the Fund. Initial financial
support from donors will immediately fund the on-the-ground
efforts of select NGOs. A percentage of the Fund will be
utilized to offset some of the costs incurred by Digital
Partners India in support of these efforts.
Fund Repository
ABN AMRO Bank will serve as the repository for the Social
Venture Fund and provide oversight.
