Topic: ZFN
Time: Nov 27, 2022 05:30 PM Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81091607147
Meeting ID: 810 9160 7147
Passcode: ZFN
Category: ZFN – Zoroastrian Faculty Network
11 Social Incubators That Are Helping Entrepreneurs Change Lives
Have a great idea that has the power to transform lives but unsure of how to see it to fruition? This list of social incubators is just the thing you need.
While starting a for-profit business is no easy task, starting a social enterprise is tougher still. Lack of funds, knowledge resources, manpower… the hurdles are endless. These social incubators mentor, guide and advise entrepreneurs, helping them navigate the choppy waters of social entrepreneurship.
1. UnLtd India
UnLtd India has helped create more than 12,000 jobs and has touched the lives of more than 1 million individuals through the initiatives they have supported. Their selection criteria includes the ability of the entrepreneur to deliver results and the potential social impact of the project. The organisation offers both financial and non-financial support, from inception to graduation of the a social enterprise.
You can learn more about the organisation here
2. Villgro
In the 14 years since their inception, Villgro has backed more than 109 innovators. Their initiatives have created more than 4000 employment opportunities and impacted 15 million lives. Primarily active in the four sectors of healthcare, education, agri-business and energy, Villgro shortlists candidates for incubation on the basis of the strength of the idea, the social impact it will create, the business feasibility as well as the scalability.
Learn more about Villgro and the services they offer here.
3. Action for India
Driven by the desire to bridge the gaps that keep social enterprises from reaching their potential, Action for India provides entrepreneurs with access to technology, mentorship, investors, government agencies, local partners and business development support. The organisation runs the annual Silicone Valley Challenge, winners of which are given the opportunity to spend 10 days in Silicon Valley, California engaging with leaders in technology and business. Action for India also offers a fellowship for social entrepreneurs.
Read more about the organisation on their website here.
4. Deshpande Foundation
Driven by the belief that well-planned and well-developed solutions which have a long term impact are the only way forward for the country, Deshpande Foundation creates an eco-system that nutures innovation and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are given the chance to interact with others, to come up with enterprises that are not only sustainable and scalable, but that have a long term social and economic impact as well.
Read more about the work of the Deshpande Foundation here.
5. RTBI – Rural Technology and Business Incubator
An initiative of IIT Madras, RTBI was set up in 2006 under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and World Bank’s Infodev arm. The organisation primarily looks for enterprises that are working towards rural and social inclusion. RTBI adopts a two pronged methodology of incubation and exploration, and offers infrastructure and admin support, as well as funding options, and other value added services like risk assessment, service development and marketing.
Familiarise yourself with RTBI’s services here.
6. Dasra
Alleviation of poverty drives the actions of Dasra, which lists sanitation, governance, adolescent girls and strategic giving as priority areas. This organisation lives up to the meaning of its name ‘enlightened giving,’ by conducting in-depth research to facilitate such giving. Their hands-on approach to consultation and mentorship has helped them build over 730 organisations, who in turn have impacted more than 17 million lives!
Discover more about Dasra here.
7. Upaya Social Ventures
‘A hand-up and not a hand-out is the best way to lift families out of extreme poverty’ – this is the belief that drives the actions of Upaya Social Ventures. In the sector of poverty alleviation through gainful employment, Upaya offers seed funding and business development support to organizations that provide employment opportunities to the poor. They believe in adopting a ‘hands-on’ approach and often work with their beneficiaries for two to three years to ensure that good social initiatives meet their potential.
Understand more about the way Upaya functions here.
8. Ennovent
In 2008, Ennovent started out by investing in innovations that aimed at improving the lives of people in low-income markets in India. Today, Ennovent is a global innovation company that has broadened its operations to discover, startup, finance and scale business innovations for sustainability. They work with entrepreneurs, investors, enablers, corporations, innovators and their ever-expanding global Innovation Community to jointly develop, fund and implement customised Innovation Solutions to some of the toughest challenges facing the developing world.
‘Impact before profit’ is the mantra of this global business innovation company which has accelerated over 250 innovations in over 15 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas
since 2008.
Learn more about how Ennovent is impacting lives here.
9. Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE)
Set up in 2007 in India’s premier B-School, the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship is another incubator that has helped transform several wonderful ideas into thriving enterprises. CIIE provides entrepreneurs with various services including incubation, acceleration, mentorship as well as funding. So far, the organization has helped more than 50 ventures. Entrepreneurs can make use of their initiatives like iAccelerator, Piramal Prize, MentorEdge and Infuse Ventures.
Read more about CIEE here.
10. Khosla Labs
Based in Bangalore, Khosla Labs is a startup incubator and an innovation lab. Entrepreneurs and technology – the organization believes – can help solve several large scale problems. Some of their initiatives include universal financial inclusion through advances in cloud technologies, mobile payments and Aadhaar. They also work in the sector of retail efficiency, big data analytics and healthcare. Novopay and Aadhar Bridge are two popular projects undertaken by the organization.
Discover more about Khosla Labs and their path-breaking innovations here.
11. Marico Innovation Foundation
Established in 2003, the Marico Innovation Foundation has made a name for itself with the ‘direct impact’ innovations it has helped nature and implement in the areas of renewable energy, waste management, employability, livelihood and healthcare. The organisation does not provide funding, but does offer social entrepreneurs with access to networks of experts, CSR foundations, pro-bono experts, B-school students, corporate volunteers, impact investors as well as other incubators and accelerators under their Social Innovation Acceleration Program (SIAP).
Learn more about the innovations Marico supports here.
On the ZFN UK Humanities and Social Science Program
Time: Aug 22, 2021 06:30 PM Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87122131165
Meeting ID: 871 2213 1165
Passcode: 531998
A Conversation with Zoroastrian Faculty
On the ZFN UK Humanities and Social Sciences Program
The World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) in partnership with Zarathushti faculty in academia envision empowering Zarathushti students to learn how to create economic, cultural and intellectual value. To attain this vision the WZCC has established the Zoroastrian Faculty Network (ZFN). The ZFN has launched a project to place a ZFN Scholar in the humanities and social sciences with one Zoroastrian faculty member in the UK starting Fall 2022.
We have identified three Zoroastrian faculty members in the UK who are keen mentor his/her Zoroastrian mentee to not only learn how to create economic / social / intellectual value but also to give back to the Zoroastrian community:
Shirin Madon, Associate Professor of Information Systems London School of Economics – Digital Technologies and Development
Dr. Shirin Madon is an Associate Professor working jointly in the Departments of International Development, and Management at the London School of Economics. Throughout her academic career, Shirin has been interrogating the extent to which digital technologies promote equitable socioeconomic development in different sectors such as health, governance, and refugee management. Shirin currently teaches the following postgraduate courses: (i) Management information systems and digital innovation, (ii) ICT and Socioeconomic Development, and (iii) Emergencies Management: Humanitarian Intervention and Digital Innovation. Her main areas of current research are as follows:
- Evaluating the effectiveness of village health governance in rural Karnataka. This is ongoing research over the past 6 years that adopts a participatory action research approach to investigate how community resilience is built for supporting routine primary healthcare and managing pandemics such as COVID-19.
- Studying the Aadhaar platform for improving delivery of social assistance programmes in India. The focus of the research is on the power plays that are involved in integrating the centralised identity platform with local government knowledge of data and work processes.
- Investigating the extent to which the UNHCR’s current strategy of merging its digital identity platform for refugee management with the provision of market services to refugees and the risks and benefits involved.
https://www.lse.ac.uk/management/research/faculty-research-groups/isi
https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development
https://www.lse.ac.uk/management/people/academic-staff/smadon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_School_of_Economics
Lyla Mehta, Professor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex – International Development, Sustainability, Social and Gender Justice
Dr. Lyla Mehta is a Professor at the Institute of Development Studies, UK, and a Visiting Professor at Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences. She trained as a sociologist (University of Vienna) and has a Ph.D. in Development Studies (University of Sussex). She uses the case of water and sanitation to focus on the politics of scarcity, gender, human rights and access to resources, resource grabbing, power and policy processes in rural, peri urban and urban contexts. She also focusses on climate change and uncertainty and forced displacement. She has extensive fieldwork experience in South Asia and southern Africa. Professor Mehta has engaged in advisory work with various UN agencies and has also been active in advocacy and activist work on gender, environment and social justice issues with NGOs and social and anti-fascist movements in Europe and India. She has successfully supervised 13 doctoral researchers and convenes the module ‘Ideas in Development’
Dr. Mehta has authored, co-authored or edited eights books including The Politics and Poetics of Water: Naturalising Scarcity in Western India; Displaced by Development: Confronting Marginalisation and Gender Injustice; The Limits to Scarcity: Contesting the Politics of Allocation and The Politics of Climate Change and Uncertainty (Forthcoming). She lead the project team of the UN High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition’s (HLPE) report on Water for Food Security and Nutrition and is a co-editor of the journal Environment and Planning E, Nature and Space. She is currently leading two projects, namely, Transformations as Praxis in South Asia and Towards Brown Gold?: Reimagining Off-Grid Sanitation in Rapidly Urbanising Areas in Asia and Africa. She tweets at @Lylamehta.
https://www.ids.ac.uk/people/lyla-mehta/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Development_Studies
Zubin Sethna, Professor of Entrepreneurial Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Regents University London – Entrepreneurial Marketing and Consumer Behaviour
Dr. Zubin Sethna is the Professor of Entrepreneurial Marketing and Consumer Behaviour at Regents University, London. In 2020, he was appointed by the World Economic Forum in Davos as an Expert in Entrepreneurship, The Future of Consumption and Family Businesses.
Dr Sethna is the Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and regularly reviews for a variety of other marketing and entrepreneurship journals. He is a qualified marketing practitioner as well as an entrepreneur. He has successfully launched six businesses (one of which won a UK National Award) and in his capacity as Managing Consultant at Baresman Consulting he has integrated marketing strategy/communications with management consultancy and training for numerous organisations both in the UK and internationally, and across a variety of industry sectors (Health Care, Professional Services, Music, Travel, Manufacturing, Retail, IT, Education and ‘cottage’ industries).
Dr. Sethna has written two of the UK and Europe’s most popular textbooks (bestsellers!!) in ‘Consumer Behaviour’ (published by SAGE, 2016, 2019) and Entrepreneurial Marketing Global Perspectives (Emerald, 2013). He has conducted research in the UK, Europe, India and China, and has raised external funding of nearly £700k for various academic projects. He is Co-Chair of the Academy of Marketing’s Special Interest Group on ‘Entrepreneurial and Small Business Marketing’ and has been invited to conduct keynote lectures at HE institutions in the UK, EU, China and India. In 2017, he was unanimously elected to become a member of the advisory board of the acclaimed Global Research Conference on Marketing and Entrepreneurship.
https://www.regents.ac.uk/about/our-people/professor-dr-zubin-sethna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent%27s_University_London
In the webinar on August 22, 2021 Drs. Madon, Mehta and Sethna will provide an opportunity to those who wish to potential ZFN Scholars to come to learn about their backgrounds and aspirations. They will comment on their
- academic journey,
- lessons from their professional journey,
- approach to mentoring and giving back, and
- tips for young Zoroastrians who may wish to work with them.
Participants in the webinar will have an opportunity to engage with the Drs. Madon, Mehta and Sethna after the principals have spoken.
Career Opportunities for Indian Youth in Japan
Japan with its seriously dwindling population is putting out the red carpet to attract youth to work there.
Preparing to Leave Home – Social & Cultural Changes
Click here to enter your details and register for the webinar.
Click here for the link to the presentation
Click here for the link to the YouTube recording for the webinar
Guidance on Shortlisting Universities for Studying in the U.S — Oct 12, 2018
Plan on studying in the United States? Looking for guidance on shortlisting universities?
Students are often confused when they realize the enormous choices they have when choosing a degree program in the U.S. It is virtually impossible to thoroughly research all of the 4500+ accredited higher education institutions in the United States.
Fear not! We have a great session that will guide you on factors to consider when choosing a university to study in the U.S.
Session: Shortlisting Universities and Finding the Right-Fit for Studying in the U.S.
Date: Friday, October 12, 2018
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Venue: U.S. Consulate General, C-49, G-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai
Please note that this session is for both prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Registration is mandatory, and the program is free for participants. Students and parents can sign-up at https://goo.gl/eaoUPA
If you have any queries, please contact Behrooz Avari at AvariBK@state.gov or call 022-26724942.
We look forward to seeing you there!
**********************************
U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai
C-49, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex
Bandra East
Mumbai 400 051, INDIA
Phone: 91-22-26724000
Fax: 91-22-26724421
Email: mumbaipublicaffairs@state.gov
Website: https://in.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/mumbai/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Mumbai.usconsulate
ZFN Webinar 2 – Financing for Higher Education for Indian Students – 24 June – 9am IST
Thanks to all those who participated in the above Webinar. Special thanks to
- Farrokh Mistree, L.A. Comp Chair, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA, farrokh.Mistree@ou.edu
- Farrokh Rustomjee, Chief Executive, R. D. Sethna Scholarship Fund, Esplanade House, 29, Hazarimal Somani Marg, Fort, Mumbai-400001, Tel: 022-22077044; Email: office@rdsethnascholarships.org Website: www.rdsethnascholarships.org
- Neville Shroff, The Incorporated Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hongkong, Canton and Macao, hkzcfund@netvigator.com
- T J Ravishankar, J. N. Tata Endowment, Mulla House, 4thfloor, 51, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, Mumbai-400001. Tel:022-66657643, Email:tjravishankar@tatatrusts.org
- M George – Vice President, Paras Education Foundation, 4th floor, Khetan Bhavan, J. Tata Road, Churchgate, Mumbai-400020, Web: www.isloan.org Tel: 022-22831637, Email: george@isloan.org Mobile: 9830043381
who lucidly explained the details. All participants greatly benefited and expressed satisfaction at the takeaways from the session.
At the peak, we had 33 participants and the presentations were smooth and ran without a glitch.
For the benefit of all, here is the recording of the session :
And here is Farrokh Mistree’s presentation – ZFN_FinanceWebinar_062318
Financing for Higher Education for Indian Students
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ZFN Webinar – Applying to Graduate School in the US
Thanks to all those who participated in the above Webinar. Special thanks to Farrokh Mistree and Janet Allen who lucidly explained the details lucidly. All participants greatly benefited and expressed satisfaction at the takeaways from the session.
For the benefit of all, here is the recording of the session
And here is the presentation – Click Here to View
Applying to Graduate School in the US
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