Twenty social enterprises were today awarded grants totaling $2 million by the India Development Marketplace (DM) funded by the World Bank Group (WBG). The grantees received $100,000 each to extend and scale up their innovative business models in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
A number of financial institutions, social entrepreneurs, investors and government officials participated at the India DM event organised to showcase these development solutions to the problems of the most vulnerable people.
Through its India Development Marketplace initiative, the World Bank Group (World Bank and the International Finance Corporation ) has identified scalable, replicable and financially sustainable projects for support. The call for proposals was launched in January and received nearly 200 proposals from organisations already operating in these three states, as well as from across the country.
These organisations have developed business models to expand access to basic services such as livelihood and employment, education, women and child welfare, agriculture, energy, healthcare and financial services. “The World Bank Group is committed to supporting innovative models and programs that support underserved communities, particularly in low-income States. The DM provides an opportunity to understand what works and under what conditions as a means to improve services to the poor,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India.