Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award India 2019

Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award India 2019

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organisation of the World Economic Forum and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation of Jubilant Bhartia Group announced Shanti Raghavan & Dipesh Sutariya of EnAble India as the winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year India 2019 Award on Thursday, 3rd October 2019. The award was presented by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs & Ministry of Civil Aviation and Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India in presence of over 250 participants in New Delhi. The award ceremony was a part of the India Economic Summit hosted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Government of India.

The SEOY India Award 2019 winner, has been instrumental in building an ecosystem of skilling, employment and entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities (PwDs) through the use of technology innovations, breakthroughs in skill trainings, new workplace solutions and behaviour change tools. EnAble India has positively influenced and changed the mind-set of 729 business houses and built the frameworks of inclusion in universities and government agencies for the employment of PwDs in formal and informal sectors across India.

Over the years, SEOY India award has established itself as one of the most reputed and coveted awards for social entrepreneurs in India. This year the award celebrates its 10th year. In 2010, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation came together to promote social innovation in India through the Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) India Award. The award has seen over 1500 applications in the last 10 years.

The winner of SEOY India Award participates in the annual and regional meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and will join the world’s largest network of social enterprises affiliated with The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. These meetings offer unprecedented opportunities to engage with global decision-makers from the public, corporate, media, academic and civil society sectors. The winner will be invited to join the Schwab Foundation’s global community of over 390 social innovators.

This year’s jury members included Mrs. Hilde Schwab, Chairperson & Co – Founder, Schwab Foundation for Entrepreneurship; Ms. Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson & Editorial Director, HT Media Ltd; Ms. Sudha Pillai, Former, Member Secretary, Planning Commission Government of India; Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Government of India; Ms. Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Arghyam Foundation; Mr. Vikram Kirloskar, President, Confederation of Indian Industry; Ms. Prema Gopalan, Founder, Swayam Shikshan Prayog, Winner SEOY 2018; Mr. Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman, Brookings India and Mr. P R Ganapathy, Regional Director, Stanford Seed India.

About The Winner

Shanti Raghavan and Dipesh Sutariya
EnAble India, Bengaluru

EnAble India (EI) is rapidly building the Indian eco-system of skilling, employment and entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities (PwDs) through technology innovations, breakthroughs in skill trainings, new workplace solutions and behaviour change tools. By changing the mind set of 729 business houses and building frameworks of inclusion in universities and government agencies, EI has created a robust business case for employing PwDs in formal and informal sectors across India.

Over 20 years, Shanti, Dipesh and their teams have cumulatively transformed the lives of 2,20,000 individuals with disabilities and their families, community leaders and employers, across 28 states. Working across a wide bench of 14 disabilities, all EI trainees perform at par, and receive salaries at par with their non-disabled peers. Through partnerships with 200 non-profit organisations, EnAble India is set to transform one million PwDs as confident tax payers, active citizens and nation-builders over the next three years.