January 24, Mumbai: The Social Responsibility Forum set up by School of Business Management (SBM), an arm of NMIMS University, successfully hosted its annual social enclave ‘Ek Prayas’ on the previous week to educate students on integrating social responsibility with business practices.
The event was graced by a renowned and diverse group of business and social leaders including Ms. Shilpa Kumar, Partner at Omidyar Network India, Dr. Abhishek Agrawal Chief Regional Officer South Asia Head, Accion, Mr. Swapnil Tewari, The Madman, Social Reformer and Co-founder of The Light Mission and Ms. Surabhi Kakrania Chief Financial Officer Haqdarshak.
Echoing the sentiments Dr. Meena Galliara, Associate Professor at SBM, NMIMS stressed on the significance of technology to attain a sustainable world and the need for future business leaders to ensure equitable distribution of healthcare, education and sanitation to the people as currently many still don’t have access to these basic services.
Giving her insights on the topic- “Doing Good Business and the Business of Doing Good”, Shilpa Kumar, partner at Omidyar Network India said that technology and entrepreneurship, combined together can generate social and economic impact and highlighted the contribution of non-profit organisations for integrating welfare schemes and businesses to gain maximum outreach.
Speaking on “Enabling Access to Capital, Supporting Innovation and Building Resilience” Dr. Abhishek Agrawal Chief Regional Officer South Asia Head, Accion said “all the problems in the world cannot be solved by a not-for-profit approach. There is a need to balance need and greed and this can be facilitated by commercial capital “. He also added that his organisation aims to digitally onboard traditional businesses to increase access to capital, enhance outreach and reduce costs.
Swapnil Tewari, a social reformist, motivational speaker, educator and mentor to social entrepreneurs spoke on the topic-” A life of Madness – Journey of The Madman”, demonstrated his life experiences and how he overcame various obstacles in life. He also spoke about the importance of manifesting oneself proactively rather than merely reacting to situations, as well as transcending obstacles and finding the true reason for one’s being.
Shedding light on issue of “Using Technology to Create Social Impact at Scale”, Surabhi Kakrania Chief Financial Officer of Haqdarshak, highlighted the role of her company in positively impacting communities by serving as an assisted-tech service for doorstep delivery of welfare entitlements. She also mentioned the various challenges in India in gaining access to welfare schemes and the impact of the platform on women’s empowerment and creating sustainable livelihood in communities.
The conclave aimed to impart management lessons to students that becoming successful entrepreneurs also means to effectively contribute to the development of a sustainable and holistic society.
“I felt that Social Responsibility Forum has brought in leaders in the social impact space. It was very interesting and insightful to hear industry stalwarts with decades of corporate experience share how they are creating a positive impact on the society. This conclave has given me inspiration and confidence that people from all fields and phases of life can change the world,” shared a first-year student of SBM.
