India’s Zaya takes home top prize in DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge
- Solution for low-income colleges to assist address the training crisis in India
- 418 groups comprising 1,186 contributors from over 20 nations submitted apps
A LOW-cost mixed gaining knowledge of solution evolved in India took domestic the first prize inside the inaugural DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia that attracted social marketers from across Asia who have been operating on answers that might make a social impact of their respective communities and beyond.
Zaya Learning Labs gained a trophy and a coins prize of S$30,0001. Set up in 2013, the organisation has developed a solution for low-income schools to assist tackle the education crisis in India, in which nearly 60% of children do no longer entire primary faculty. [S$1 = US$0.80]
Its answer addresses what the group believes to be the root of this disaster – variability in coaching best, poor infrastructure, constrained attention for each scholar, and infrequent dimension of learning outcomes.
Zaya Learning Labs’ has developed applications, such as academic films, evaluation questions, lesson plans and performance analytics. These are uploaded onto its proprietary ClassCloud, a transportable tool that acts as a WiFi router, server, storage and battery percent. Teachers and college students can get entry to its content using any WiFi-enabled tool.
Zaya Learning Labs has piloted this answer in colleges round Mumbai, reaching out to some six hundred college students. It stated it has also educated more than 100 teachers in workshops, for extra effective gaining knowledge of effects.
Moving ahead, Zaya Learning Labs will spread to start with throughout India, earlier than focused on different parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, that allows you to realize its vision of world-magnificence getting to know for every toddler.
“In 2011, I took a sabbatical from my work as a software engineer within the United States to do volunteer paintings in various Asian countries,” stated founder and chief executive officer Neil D’Souza.
“I noticed that youngsters from low-income families lacked get entry to to excellent, low-cost training and decided to tackle this through Zaya Learning Labs. Moving from being an employee in a big organisation to a social employer entrepreneur became challenging, but well worth it.
“I’m now pursuing my passion and have the ability to make real effect,” he stated, adding that the employer will use the prize money to make bigger the attain of its pilot programmes around India.
More than four hundred innovative social task thoughts have been submitted to the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia, its organisers said in a announcement.
Zaya Learning Labs clinched the pinnacle spot, followed via Maya Universe Academy, and with Bodhi Health Education and Local Alike tying in 0.33 vicinity.
“Our heartiest congratulations exit to the Zaya Learning Labs, Maya Universe Academy, Bodhi Health Education and Local Alike, as the inaugural winners of the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia,” said NUS Enterprise CEO Dr Lily Chan (p.c).
“They have verified sturdy capacity of turning a idea right into a concrete marketing strategy, with actionable steps of generating scalable and sustainable social effect.
“NUS Enterprise hopes that the winners, together with different individuals, will see this competition as just the start of their career as social entrepreneurs who are willing to make a distinction on this international,” she introduced.
The DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge was first launched in September 2013, to perceive and help new social ventures that have the ability to generate scalable and sustainable social impact.
A general of 418 teams comprising 1,186 contributors from over 20 countries submitted programs. Over the beyond eight months, individuals subtle and proven their enterprise thoughts, receiving guidance from mentors and recommendation from experienced social entrepreneurs.
Two rounds of judging ended in six finalists being decided on in May, with public on line vote casting selecting the 7th ‘wild card’ finalist. All seven teams came to Singapore to pitch their enterprise plans to a judging panel these days.
“We salute the finalists and congratulate the first batch of winners of the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia,” said Karen Ngui, head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications at DBS Bank.
“Being decided on as the pinnacle 2% from a pool of over four hundred entries over an 8-month duration is testament to how gifted these groups are and the way far they have come.
“These younger social marketers have inspired us with their ardour, power and the innovative best of their ideas. It is heartening to look such a lot of young marketers decided to be a pressure for excellent.
“My colleagues and I in DBS look ahead to mentoring and supporting these social entrepreneurs further hone their business acumen, as we hold to nurture and broaden the social entrepreneurship quarter within the place,” she introduced.
Maya Universe Academy
The first runner-up acquired S$15,000 in cash prize. Maya Universe Academy is a community of faculties in rural Nepal which affords training to kids in alternate for volunteer paintings.
It is the primary and only unfastened personal college in Nepal with a model which may be tailored and replicated in other growing nations in the end.
Instead of paying college charges, parents offer days of volunteer paintings on the school every month, along with working at the faculty farm or making handicrafts to be bought at a nearby market.
Maya Universe Academy offers a diverse curriculum that evolves to acquire the high-quality feasible outcome for each student, whilst additionally keeping requirements according with Nepal’s national curriculum.
“We commenced a small network college in 2011 as a green tent pitched within the jungle, with the plan to enrol 10 students,” said Maya Universe Academy founder Manjil Rana.
“However, when two hundred households showed up in the course of admissions, we needed to evolve quickly. As phrase of our vision and philosophy reaches neighbouring villages extra implemented,” she brought.
third prize winners
Bodhi Health Education goals to enhance healthcare in India via offering excellent, skill-based totally scientific training to network health workers. It created a scalable schooling answer which teaches complex medical subjects to semi-literate women, using movies in local languages.
Bodhi Health Education leverages on low-price pill computer systems (US$65), mobile telephones and existing IT infrastructure at fitness centres to supply its proprietary clinical content material, which has been developed and curated through a team of health workers, supported via professional illustrators.
The training furnished by means of Bodhi Health Education not simplest improves patient healthcare, it also benefits the medical experts as they could carry out their jobs greater efficiently, increasing the probability of higher earning.
Local Alike is a social organization that promotes network-based totally tourism, with the objective of retaining neighborhood cultures even as offering monetary opportunities to the local community. At the identical time, tourists advantage from real tour reports.
Local Alike acts as a liaison platform among neighborhood entrepreneurs and travelers, making sure both parties’ expectations are met.
The organization has set up an internet portal, created a nearby tour manual database and mounted robust partnerships with nearby communities. The latter consists of supporting to installation tour programs and self-maintaining community-primarily based tourism improvement budget, which can be used for initiatives together with
improving infrastructure or environmental conservation.
Incorporated in 2013, Local Alike has worked with 10 communities at some point of Thailand, bringing some 350 tourists to those areas, producing almost US$forty,000 in tourism revenue to date.
Related Stories:
400+ entries for social entrepreneurship opposition, 12 shortlisted
NUS Enterprise and DBS in regional social entrepreneurship initiative
For more era news and the state-of-the-art updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.