Stay tuned for participating enterprises.
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Dasra-Village Capital: 2009-10
To test VilCap in the Indian market, First Light partnered with social enterprise incubator Dasra to run VilCap as part of Dasra’s annual Social-Impact program. for-profit social entrepreneurs met three times over four months. The entire cohort split into two teams, and each team conducted internal rankings for who would receive investment.
The entrepreneurs took incredible ownership of the process, deciding the procedure and criteria for investment. One group (pictured above) called themselves the Pollinators, and even made matching group fleeces! The group used a combination of financial viability and expected impact to choose two enterprises for investment.
The following enterprises received investment through Dasra-Village Capital:
Under the Mango Tree (UTMT) is an
ethical, organic certified company providing market access for rural producers
of pure honey and beeswax. The farmers increase mango, lychee nut, orange,
and apple orchard yields by 2 to 14X due to increased pollinization. The
honey has a rich, distinctive flavor as the native bees only pollinate one
variety due to their smaller size and lower production capacity, and the honey
commands a premium price. The
Indian honey market is growing at 25% annually. UTMT will pilot with
honey farmers, then seek to become an organic foods company linking rural food
producers to urban consumers in major Indian cities. Vijaya
Pastala, who founded Under the Mango Tree in 2008, says, “Enjoying your apples?
Without honeybees, you wouldn’t be!”
SABRAS was established by Rajesh Shah
in 2007 to procure, process, and market salt produced by marginalized Agariyas
(salt plan producers) in Gujarat, India. Through SABRAS, the salt
producers earn a higher margin by using cleaner operating solar pumps, improving
their standard of living and increasing opportunities for their children. The
6,000 producers in Gajarat produce over 3 million tons of salt per year. Over
the last five years, Sabras has worked with over 200 of these producers. The
$75,000 investment will help Sabras replace the diesel pumps with solar-powered
pumps and expand their reach.
ABOUT OUR PARTNER
Dasra Social-Impact is not just a professional development programme, but a pioneering network of advisors, mentors, and social entrepreneurs who help visionary social change makers build the skills required to operate their organizations at scale. Scale and sustainability are achieved through Dasra Social-Impact's training, mentoring and networking, and the development of a business plan. All of this enables Dasra Social-Impact to connect qualified social entrepreneurs to additional sources of capital. Please visit their website to learn more.
