Deshpande Foundation

Empowers social and economic change through tailored innovation and entrepreneurship strategies in diverse communities worldwide

  • FCRA
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Geographies Served

Programs

  • Agricultural Programmes

    The Foundation's Agriculture Initiatives aim to elevate farming communities and their economic status by understanding their needs and implementing best practices. These efforts involve constructing farm ponds to combat water scarcity, educating farmers on optimal cotton cultivation through the Better Cotton Initiative, and establishing Farmer Producer Organisations to enhance crop production and income. These initiatives have substantially improved rainwater harvesting, diversified cropping patterns, and facilitated financial models, benefiting farmers by enhancing production, income, and market access while ensuring sustainable farming practices.

  • Skilling Programmes

    The Foundation's Skilling Initiatives aim to prepare youth from non-metro areas for India's growing economy. Through tailored programmes, they equip students and unemployed youth with job-oriented skills for formal employment. Leveraging technology and an integrated learning system, these initiatives target economic viability and scalability for rural transformation. Programmes like SkillPlus and SkillPlus-R offer industry-specific training, turning unemployed rural youth into skilled professionals. SiV focuses on primary and upper primary students, improving life skills and English communication to reduce dropouts. EarlySpark enhances literacy and social-emotional skills among students and teachers in Karnataka, aligning with government goals for universal foundational literacy in primary schools. These initiatives strengthen the rural education ecosystem, emphasizing teacher training and community engagement for meaningful contributions to children's education.

  • Micro-Entrepreneurship Development Programme

    States

    Karnataka

    Telangana

    The Micro-Entrepreneurship Development Program (MEDP) by the Foundation aids small local entrepreneurs in building and expanding their sustainable businesses through comprehensive support. Operating both with individual entrepreneurs and clusters, MEDP employs training, mentorship, and best practices to nurture aspirations and foster rural transformation. The Individual MEs arm, I-MEDP, offers networking support, business planning, and exhibitions, aiding 1500 MEs in achieving self-reliance, with crucial marketing assistance yielding ₹51.7 million in revenue. The Cluster initiative, C-MEDP, creates artisanal and primary producer ecosystems, establishing food, leather, and Aari embroidery clusters in different regions. These clusters empower women-led rural transformation by developing units for dehydrated foods, upgrading artisan skills, and cultivating community-owned enterprises, showcasing their products like clothing, photo frames, bags, and home décor.

  • Deshpande Startups Programme

    The Deshpande Startups Programme aims to unlock the vast potential of Bharat (rural and semi-urban India) by nurturing an entrepreneurial ecosystem. This initiative, led by Gururaj 'Desh' Deshpande, endeavours to build supportive environments tailored for semi-urban and rural segments. The programme offers a diverse set of resources, including access to markets, Infinity Studio and ESDM, mentorship, industry connections, funding avenues, networking opportunities, and various tailored programmes. It fosters an entrepreneurial mindset among students, guides and supports startup ideas, validates market needs, and aids in prototype development through pre-incubation. The incubation phase bridges lab-to-market processes, providing exposure, networking, and funding access, while the acceleration program focuses on rapid scaling through market access and sophisticated manufacturing facilities.

  • Rural Transformation Technology Centre (RTTC)

    The Rural Transformation Technology Centre (RTTC) at the Foundation utilizes technology to empower rural communities and drive positive change. It harnesses innovations like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to enhance service delivery, aiming for greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness. RTTC integrates geospatial intelligence and devices to monitor rural activities, utilizing data from diverse sources such as satellites, IoT sensors, and drones. Currently, it optimizes the Farm Pond programme through satellite imagery, offering real-time visibility and comprehensive insights across various stages from site selection to impact assessment. The centre's primary role lies in capturing the impact of all Foundation programmes, providing critical data for funders and partners to make informed decisions based on evidence. This focus on impact evaluation is crucial for understanding and assessing the outcomes of social investments.

Impact Metrics

  • Number of Students Trained

    Program Name

    Skilling Programme

    Year-wise Metrics
    • 2018-19 8000
    • 2019-20 27910
    • 2020-21 14000
    • 2021-22 14000
  • Number of Farm Ponds Created

    Program Name

    Agricultural Programmes

    Year-wise Metrics
    • 2018-19 4500
    • 2019-20 6000
    • 2020-21 6000
    • 2021-22 7000
  • Number of Villages Reached

    Program Name

    Agricultural Programmes

    Year-wise Metrics
    • 2018-19 400
    • 2019-20 1000
    • 2020-21 2000
    • 2021-22 2000

Leadership Team

  • Anand J Bariya

    Chief Executive Officer

  • Karthik Sankaran

    Chief Executive Officer, Deshpande Startups

  • Manish Jaiswal

    Chief Executive Officer, Kakatiya Sandbox

  • P M Nayak

    Managing Trustee & Chief Executive Officer, Deshpande Skilling

  • Shubo Biswas

    Global Chief Technology Officer

Registration Details

  • Registration Number

    JPN-4-00133-2007-08

  • CSR Form 1

    Not Available

  • FCRA

    094520067

About

  • Headquarters

    Hubli, Karnataka

  • Since

    2007

Impact

Deshpande Foundation has positively impacted over 100,000 farmers in India, influenced the lives of 14,000 Indian youth, fostered the creation of 48 MIT spinout companies, supported the launch of 1,100 businesses through EforAll, trained 1,077 entrepreneurs via GDC I-NCUBATE, and facilitated the launch of 152 ventures through DDQIC.

Vision and Mission

To create an ecosystem that nurtures entrepreneurial mindsets that impact grassroot problems through innovation, collaboration and sustainability.

Political & Religious Declarations

  • Political Affiliation

  • Religious Affiliation

Location

  • Headquarters

    DCSE Building, B.V.B. Campus, Vidyanagar, Hubli, Karnataka

    Directions
  • Offices in Cities

Other Details

  • Type

    Non-profit

  • Sub Type

    Trust

Technology Adoption

  • SOC 2 Compliant

    No

  • Financial Management

  • Beneficiary Management