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Top 10 Social Enterprises: India
Vibhu Arya
2012

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
What is a Social Enterprise?
• Nothing fancy, it may not even call itself social
• A Social Enterprise could be engaged in any business
activity fulfilling any need (see right: Maslow’s need
hierarchy). E.g. Entertainment, Nutrition, Sanitation,
Communication, Livelihoods, Transportation, Education,
Training, Financial Inclusion.
• Impact ranges from a pilot serving 10 people to
serving 1 billion people.
• Focused on the underserved/unserved segment
• Profit is not the only motive.
• Social Entrepreneurs earn respect of the community.

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Criteria for Selecting the Top 10
• Enterprise must be ‘the’ clear leader in the category.
• Serves the ‘bottom of the pyramid’.
• Scaled Up and Not a Forever ‘Pilot’. i.e. impacts at least 1 Million clients, directly/indirectly
• Does not operate only on grants. Covers its costs and ensures a small surplus.
• Man Hours Spent On Operations/Field > Man Hours Inside Conference Halls
• & Importantly,
▫ Wows Clients
▫ Creates Employment
▫ Pays statutory taxes & levies, follows the law, is driven by values i.e. net-net, a
responsible corporate citizen
▫ Ensures a Double+ Bottom-line

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Renewable Energy, Health, Sanitation, Entertainment
Enterprise Name: Indian Traders + Chinese Manufacturers + www.alibaba.com
• No Ivy League Case Studies, No Awards. Plain Demand=Supply; Thanks to Chinese
Manufacturers, Indian Traders = Indians at the lower end of SEC Pyramid are
availing essential products which a decade earlier were luxury.
▫ A Regular watch which costed $20 in 1995, now costs ~$5.
▫ A DVD player which costed ~$500 in 2000,now costs $20.
▫ A Solar Rechargeable Lanterns costs ~$20.
▫ A Water Filter $20.
▫ A Mosquito Net $5.
▫ A Mobile Phone now begins at $15.
• Products:
▫ Solar Rechargeable Lanterns, Mosquito Nets, Water Filters, DVD Players,
Radio Sets, Watches
• USP: Chinese Manufacturers, Indian Importers and Alibaba.com made these
products accessible to the common man.
• Target Clientele: Sec D & E
• Impact: 500 Million+ people
• Grants: No
• Status: Privately Held, Anonymous
• www.alibaba.com

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Transportation
Enterprise Name: Indian Railways
• ~15,000 trains cover a distance equaling three &
half times the distance to moon.
• 8000 Railway Stations covering entire India.
• 1.6 Million Employees
• Product: Passenger and Freight
• USP: Inflation Resistant Passenger Fares. Freight
subsidizes the passenger fare. Lifeline of India.
• Target Clientele: Sec C,D & E Indians
• Impact: Carries 13 million passengers & 1.3 million
tones of freight daily
• Grants: No
• Status: Government of India Owned
• www.indianrail.gov.in/

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: MSME’s
Enterprise Name: Just Dial
• Just Dial is a local search engine with listings of over ~7.5
million products and service providers
• Products:
▫ Local Search via Phone (Voice and SMS), Internet
▫ Efficient Advertising channel for micro, small and medium
enterprises.
• USP: 90% of JustDial database comprises of micro, small and
medium enterprises.
• Target Clientele: Sec B, C, D & E
• Impact: Covers 240 cities and receives 250,000 calls daily
• with over 200 million annual searches, 200,000 advertising
campaigns – ALL focused on MSME’s
• Grants: No
• Status: Privately Owned, 2013 IPO Candidate.
• www.justdial.com

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Vocational Training
Enterprise Name: JetKing InfoTrain
• 130 Pan India Centres
• Product: Job Oriented IT Networking & Hardware Training
• USP: $150-$200/month Job Guarantee
• Target Clientele: 10+2 pass outs from SEC D & E
• Impact: Over ~ 0.5 Million students trained and placed
• Grants: No
• Status: Profitable, Traded, Public Listed Company
• http://www.jetkinginfotrain.com/

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Communication, Savings and Remittances
Enterprise Name: Indian Post
• Indian postal service has the most widely distributed post
office system in the world with total of 155,618 post offices
of which 90% are in rural areas.
• Products:
▫ Postal Services: Mail and Freight
▫ Remittance facilities : money orders & postal orders
▫ No frills banking and insurance facilities
• 0.6 Million Employees
• USP: Frozen in TimeTariff. Freight subsidizes the postal
tariff. Postcard (see right) costs Re 0.5 ( i.e. for a $1
send 100+ postcards) – Made it to Ripley’s.
• Target Clientele: Sec D & E
• Impact: 200 Million+ people who access Postal Banking
Services.
• Grants: No
• Status: Government of India Owned
• www.indiapost.gov.in/

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Entertainment & Education = Edutainment
Enterprise Name: Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India)
• 90% of India receives Prasar Bharati (DoorDarshan i.e. TV)
programmes through a network of nearly 1400 terrestrial
transmitters whereas 95% receives All India Radio
programs through 277 stations in 23 languages and 146
dialects.
• Products: Programs on entertainment, education,
agriculture, rural development, environment, social justice,
health and family welfare and science and technology
• USP: Safeguards the Indian citizen’s right to be informed
freely, truthfully and objectively on all matters of public
interest, national or international, and presenting a fair and
balanced flow of information including contrasting views
without advocating any opinion or ideology of its own.
• Target Clientele: Sec D & E
• Impact: Over 1 Billion Indians
• Grants: No
• Status: Government of India Owned
• www.prasarbharati.gov.in/

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Livelihoods & Transportation
Enterprise Name: $800, 80Km/L, 100 CC Motorcycles Co’s
• With non existent city public transport systems, 100 CC
motorcyles provide affordable passenger and cargo
transportation services to over 500 million Indians.
• Product Features:
▫ Price: $800
▫ Mileage: 80 km/litre
▫ Seating Capacity: 2 Official, 2-6 unofficial
• Over 5 Million Employees (Direct/Indirect)
• USP: 80 kilometers to a liters / can seat 2-6
• Target Clientele: Sec C, D & E
• Impact: Over 100 Million+ motorcycles on Indian roads
with ~8 million motorcycles sold/year.
• Grants: No
• Status: Profitable, Traded Public Listed Companies

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Health & Nutrition
Enterprise Name: Tata Salt
• Tata Salt is a super-refined, vacuum-evaporated iodised
salt produced by Tata with a 65 percent market share in the
national branded salt segment. It sells an average of 50,000
metric tons per month and is available at over 1.2 mm
outlets providing a safe alternative to Rock Salt.
• Products:
▫ Salt, a healthy alternative to Rock Salt.
• 0.6 Million Employees
• USP: Amongst India’s most trusted brand.
• Target Clientele: Sec A,B,C,D & E
• Impact: Consumed by nearly 40 million households
each month
• Grants: No
• Status: Profitable, Traded Public Listed Companies
• http://www.tatachemicals.com/products/tata_salt.htm

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Micro Credit
Enterprise Name: 200+ Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFI’s); Bank-SHG
• India has the world’s largest Microfinance Industry serving
over ~50 Million Indians. The Government has finally
recognized its potential with several measures announced
& planned to build a truly enabling legislative and policy
environment
• Products
• Microcredit
• USP: Effective pricing lower than banks.
• Target Clientele: Sec C, D & E, both Urban and Rural
• Impact: 75 Million+ clients.
• Grants: No
• Status: Privately Held to Public Companies

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Catalyzing Innovation & Social Enterprise Institution Building
Enterprise Name: Aavishkaar
• 21st May 2012, SEBI notified the word ‘social venture fund’.
Aavishkar has been social venture investing for over a
decade, catalyzing innovation at the bottom on the
pyramid.
• Products: Venture Capital Investments focused on seven
key sectors:
▫ Agriculture and Dairy, Education, Energy, Handicrafts,
Health, Water and Sanitation, Technology for
Development and Microfinance and Financial Inclusion
• USP: Aavishkar created ‘the’ category of social venture
funds with several new social venture funds being raised.
• Target Clientele: Portfolio Companies target Sec D & E
clients
• Impact: Collectively Aavishkar portfolio companies can
impact over ~25 Million+ people directly/indirectly
• Status: SEBI Registered Venture Capital Fund.
• http://www.aavishkaar.in/investee-portfolio/

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Sector: Communication & Livelihoods
Enterprise Name: Prepaid Mobile Phone
Service Operators
• Indian Mobile Phone Operators are brave. They face the
lowest ARPU’s and the muddiest regulatory /policy
environment, globally. The prepaid mobile phone
services customer is king.
• Products
• Free Incoming
• Outgoing @ Rock Bottom Tariff
• SMS @ Rock Bottom Tariff
• USP: 1 Paisa per Second Tariff & India’s unique missed
call technique of communicating.
• Target Clientele: Sec C, D & E
• Impact: 800 Million+ people access Prepaid Mobile
Services for communication and facilitating business.
• Grants: No
• Status: Privately Held to Public Companies
• www.coai.com/

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Vibhu Arya: Top 10 Social Enterprises, India
Vibhu Arya is a ‘new’ independent consultant in the impact investing, microfinance and branchless banking space.
vibhuarya@gmail.com
Formerly, The ShakespeareWalla
Mirage At The Bottom Of The Pyramid
The Three Witches of Microfinance