Inclusive Ventures Ltd, a UK-based socio-economic platform that funds innovative organisations, has invested ₹15 crore (about $2.5 million) in the Bengaluru-based rural BPO company RuralShores.

This is Inclusive Ventures’ first social impact investment in India and follows a case study at Oxford University’s Said Business School, Mohamed Amersi, co-founder and Chairman, Inclusive Ventures, was quoted in a press release.

Expansion plan RuralShores, which runs business process outsourcing centres in rural areas, has so far raised ₹40 crore in three rounds of funding, according to Murali Vullaganti, CEO and co-founder. It has 19 centres in nine States employing 2,500 rural youth, catering to more than 30 clients in sectors such as IT, manufacturing, banking, insurance and government departments. The company expects to add 10 centres and employ 3,000 more rural youth in about two years.

The release said, besides the investment in RuralShores, the biggest value that Inclusive Ventures brings is the ability to export RuralShores’ business model to other parts of the world, especially Africa under its South-South and reverse innovation strategies in Africa.

The Oxford Executive MBA programme, with its focus on entrepreneurship, has been the catalyst for this partnership between RuralShores and Inclusive Ventures, said Kathy Harvey, Director of the programme. Inclusive Ventures was founded by Oxford Executive MBA students after a visit to RuralShores in 2014.

Inclusive Ventures supports enterprises that create scalable and substantial impact, delivering both social and financial returns in Asia, Africa and Europe.

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