New Perspective!!

Interaction with Vishnu Swaminathan, India Country Director, Ashoka Foundation gave us a different perspective about entrepreneurship and social empowerment. Problem solving ability and creativity are important than just having a business model or profit motive. The ultimate goal is to empower people and bring about a sustainable change in the society. His insightful explanation about pyramid within the bottom of the pyramid and challenges to identify and serve the bottom of the bottom of pyramid was the real eye opener. Many companies stay away from this segment because of low margins and longer payback period. This is where social entrepreneurship has a vital role to play. Social entrepreneurship as a discipline offers immense opportunities. It was amazing to hear a few of the stories that have changed the way people live and governments operate.

Community feeling in India is a strong phenomenon and women play an important role in bringing about change in their lifestyle. The old saying – “educating a woman is like educating the whole family or a community”, is so meaningful. Ashoka Foundation has leveraged these parameters to achieve synergies. Also, it was interesting to learn about the cause and effect of malnutrition and the need to educate people to fight this problem. This offers lucrative business opportunity in healthcare and nutrition measurement as well. Use of design approach in developing new innovative programs offers business students an opportunity to experiment with their creative ideas.