A fund that provides access to risk capital to the poor to start sustainable businesses that solve local, social problems was launched in Mumbai. The ‘Be! Fund’ provides access to risk capital of up to Rs 5 lakh to youth from low income groups.
Going to School, the Delhi based non profit organisation launched the Be! Fund, which is built on the premise that new heroes need to identified from the poorest people in India.
Commenting on the role of the Fund, Lisa Heydlauff, Director, Going to School said, “By 2020, there will be over 200 million unemployed young people below the age of 30. The youth unemployment crisis cuts across all industries and development sectors. In short, we need new heroes to solve India’s greatest problems.”
The Fund started in Bengaluru, with seed capital from entrepreneurs Phaneesh Murthy and Dev Roy, “who are of the firm belief that the poorest young people in India are worth investing in to change the world,” said an official.
The Fund has created over 20 entrepreneurs. After the success in Karnataka, the new investors decided to replicate the model in Mumbai and the rest of the country.
Television channel Star Utsav aired the Be! Movie series, ‘Idea Ho To Aisa: Be! An Entrepreneur’, prime time for 14 weeks, free of cost, asking young people to call with their business ideas. Be! received 68,000 calls from young people.
With philanthropic capital from Deutsche Bank, UBS and USAID, Be! Fund plans to support and invest in over 30 young heroes in 2013. Of this, 15 hero entrepreneur investments will be in women, 10 of the investments will be in renewable energy and agriculture anywhere in India, while 20 will be across Maharashtra alone.