In a first-of-its-kind initiative, a group of impact investors and alumni of the IIMs and IITs have come together to invest an undisclosed amount in Aakar Innovations.
The company, of IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), works in the domain of affordable sanitary napkins for rural Indian women.
The investment round was led by CIIE with further participation from Artha Platform, a leading philanthropy community in India. The investment was carried out under the ACT for Impact Programme at CIIE, focusing on using alumni connections to bring more angel capital into the ecosystem.
The programme was supported by philanthropic foundations including the Rockefeller Foundation, Omidyar Network and Dasra, said Vipul Patel, Senior Manager of CIIE Initiatives, on Monday. Aakar is a hybrid social enterprise that manufactures high-quality, compost-able and hygienic sanitary pads priced below other branded, competitive products. These pads are produced and sold by women entrepreneurs in their own villages. Their not-for-profit arm trains rural women to run manufacturing units and create awareness about menstrual hygiene.
As a part of this arm, Aakar has started a crowdfunding campaign called “Freedom from Shame” to raise donations. “Over 100 donors have already given their support and we are looking to raise additional donations to support more women entrepreneurs,” said Sombodhi Ghosh, Co-founder of Aakar Innovations. They have so far sold 22 machines across India of which 15 units are operational and the rest seven will be functional by mid-December. These machines, which are usually set up in rural villages and urban-slum areas, have led to the direct employment of over 200 women.
On investing in Aakar, Geeta Goel, Director, Mission Investing at Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, said that if delivered in a responsible manner, such products and services can have tremendous social impact that can both scale and sustain itself.
In that respect, Aakar is a great example of a responsible, customer centric, cost effective solution to the issue of women’s hygiene in rural and low income areas, a problem that has plagued us for several generations and is at the core of poor health of millions of women, she added.
InvestmentAbout raising the first-round of investment and expanding to Africa, Ghosh said the participants are already working with several African organizations. “We are planning to commence these operations in partnership with local organizations in Kenya and Uganda in the next few months.”