NASSCOM Foundation and Mphasis launch NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum (NSIF)to support and mentor India’s best Social Innovations
Pune 17 May 2019:NASSCOM Foundation, in partnership with Mphasis today announced the launch of eleventh edition of the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum (NSIF) – India’s largest platform to foster innovative use of technology and create sustained social impact. The program instituted in 2008, identifies, honours and supports, innovative technology projects, products and solutions that have the potential to address critical gaps in key developmental areas and contribute to inclusive growth of the country.
Building on the solid foundation from the last ten years’success and learnings, NSIF is inviting entries from a diverse range of social innovators across NGOs, social enterprises and start-ups.
With support from Mphasis, NSIF will award catalytic grants of INR 10 Lakhs each to the strongest tech innovations that are creating radical social impact in areas ofFinancial Inclusion, Healthcare, Environment, Education and Accessibility.The grants will be given toone winner from each of the above thematic areas.
The winnerswill also be provided with a 12-monthSupport-to-Scale Mentoring by subject matter experts in the industry and access to NASSCOM Foundation’s 2000 innovator strong network of tech for good leaders in the country.The Forum aims to drive CSR capital to encourage and scale innovations across relevant and topical themes in the country.
“We are delighted to be part of an initiative that drives social advancement and fosters innovation. Today, there are various pathfinders who are seeking creative ways to address key developmental issues faced by the country, and it is our focus to encourage their efforts and offer support. Through our association with NASSCOM Foundation, we hope to create social impact at scale and encourage innovations that contribute towards the progress of our society in the long run, said Srikanth Karra, Chief Human Resources Officer, Mphasis.
Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation said, “”We may soon be able to replace braille dots with electrostatic charges allowing the visually impaired to use touch screen smartphones; Artificial Intelligence may soon govern our healthcare systems; IoT may soon be able to help bring efficiencies in our efforts towards environment conservation, Machine Learning may help provide better education. We are living in exciting times where innovative technology solutions can help change the social fabric and solve some of the most pressing problems for India.He further added, “With NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum, we hope to supportthe best possible tech-based innovations that can make the lives of people easier. We are grateful to Mphasis to continue providing support to the social innovators through this program.”
Applications for NSIF are open till 15th June, 2019.
Once the applications are received, they will undergo a carefully designed 3 stage, shortlisting process with jury members consisting of the leaders from across industries. The winners will be announced and felicitated at the NASSCOM Product Conclave in November 2019.
