Upaya Social Ventures

Last week, we concluded the Kotak BizLabs Bootcamp in partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank- an immersive three-day journey designed to help founders gain clarity on their problem statements and market dynamics, and build strategic roadmaps. Bringing together founders from agritech, cleantech, climate-tech, edtech, fintech, and beyond, the bootcamp also focused on mapping value chains, identifying key incumbents, analyzing market scope, and understanding emerging trends and challenges. Our core thesis? To re-center on the why, what, and how of startup building and scaling. Key Takeaways: - Defining the problem with precision – A structured framework to break down the problem statement, deeply understand the customer, and align the product to customer needs. - Building for scale with strong unit economics – A practical approach to assessing financial sustainability, setting measurable growth milestones, and making data-driven decisions. - Scaling with the right playbook – First-hand insights from seasoned entrepreneurs on navigating high-growth phases, fundraising strategies, and overcoming operational challenges. - Understanding what makes startups investable – Insider perspectives from investors on what truly drives funding decisions and how founders can position themselves for investment while articulating their social and environmental impact. - Mastering customer segmentation, targeting & market positioning – A hands-on approach to identifying the right customers, refining go-to-market strategies, and maximizing market reach. A huge thank you to the mentors, experts, and founders who shared their expertise and experiences, shaping the cohort’s journey #IIMAVentures #KotakBizlabs #KotakBizlabsBootcamp #KotakBootcamp #Startups #Solutions #Agritech #Fintech #Climatetech #Inclusivetech #Inclusivetech #Healthcare #Edtech #Innovations Punit S. Gajera | Pulkit Dhingra | Amarsh Chaturvedi | Ashwani Rawat | Chakravarthy AB | Arun Sreekumar | Rajesh Chandwani | Saurabh Nair Priyanka Agarwal Chopra | Supriya Sharma | Vipul Patel | Chintan Bakshi | Sanea Vakaliya | Trisha Ghoshal | Dheeraj Bhojwani | Eric B. | Ankur Sohanpal | Abhimanyu Saxena | Vaibhav Vashishtha Arijit Sarmah | Shilpa Jain | Pratik Yagnik | Shantanu Thanvi, CSM | Sreshtha Majumdar

#Announcement 🔊 We have partnered with Fashion for Good, SAGANA, and Canopy to lead the change towards circular fashion and just transition. 🌿 🌎 ✨ Fashion For Good joins us as a Technical Advisor, bringing in its expertise, learnings, and innovations in textile #waste management. ✨ Sagana is an Advisory Partner on the facility, leveraging its knowledge in structuring #impact-linked financing models. ✨ Canopy joins as a Resource Partner on the facility, connecting waste management companies with the #fashion industry. A huge shoutout to Laudes Foundation for their continued support! 🎉 📩 Want to learn more? Reach out to us at taf@upayasv.org. #TextileWasteManagement #CircularEconomy #WasteWorkers Shipra Choudhary | Priyanka Khanna | Kelly Roberts-Robbins | Macarena Machimbarrena | Archita Adlakha | Shruti Singh 🌏 | anita chester | Lakshmi Poti | Karan K. | Aakansha Shenoy | Shruti Goel | Chakravarthy AB | Ankur Mehta

✨ The 2025 ClimaFii Alliance x Upaya initiative, backed by Shell Foundation, Accion, UK aid, and BFA Global, empowers micro-entrepreneurs in India and Africa with clean energy solutions. Upaya Social Ventures leads the India partnership, while BFA Global focuses on Sub-Saharan Africa. The program supports startups and SMEs in distributed renewable energy (DRE) through funding, market access, and financial inclusion, offering $70,000 in no-interest loans, impact evaluation, and gender-based incentives. 🔷 Key Dates & Timeline: Call for Nominations: January – March 2025 Cohort Selection & Onboarding: April 2025 Program Support: April – December 2025 Industry Event/Demo Day: October – November 2025 🔷 The initiative targets mid-growth, impact-driven enterprises supplying DRE solutions to micro-entrepreneurs in sectors like agriculture, textiles, waste management, and mobility. The program provides access to specialized financing, go-to-market support, and incentives for sustainable job creation. 🔷 Interested businesses can apply here:  https://lnkd.in/dQRkSbD7 #RenewableEnergy #Climate #Agriculture #Textiles #WasteManagement #Mobility #Sustainable #MSMEs #Africa #ImpactInvesting

#Announcement 🎊 We are excited to announce our follow-on investments in three of our portfolio companies, Green Worms, Saahas Zero Waste, WeVOIS Labs Pvt. Ltd. under our Textile Waste Management Technical Assistance Facility. These #investments mark the beginning of another purposeful journey with our enterprise partners. Together, we are committed to drive #impactful change in the textile waste management landscape, creating dignified jobs for India’s #waste workers and shaping the movement towards circular fashion. ☘ ⏳ Stay tuned as we share more updates on the facility. 📩 Want to learn more? Reach out to us at taf@upayasv.org. #TextileWasteManagement #CircularFashion #WasteWorkers Aakansha Shenoy | Ankur Mehta | Shruti Goel | Chakravarthy AB | Karan K. | Lakshmi Poti | anita chester | Laudes Foundation | Jabir Karat | Mohammed Jamsheer | Marwan P.J,CMA | Gopika Santhosh | Shobha Raghavan | Tanuja Rao | Astha Khubele | Bhagyashree Shastri | Abhishek Gupta | Abhinav Shekhar Vashistha | Pankaj Singh Tak

Thanks Ramkumar Venkatramani, CFA, CIPM & CFA Society India CFA Institute. It was great being there to share perspectives on on how private capital can drive meaningful social, environmental, and economic change and also engage with community passionate about impact investing. #Upaya Social Ventures

Open dialogues and the possibilities they unlock never cease to amaze me. #DEI 💪 #genderlensinvesting 💪 It was energising to have this power packed group of impact sector experts pour their hearts out and ideate how to make gender lens investing a norm than an afterthought. What powerful questions to ask at each step of capital deployment? Where each one of us are in this journey at our respective organisations? Reminded me of the saying- if they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. Thank you Dasra Social Compact team for facilitating this session on the sidelines of #DPW Dasra Philanthropy Week Sonvi A. Khanna Falguni Vora Namrata Agarwal Rachna Chandrashekhar Aakansha Shenoy Madlin D'silva Sneh Bhardwaj (Not connected to all attendees on LinkedIn, hence not tagged) Upaya Social Ventures Dignified Jobs Collaborative

If you are a climate-tech entrepreneur making transformative strides in the below-mentioned streams, apply for the Avaana-Startup India-NITI Aayog AIM Grand Challenge for ClimateTech Innovation 2024-25 now. Learn more details now!! ⬇️ 🔗 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gfBxKT8t

#OpportunitiesAlert ✨ 🔊 We’re #hiring for two positions! 💼 Associate Director, Operations with experience managing multi-funder operations across geographies, particularly in the US, Europe, and India. 💼 Technical Lead, GTM / Market Access with experience in deploying DRE and can unlock access to user networks at a large scale. Both positions are India-based. If you’re passionate about creating #impact and committed to making a difference, we want to hear from you! 🔗 Learn more & apply here: https://lnkd.in/gmbw9Fs 📩 Please send your application to careers@upayasv.org to apply for the positions.

#Announcement 🌏♻️ We are thrilled to announce the Dignified Jobs Accelerator: Circular Innovation Cohort 2025! 🎉 Kicking off with Level 1, this cohort brings together 60 mission-driven businesses tackling plastic, textile, and fashion waste. Over the next three months, these innovators will gain insights on business, technical and investment-readiness, and accessing global markets through interactive sessions led by experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, and industry leaders like Upaya Social Ventures, rePurpose Global, and Global Business Inroads (GBI) – with the incredible support of the IKEA Foundation and Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. 💡What’s in store for Level 1? ✅ Business Growth & Investment Readiness ✅ Global Market Access & Fundraising Strategies ✅ Technical & Impact Readiness for Scaling ✅ Masterclasses with Industry Experts 👏 A huge shoutout to the pioneering companies joining Level 1 — your commitment to circular innovation is shaping the future of sustainability! 🌏♻️ Stay tuned for updates as we embark on this transformative journey! 🚀🌟 📩 For queries, please reach out to us at cohort@upayasv.org #CircularEconomy #SustainableInnovation #ImpactDriven #WasteToWealth #StartupGrowth #DJA2025 #DignifiedJobsForAll Rachna Chandrashekhar | Abishek Mahendra Kumar | Shruti Goel | Chakravarthy AB | Leena Pishe Thomas | Harsha Lingam | Shruti Satsangi | Kamal Raj | Pooja Moitra | Sucharita Kamath (She/Her) | ANDE South Asia

With less than a month to go, I am excited to share about Upaya Social Ventures' annual gathering of our #community which promises to be our most momentous one yet! 🎉 With attendees traveling from across the US, this gathering of 200 will be an evening of #purpose and #celebration of Upaya's achievements and learnings. It has been my pleasure to be working with our Steering Committee, chaired by Yashodhra P., to curate this event that features impact-focused businesses in the US and India. Our (entrepreneur) keynote speaker will be Jabir Karat, Founder of Green Worms, who is addressing India's massive plastic & ocean waste crisis while also uplifting marginalized communities. The event will feature artistic performances, auction items featuring exclusive products from our partner companies, curated dinner, and much more. The event is almost #soldout! So if you are interested in supporting businesses that are creating dignified jobs for people living in extreme poverty and haven't gotten a chance to meet our community, then please review this: https://lnkd.in/e5DrZi4P Committee: Yashodhra P., Kate Cochran, Sharmila Rathinam, Sabina Jain, Kiran D., Sunita Sondur, Devika Vyas, Amruta Joshi Supported by: dosa by DOSA, Windermere Real Estate, Radiant Data, Sachi Shenoy, Preetum S., Sharmila Rathinam, Pradeep Rathinam, Sunita Sondur, Pradeep Prabhu, Robin Wolaner, Parvathy Ramanathan, Karishma Kiri, Emily Gilels Shruti Goel Chakravarthy AB Erin Purcell Ankur Mehta Amy Pettigrew Madlin D'silva Naman Jain Anshini Lakhiani Rachna Chandrashekhar Aakansha Shenoy Abishek Mahendra Kumar Sneh Bhardwaj Amit Choudhary