On September 19th, we walked into the CM, Sheila Dikshit’s residence( thanks to a meeting fixed by my friend, Kanika Mathur, and her mother, Mrs Rajni Mathur) to describe the Growth-for-All model, and seek her advice for using this in Delhi. We hardly thought things would move so fast. But, the CMO quickly arranged for us to meet various stake-holders and before we knew it, we were in Savda Ghevra.

( As an aside, I must add that all our interactions with the CMO have been so dynamic that it goes contrary to popular perceptions that governments move slowly. Just about everyone-Principal Secretary to CM, Mr P.K Tripathi; Addnl Secretary to CM, Mrs Alka Diwan; Jt Secretary, Mr Kulanand Joshi; SuperintendentBhagidari, Mr Manoj Jain-has completely welcoming and responsive)

Its been an hectic, but energizing period for the team at Growth-for-All. We’ve spent the past few months creating the building blocks that will give shape to our ‘movement’ that helps achieve inclusive’ growth & faster socio-economic development through an integrated, scaleable model.

Thanks to the CM’s Office, we’ve had the opportunity to launch our first pilot project at Savda Ghevra, the large re-settlement colony in North-West Delhi. Several week-ends and holidays were spent at Savda Ghevra, and it soon became apparent that this would be truly a test-case for the Growth-for-All model, which believes that each poor neighborhood or local community needs to have multiple ‘inputs’ dove-tailed simultaneously: livelihood, health, education, women’s empowerment, and whatever else is required.

With most Savda Ghevra families desperately looking for livelihood, this became the first focus for Growth-for-All. We quickly introduced Dr Reddy’s Foundation (DRF)to the community, and their livelihood program for the first batch of youth got underway. Three months from now, 100-150 youngsters will find jobs in hospitality, retail, sales, customer service, and auto repair. Repeat batches will then begin. A big ‘thank you’ to the dedicated, committed team at DRF-Amit Sharma, Sunil Sharma, and Gaurav- who’ve spent countless hours and road-miles with us, giving shape to this.

Meanwhile, I was joined by two exciting people as full-time members of the team- Shakti Callikan, and Mathew Mathai. My 3-month-long search for the ideal team-mates had ended, with Shakti and Mathew coming on-board, in February.

Our collective energies are now deployed in exploring a range of micro-enterprise options for the residents of Savda Ghevra, especially women. These include – carpet weaving, food products, assembly of kitchen appliances, running sales kiosks, offering community services, BPO services, and lots more.While livelihood programs get underway, detailed blueprints have been drawn up for upping the ante on health services - additional doctor(s) and clinic(s), specialized health camps and consultation, an ambulance service. In education, innovative education formats for school drop-outs, and adult illiterates are being explored.
While basic, and tangible areas like livelihood, health and education are vital priority, the socio-cultural environment cannot be ignored. Hence, Music & Sports - as a means of recreation & enjoyments, as well as away of building self-confidence and camaraderie. My friend, Hemu Javeri, flew down from Mumbai one week-end, to commit his support for a Music academy where 100 or more young girls will be provided formal training in music. The really-talented ones will be given special, individual coaching, as well as scholarships.

Watch out for more updates from Savda Ghevra as these programs get rolled out. And also, from Alwar district where our second- rural- project gets underway soon.
 

Commonwealth Games, the Metro, a new airport, Gurgaon Expressway, new malls…. all these are part of Delhi’s exciting transformation that’s currently underway. Progress on these projects, their launch( and the opening glitches!) are stuff that newspaper headlines and party conversations are made of.
But the other side of this magnificent urban development is something that rarely makes headlines. The Savda Ghevra story is part of that ‘other side’.

 
For these families(‘below-poverty-line’ migrants originally from Eastern   Uttar Pradesh  , West Bengal, Bihar , Assam & Gujarat.), hasty and unplanned re-location has led to every kind of imaginable problem- lack of livelihoods, basic water & sanitation, adequate education and primary health services.
Savda Ghevra is symptomatic of the problems being created by rapid urbanization and migration. As Deepa Bajaj of NGO, Child Survival India(CSI) says, “As per the estimates of Economic Survey of Delhi (2000), the combined  population of  such resettlement and slum areas  is 72.5 lakhs ,which is  more than half of the total population of Delhi . Since  late nineties & 2000 ,the Delhi government has relocated a lot of slums from main city  to the rural outskirts of the city”. 

I first heard about Jaipur Rugs Co from the ‘Rural Business Hubs’ team at CII. But, when I finally made the trip to Jaipur and met them, it blew my mind.

N.K Chaudhary, M.D, Jaipur Rugs, is one of the most unassuming and modest persons I have met. But, his dreams for rural artisans have been anything but small.

From modest beginnings in the late-90s, his ‘Jaipur Rugs Company’ has built its entire business model around having village artisans work as entrepreneurs. Today, 25000 artisans- mainly women- engage in weaving or reeling as a home-based occupation. Jaipur Rugs Co provides ‘door service’ to these artisans by delivering raw materials, providing training and quality checks, arranging financing for looms, and picking up the semi-finished carpets and rugs.
The scale and efficiency of this outsourced manufacturing model is astounding, and clearly a win-win arrangement for the company as well as artisans. Weavers across eight states( Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Jharkand, Orissa, West Bengal and Nagaland) earn 80/- to 100/- per day. Before Jaipur Rugs Co came into the picture, they could typically earn just about 30/- with middlemen pocketing most of the margins.

With his belief that “enabling is more important than charity”, N.K Chaudhary is committed to adding 5000 looms and engaging 30,000 more artisans in the near future.
An important outcome of my trip was that we got his agreement to try out the same model with urban poor, by working with us in Delhi.

Overarching visions, massive scale, and rapid execution have been the hallmarks of India’s 21st century corporate giants. None typifies this better than ICICI Bank, whose transformation into India’s leading consumer bank and mega financial institution will remain a case study for times to come.
So, it isn’t surprising to see the same spirit underlying a brand new institution that is being spearheaded by Nachiket Mor, and which aims to bring about a paradigm shift in the social sector.
By putting together a slightly-complex structure of organizations( ICICI Foundation, IFMR Trust, Network Enterprises Fund, CSO Partners, etc), Nachiket and his team are aiming to create an enduring focus on sustainable development, via the ‘for-profit’ route. Their firm belief is that sustainable development cannot be achieved via recurring grants to NGOs or others, but only through a combination of low-cost products; debt and equity funding; and tools, know-how and market linkages.
At the heart of this strategy is their current effort to develop complete solutions for as many as 14 different verticals like Crafts, Dairy and Foods to fascinatingly interesting ones like Rural Tourism, and Rural BPO. By working as ‘market-makers’( i.e. creating linkages between supply chain and market demand) in each sector, they hope to massively impact livelihoods and enterprise development in each of these areas.
While many of these verticals are still work-in-progress, it was great to see the progress in the established ones like Foods, where the team’s efforts are enabling fruit farmers in Himachal’s Bhuira village to scale up their operations by accessing more markets for their jams, marmalades, preserves, and chutneys.
There’s truly a serious effort on here to bring a paradigm shift in the social sector. If anyone can make it happen, this team can.

2008 started off on an interesting note as I spent January 1 checking out  ‘Khushi Clinic’ at New Delhi’s Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar on the outskirts of the city. A joint initiative by Gates Foundation & TCI Foundation, Khushi Clinics are a great example of what happens when a business icon focuses on social change.

While the focus is on HIV/AIDS amongst a specific high-risk group, viz. truckers, what’s different is the Microsoft-like approach to planning( thorough!),scale( nation-wide!) and results( metrics!). Through a partnership with TCI Foundation, 17 truckers’ ‘halt points’ across the country are being targeted under this initiative.
At the Transport Nagar I visited, the ‘Khushi Clinic’ is positioned as a general health clinic for truckers, while simultaneously emphasizing behavioral change with regard to their sexual practices. Tucked away in the heart of Transport Nagar, the clinic- which operates for 8 hours – offers free consulting, and medicines on cost-to-cost basis.  High-quality, standardized communication via films, street plays, etc promote safe behaviour and condom usage. Innovations like ‘Khushi passport’ – which each trucker carries- ensure that medical history is seamlessly transferred to other ‘halt points’ in the country.
As yet another example of how a successful business practice has been transferred to the social sector, it was fascinating to see how nationwide presence has been achieved by using the best-available, local ‘channel partner’. In the case of Delhi, the ‘Khushi Clinic’ is run by the highly-competent Deepa Bajaj of Child Survival India( CSI).

During the time we spent with Deepa, it was evident that the original vision of Khushi Clinics has been completely internalized by Deepa, who in turn, evangelizes it with equal passion and commitment.

Results are meticulously tracked. For instance, Nov’07 saw 1600 footfalls, of which 2/3rd were STI cases.
Watching all this, it is reassuringly clear that social initiatives can be scaled up professionally, and in a business-like manner.

Satyabrata Acharya has one of the most important jobs in India. As Programme Director, Jharkhand for NGO Pradan, he leads 12 teams who are responsible for guiding over 100,000 families out of poverty.
Dhrubaa Mukhopadhyaya heads one of these teams. When, after graduating with an M.Phil from Jadavpur University, she joined Pradan in 1995, her teachers and classmates thought she was nuts! Today, she and her team of Executives, Subject Matter Specialists (SMS), and Development Apprentices work with 250 villages in two districts of Jharkhand and Bihar- helping them improve their land condition, increase agricultural productivity, and explore additional livelihood options.

Sericulture expert, Prabhati, and Development Apprentices, Meena (Patna University,’07) & Bhavna (BHU,’07) are three young ladies roughing it out in the villages. Working as part of Dhrubaa’s tight-knit team, they display a passion that is hard to find in urban centers today. I witnessed Prabhati and Meena training villagers to produce Tasar cocoon, while Bhavna sang & danced with tribal kids at a mobile crèche being run by Pradan at village Raksha( while the mothers were busy at the Tasar reeling centre).

Having been a spectator to the HR mayhem in metros and mini-metros, where youngsters driven purely by material gains, accept and leave jobs every six months, it was something else to see this young Pradan brigade in action.
Pradan carefully hires and nurtures this young talent. Sujata Nath, the talented HR Executive who traveled with me on my field visit, filled me in on the details of the intensive 12-month apprenticeship that all Pradan hires go through. But, as Pradan scales up its operations to meet its Vision 2017(of working with 1.5 mn poor families), it needs as many as 100 teams(= 800 people) across the country. For Pradan’s HR Director, Nivedita Narain, this is the real HR challenge. On the one hand, Pradan needs to hire such large numbers; on the other hand, retaining this trained and committed team is an equally big challenge. As these executives reach their late-20s or early-30s, and have families, they feel the need to move to an urban centre, in order to get better housing and education.
One way to overcome this hiring challenge is for Corporates to collaborate with large NGOs like Pradan. 4 to 6 years of Pradan training produces some of the best managers who understand rural markets; for corporates addressing mass markets, this could be a boon. By working together with corporates, Pradan could continue to hire the best youngsters, while offering them a road-map (to a corporate career) after 4-6 years.
Are companies like ICICI, Unilever, Asian Paints, and Mahindra’s ready?

When my friend, Anita Lobo, whom I caught up with after several years, told me that she was now working on social development projects using Sport as a medium of change, I didn’t quite believe her. I almost dismissed it as a PR spiel.

After all, apart from a few corporates like TATAs, who’re supporting athletes from weaker sections of the society, the “sports-based social inclusion” model is not used in India. (In Africa, on the other hand, the sports based inclusion model is gaining acceptance, with football and athletics being the chosen mediums).
But, as we continued chatting, and she gave me more details, it was intriguing. Spring Sport & Sustainability (a JV between Spring Worldwide & Perfect Relations Limited) is purely focused on community development, via Sport. In doing so, they involve corporate partners, who step in with time, effort and resources.

The first such experiment, titled ‘GOAL’, was rolled out in the relatively-underprivileged communities of Govindpuri, Aligaon and Sanjay Gandhi Camp, in Delhi. Multiple stakeholders collaborated in this project- NGOs (Naz, Deepalaya, Prerna and FXB); Netball Federation of India; schools and colleges; and Standard Chartered Bank.

70 girls were enrolled in the program, which entailed a 45-hour modular training course covering 3 broad areas of communication, wellness and entrepreneurship, including financial literacy. The girls also received professionally coached Netball sessions once a week. There were scholarships for meritious girls. What however, acted as a major impetus was the fact that the budding Netball team had a chance to qualify & become part of the national team.

38 Standard Chartered executives contributed their time and skills to the success of GOAL by designing the modules on Environment, Communication and Financial Literacy. 

Anjali Gopalan of Naz Foundation is excited about the program’s success. “We wanted the girls to have fun as they learnt. Our focus was to get them out of their shell & make them independent, confident individuals.  When the girls first came in they wouldn’t even lift their heads & now they play as if the world outside doesn’t exist.  They now conduct conversations with confidence”
 
An important indicator of success is the retention rate. An 80% retention was achieved, a very difficult proposition in any sustainable community development.  It has obviously struck a deep chord somewhere. A community elder and father of a girl who plays in the Aligaon netball team admits, “My daughter has changed for the better. When this program started, I wasn’t sure if it will actually work. Now I am sure that her life will be much better than I thought.” [Uska jeevan aur bhi sukhi hoga]

Standard Chartered Bank is committed to supporting this initiative, and plans to extend to Mumbai and Chennai by end of this year. 

Anita is passionate about this whole tri-partite approach involving poor communities, Sport, and companies. I completely agree with her, and eagerly look forward to integrate her ideas into the Growth-for-All movement.

CSR at work!

The last one week has seen an unusual amount of public debate, involving leading CEOs and others, about the kind of corporate social responsibility that makes sense for them.

While reporting on the Leadership Summit 2007, HT covered the views of Infosys’ Nandan Nilekani, and Unilever’s Harish Manwani. Nilekani, a leading philanthropist in his personal capacity, believes that corporates have limited ability to spend on CSR given the need to protect shareholder interests. Hence, he asserts that promoters and corporate honchos must do more in their personal capacity. An interesting viewpoint, but one that begs an argument. First, companies will build a foundation for future revenue growth by investing in the economic development, and thereby increasing the purchasing power of a large section of the Indian population. High revenue growths cannot be sustained by focusing on urban and middle-class markets alone. Next, companies need to build bridges with all sections of the Indian population in order to ensure that they don’t face a backlash, as corporate retailers currently are. It is, therefore, in the shareholders’ interests to support CSR investments. If presented correctly, they are likely to reward companies for CSR, as they have done for corporate governance, in the past. And, yes, of course, company promoters( who have a lot of money) and corporate honchos( who may not have as much) must also do their bit.

Harish Manwani’s view is that CSR, to be sustainable, must have a related business benefit also. For instance, Hindustan Unilever’s Project Shakti has enabled over 30,000 underprivileged women to earn Rs 1000/-+ p.m, by becoming sales entrepreneurs. So, while people get livelihoods, HUL expands its rural distribution and sales. Similarly, through its ‘Hand-wash Awareness’ campaign, HUL promotes hygiene, but there is an indirect benefit for brand Lifebuoy. (Similarly, I know that L&T offers vocational training to rural youth, and in the process, ensures that it has a ready workforce for its booming construction business, where talent is in short supply).

This point-of-view is perfectly logical, but it throws up several intriguing issues. For one, where do you draw a line? For instance, should one support a sales promotion where a company promises Rs ‘x’, per unit sold, to a social cause? Or, what about Posco’s sudden espousal of CSR when it faces a huge backlash on land acquisition? So, while companies like HUL may commit to CSR with all sincerity, there may be a nagging suspicion in some quarters, on account of the perceived business benefits. For instance, during my recent visit to Jharkand, an NGO told me that they had turned down an offer to be an alliance partner for Project Shakti, for precisely these reasons.

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.

While we are groping for answers, there comes along an interesting newsitem in today’s Economic Times, about Nachiket Mor moving from ICICI Bank, to ICICI Foundation. The important part of the story was the likely commitment from ICICI Bank, to spend 1% of net profits on issues relating to inclusive growth. Now, that is an interesting development!

I have been debating the “right amount of spend” issue with several people, including at a corporate panel discussion that I was part of, yesterday. I think 1% is absolutely perfect: it is a figure that shareholders will support, and will make an impact. The important thing about this spend is the multiplier effect it has, on actual economic activity. During my recent trip to Jharkand, with Pradan, I was astounded to find that a Rs 1/- spend enables villagers to raise Rs 10/- from government grants or loans; and each rupee they raise generates economic activity worth Rs 10/-. So, the overall multiplier effect is 1:100 !

A final observation on how corporates execute CSR. Some, like Dr Reddy’s Foundation and Bharti Foundation, have set up their own, large teams, whereas others work with existing NGOs.  The former is not scaleable, and will raise questions about overheads, headcount, etc. Whereas, working with existing NGOs represents a long-term, low-cost option. There are literally a million NGOS in India, and many of them are extremely sincere, but desperately need financial support. This could be a win-win relationship for both. ( See an interesting article ‘The Silent Army’ in Economics Times)

CSR that works !

A labourer from Bihar contributing his daily ‘dihadi’, a young girl from Delhi foregoing her weekly movie outing, and thousands of others…have all made sacrifices and contributions towards national causes, via ‘Care Today’.

In 1999, urged by readers and internal employees, to go beyond just reporting calamities, the India Today Group moved forward to set up an interesting initiative. Readers could now contribute actively to aid victims of natural and other calamities.

Since then, the ‘Care Today’ initiative has enabled India Today readers to share the pain and sorrow felt by victims of Kargil war, Orissa Cyclone(’99), Gujarat-Rajasthan drought(2000), Kutch earthquake(’01), Tsunami(’04) and Kashmir quake(’05).

I spent some time with Ajit Chaudhury, Executive Director, CareToday, to understand this remarkable initiative. I was particularly keen to figure out:

• how and why relief projects run by government are usually late, non-transparent, and insensitive, whereas CareToday seemed to be the exact opposite?
• Why is it that the PM’s Relief Fund resembles a ‘black box’ with little transparency? Why do relief victims keep waiting for years, and chasing insensitive officials for help?

After Kargil, CareToday helped 38 badly-incapacitated soldiers move into alternative careers by funding them with initial assets( houses, jeeps, tractors, shops) worth Rs 3 lakhs each, that got them started. The aftermath of Orissa cyclone saw 100 houses being built for widows, as well as several ‘community shelters’.

Innovations were required to address special situations like the Kutch quake so that victims could get support for next few years; hence, FDs were opened in their names, which provided monthly interest of Rs 500/-. 500 houses were built, including 50 for the diasbled.

I asked Ajit what his most challenging assignment has been, and his unhesitating answer was the Tsunami ! While Tamil Nadu got plenty of attention and funds from everyone, the Nicobar islands were a challenge, partly due to remote locations, but also due to security-linked access restrictions( he shared an anecdote regarding having to wait outside the District Collector’s office for 7 days). Notwithstanding that, CareToday got involved by sending a team of doctors from St John’s Hospital, Bangalore; by running a boat service between the relief center and various islands; and lots more.

Looking at all this, it is clear that there are three reasons why CareToday scores - though, implemented on a much smaller scale - over government-run relief efforts:

1. It offers timely help to victims, and helps them recover. Be it a house and a job for a Naga soldier, or boats to dis-possessed fishermen, or providing shelter to kids orphaned by the Kashmir earthquake, the key lies in doing it when it is really needed.
2. Next, is sensitivity. When one of the Kargil victims was lying injured, and depressed, at home, at a remote location in Uttaranchal, a CareToday representative trudged that distance to meet him and his family; reaching out in this manner helped to transform the soldier’s outlook towards life.
3. Finally, there is transparency. India Today regularly reports details of receipt and use of contributions. It is not a black box that just swallows up your money. When was the last time any of us have seen something similar from the PM’s Relief Fund, or other funds like the ‘education cess’?

My big question to Ajit and CareToday has been: why wait for natural calamities to happen? Why can’t India Today and its readers do this good work for the underprivileged, even in normal times?

CareToday’s timely actions, sensitivity, and transparency have a big role to play in everyday India.

CSR that works !

It was with some trepidation that I drove past Agra, into Firozabad district. Few weeks before assembly elections, the interiors of UP was hardly the place to be roaming around. But, during the 4-hour journey, I had enough re-assurances from Amit of Dr Reddy’s Foundation(DRF) that we would witness something truly heartwarming once we reached the small town beyond Shikohabad.

Heartwarming, it indeed was. 250 young men and women, all from below-poverty-line families, would walk, cycle, or hitch-hike a ride every morning to get to the 4-room ‘centre’ that DRF had set up. This was the ‘Livelihood Advancement Business School’( LABS) center where, over a 90-day period, these kids would learn vocational skills like selling, data-entry, hospitality, etc, and earn a passport out of the poverty of their villages.

When I spoke to these kids, I realized that this was the only real chance for their families, ever. They would be the first-ever bread-earners for their families if they got a job after the LABS training. Without this chance, they would end up being 250 more gun-toting hoodlums in UP.

As DRF’s LABS expands nationally, with some support from the government, and crosses the 100,000 mark( in terms of youth trained for jobs), it is truly making a difference.