Money alone might improve extreme poverty; economic justice requires more. When Upaya looks for companies that create dignified jobs for the poor, we evaluate questions of reliability, safety, and fundamental respect in addition to the economic benefits.
Upaya Social Ventures is delighted to announce a new member of its management team. Shruti Goel joined in late January in the newly-designed role of Director, Impact Measurement & Management.
Bhawanipatna, India (PRWEB) September 2, 2020
Upaya Social Ventures and Beyond Capital are pleased to announce their follow-on investments in FreshR, a burgeoning social enterprise based in Odisha, India. FreshR connects smallholder farmers with underserved markets to increase farmer incomes and enhance consumer access to fresh local meats and fish. FreshR leverages innovative supply chain technologies and retail platforms to create an integrated distribution model, creating India’s first one-stop solution for the fresh meat and fish industry.
FreshR founders Sadananda and Ambika Satapathy started their business in 2016 to improve access to fresh meat retail in Odisha with the goal of combatting the malnutrition and high unemployment rates prevalent in the region. The company builds reliable rural and urban distribution networks that offer smallholder farmers support and greater access to the fresh meat value chain. Their business also proved resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns in India.
Along with the Eckenstein-Geigy Foundation, this bridge-round follow-on investment will allow FreshR to expand its operations into the cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in eastern India, as well as extend its network from 200 to 850 microentrepreneurs and farmers to generate greater financial and social impact.
“We are excited about the impact FreshR will create by helping microentrepreneurs and smallholder farmers command higher prices in the market and introduce standard operating procedures that will greatly improve the quality of fresh food in their communities,” said Eva Yazhari, CEO of Beyond Capital.
“As we look to the recovery phase of the COVID-19 crisis, the most important thing we can do is to safeguard and grow jobs for the most vulnerable. Upaya is pleased to be bringing innovative revenue-based financing to FreshR to help them grow their business in a way that aligns our interests,” said Kate Cochran, CEO of Upaya Social Ventures.
Since Upaya Social Ventures’ and Beyond Capital’s initial investment in 2019, FreshR has helped poultry farmers increase their incomes by almost $1,500 and microentrepreneurs by almost $4,000 annually. The company has successfully launched its meat mart and executed live fish and iced fish transportation, greatly improving the quality of meat available in the marketplace. The expansion into Bhubaneswar-Cuttack will enable the company to capture a much larger market, beyond its current operations in Bhawanipatna.
ABOUT UPAYA SOCIAL VENTURES
Upaya Social Ventures is fighting extreme poverty through dignified jobs. Founded in 2011, Upaya provides investment and consulting support to early-stage businesses aimed at creating jobs for the poorest of the poor. Upaya’s continually growing portfolio of impact investments has created over 16,000 lasting, dignified jobs. Endorsed by ImpactMatters as a high-impact, cost-effective nonprofit, Upaya’s teams in Seattle and Bangalore are committed to a goal of helping entrepreneurs create jobs for 50,000 people in India by 2023.
Please visit http://www.upayasv.org for more information.
ABOUT BEYOND CAPITAL
Beyond Capital is an impact investment fund that invests in for-profit social enterprises throughout India and East Africa. The fund invests in businesses that are focused on greater access to health care, water, sanitation, and energy, as well as food security and financial inclusion, which can increase the quality of life for consumers living at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Though the fund seeks market-rate financial returns, Beyond Capital is structured as a nonprofit, which permits the organization to emphasize fidelity to its social mission alongside its financial mandate.
Please visit http://www.beyondcapitalfund.org for more information.
We are pleased to announce Upaya’s latest investment in Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions to connect Indian citizens with government schemes and services through its mobile and web platforms. With a presence in 20 Indian states, Haqdarshak has so far reached over 300k individuals and has helped over 60k people this year with COVID-19 specific relief schemes.
“We were impressed by the traction that Haqdarshak has already shown in reaching poor families to connect them with government schemes that have never been more relevant,” said Upaya CEO, Kate Cochran, in a press release issued by Acumen, the leading investor in the round. “We look forward to working with the team to help them reach even deeper into extreme poverty.”
Haqdarshak relies on a network of entrepreneurs (Haqdarshaks) to transform the way people find out about, apply for, and benefit from welfare schemes, while creating livelihood opportunities for the Haqdarshaks who enable the service. To date, the company has trained over 5,000 Haqdarshaks who have facilitated over 230k applications for government services. Haqdarshak aimes to scale to 10k trained entrepreneurs in the next few years.
For more details, view the press release issued by Acumen at Acumen.org.
Assam-based natural dinnerware producer Tamul Plates Marketing Pvt. Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has received a seed investment from Upaya Social Ventures through Upaya’s LiftUP Project. Based in the Barpeta District of Assam, Tamul Plates produces and markets high-quality, all-natural disposable plates and bowls made from arecanut (palm) tree leaves under the “Tambul Leaf Plates” brand.
Disposable arecanut dinnerware is hygienic, chemical-free, compostable, microwave safe, and in high demand among urban consumers around the world.
The production and sale of natural arecanut dinnerware not only reduces the deforestation and pollution associated with the production of traditional disposable dishes, but also provides a viable livelihood to disadvantaged communities.
“Unemployment is the root cause of so many problems plaguing the Northeast today, and Tamul Plates was launched to create new opportunities for rural youth to earn a dependable income,” said Tamul Plates CEO Arindam Dasgupta. “We feel that this partnership with Upaya affords us the resources needed to expand our operations and be a positive economic force in these communities,” said Dasgupta.
Tamul Plates produces dinnerware through a network of affiliates across tribal regions of Northeast India. The company ensures that each affiliate has the skills and machinery needed to produce superior-quality dinnerware. These affiliates are located in communities otherwise struggling with stubbornly high rates of unemployment, especially as heavy annual monsoons and floods diminish the ability of farmers to earn a dependable income from conventional agriculture alone.
Two men work a pair of presses in a community-run Tamul Plates production unit.
A woman cleans recently collected arecanut leaves to prepare them for pressing.
“There are more than 100,000 hectares of arecanut plantation in Northeast India - one of the poorest and most backward areas of the country - but there is virtually no one connecting these small farmers to the equipment and support needed to produce high-quality disposable arecanut leaf dinnerware,” said Upaya’s Director, Business Development Sreejith Nedumpully. “Upaya is very excited to be working with Arindam and his team as we believe they can provide those services and be a major employer in poor tribal communities across the Northeast,” said Nedumpully.
Upaya’s 2012 Annual Report is now available(Right click > "Save As..." to download).
Upaya Social Ventures is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
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