Global IndianstoryThese FemTech startups are changing the way women’s health is perceived in India

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These FemTech startups are changing the way women’s health is perceived in India

Written by: Global Indian

(August 27, 2021) FemTech: it’s the hottest buzzword in the startup ecosystem with more and more entrepreneurs jumping onto the bandwagon. And most of them are women. After all, nobody gets a woman’s health like a woman might. Women’s health, an oft neglected area, is finally finding its moment in the spotlight with more and more startups sensing the importance of the sector that has long been overlooked and undermined.

Short for female technology, these are companies that manufacture and sell products catering to women’s needs: wearable devices, treatments, informative apps and platforms and hygiene products. From tech that addresses concerns surrounding breast cancer (one in 28 women develop it) to forums that raise awareness about PCOS (one in five Indian women suffer from it), FemTech startups are covering the spectrum.

According to a report in Forbes, despite the rise in FemTech startups, only 3% of the total HealthTech funding went to the segment in 2020. The lack of funding continues to plague the segment, despite the sector being expected to reach $1.07 trillion by 2026. The disconnect: 95% of VC partners are men and don’t understand the potential this market holds.

Regardless, women-led FemTech startups are soldiering on and Global Indian turns the spotlight on some promising Indian enterprises that are rising in the segment.

Niramai

Nidhi Mathur and Dr Geetha Manjunath, founders of Niramai

Founded in 2016 by Dr Geetha Manjunath and Nidhi Mathur, Niramai provides Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution to help detect breast cancer and growth abnormalities in women. Their Thermalytix, a breakthrough solution in the segment, is now being used by hospitals to detect breast cancer as well as several other diseases, through non-invasive and radiation-free ways. The product uses AI and a high-resolution thermal sensing device to measure the temperature of the chest region to detect early-stage cancer. The startup was backed in 2019 by Bill and Melinda Gates to develop a cure for an AI-based software to control the spread of River Blindness which had affected 17 million in Africa.

The Bengaluru-based Niramai has raised total funding of $14 million until June 2021 and during the pandemic it also launched a home-based screening service. In June this year, it raised research funding from CDC, a UK-based development finance institution, to develop NIRAMAI FeverTest that was launched last year to enable screening for COVID-19 symptoms at scale.

Ava

Evelyn Immanuel, founder, Ava

Irregular periods, erratic weight gain, infertility, insulin resistance, mood swings, fatigue: all symptoms characteristic of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which are often brushed under the carpet. However, with one in five women in India suffering from the condition, it is time PCOS was addressed properly and not just treated with contraceptive pills and curt orders to lose weight. Women suffering from PCOS often find themselves being shamed for their obesity and shy away from getting the help they deserve and Ava decided to step in and turn the focus on the condition for good measure. The Bengaluru-based startup that was founded in 2019 by Evelyn Immanuel, promotes a disciplined and holistic approach by offering curated programs and personalized plans to help women deal with conditions such as PCOS and thyroid.

With a team of doctors, nutritionists, dermatologists, psychologists and fitness coaches, Ava encourages women with PCOS to adopt a holistic approach to managing their condition — all with a better understanding of PCOS. Started with an initial investment of ₹10 lakh, Ava raised additional funding through 100x VC in 2020.

PregBuddy

Sivareena Sarika, founder of PregBuddy

Launched as a WhatsApp group in 2016 by Sivareena Sarika and IIT-Kharagpur alumnus Subhadeep Mondal, PregBuddy soon grew into a peer-to-peer platform that offers personalized care for expectant mothers. The AI-enabled continuum platform brings together doctors and health experts to guide women right from preconception to the early years of motherhood. Incidentally, Sarika came up with the idea for PregBuddy when she saw the lack of information and support for pregnant women in the country after a cousin miscarried in the fourth month of her pregnancy.

Initially, the startup was complete bootstrapped with an investment of ₹10 lakh, however it raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Indian Angel Network in 2018.

Carmesi

Rikshav Bohra and Tanvi Johri, founders, Carmesi

One of the most common problems several women face is that their sanitary napkins (with their synthetic ingredients) often leave them feeling uncomfortable and with rashes. This is where Carmesi steps in. Launched in 2017 by Tanvi Johri and Rikshav Borah, Carmesi aims to make periods a ‘safe’ time of the month for women while promoting menstrual hygiene. The sanitary napkins that come packed in a vanity case are made with all natural ingredients such as bamboo fiber and cornstarch. Women can tailor the delivery schedule of the products based on their period cycle and the products are a 100% biodegradable. The company is also working to ensure that their packaging is also biodegradable.

In 2017, Carmesi raised a seed round of funding from Sunil Kalra, Arun Venkatachalam, and Startup Buddy Ventures.

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Agnikul Cosmos: IIT Madras-incubated startup that built the world’s first 3D printed rocket

As a child, Srinath Ravichandran was obsessed with all things space. Every time ISRO launched a rocket, the Chennai boy would be glued to his television set devouring all the footage Doordarshan would afford its viewers. Little did he know that one day he would co-build a startup that would fulfill all his space dreams. Today, Agnikul Cosmos is the world's first company to successfully test a fully 3D printed rocket engine that can carry a payload of up to 100 kilos into lower earth orbit. [caption id="attachment_3563" align="aligncenter" width="358"] The 3D printed engine and pump by Agnikul Cosmos[/caption] Backed by the likes of Mayfield India, Anand Mahindra, Naval Ravikant, and Nithin Kamath, the IIT Madras-incubated startup has signed a pact with ISRO to receive tech support and is gearing up to launch its first rocket into lower earth orbit next year. “We had planned on a December 2021 launch, but things got pushed a little due to the pandemic,” 36-year-old Ravichandran told Global Indian. The company put on hold its liquid oxygen-based testing during the pandemic’s second wave when the country immediately needed medical oxygen for Covid-19 patients. http://twitter.com/AgnikulCosmos/status/1384720021469884419?s=20 From finding it incredibly hard to get investors to raising Series A funding of $11 million in May, Ravichandran and his co-founder Moin SPM have come a

ch support and is gearing up to launch its first rocket into lower earth orbit next year. “We had planned on a December 2021 launch, but things got pushed a little due to the pandemic,” 36-year-old Ravichandran told Global Indian. The company put on hold its liquid oxygen-based testing during the pandemic’s second wave when the country immediately needed medical oxygen for Covid-19 patients.

http://twitter.com/AgnikulCosmos/status/1384720021469884419?s=20

From finding it incredibly hard to get investors to raising Series A funding of $11 million in May, Ravichandran and his co-founder Moin SPM have come a long way.

Coming of age

Despite his love for all things space, Ravichandran found himself pursuing an electrical engineering degree at College of Engineering, Guindy, following which he took up a regular 9-to-5 job in Bengaluru. Two years later, he flew to New York for a master's in financial engineering from Columbia Engineering and landed a cushy job on Wall Street. However, it failed to retain Ravichandran’s interest; he found himself pursuing a film course to figure where his interests actually lay. “All of this helped me learn so much about myself. I realized that space tech was where my true happiness lay and I enrolled in an aerospace engineering master’s program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,” he says.

[caption id="attachment_3569" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O'Farrell visiting the Agnikul Cosmos team at NCCCRD, IIT-Madras[/caption]

But he soon realized he was still cut off from the hub of all space tech action: Los Angeles. Ravichandran decided to convert his full-time program into an online one and moved lock, stock and barrel to Los Angeles, took up a job in finance again, and used all his free time to network with the space tech community. “I’d never been a very conversant person, but as I worked my way around the community, I learnt to better myself. It was during this time that I realized there was a problem here,” he says. “The whole launch industry had perfectly good, viable rockets sitting around in labs; nobody was launching them.”

He wondered why. “That’s when it struck me that I could build a small rocket to get small satellites in space.”

“Like all brilliant ideas; I discovered that there were others working along similar ones,” he laughs, “At least it was validation that my idea wasn’t super crazy.”

Back to base

Around that time Ravichandran got in touch with Professor Satya Chakravarty, a rocket scientist and head of National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD), at IIT-Madras. Prof, as he is referred to by the Agnikul team, was willing to give Ravichandran’s idea a real shot. So, in 2017 Ravichandran moved back to India and formally co-founded Agnikul Cosmos with Moin and Prof Chakravarty. The company was incubated at IIT-M and the founders met RV Perumal, former ISRO scientist and the man behind the PSLV launches. “RV Sir guided us on who to hire and how to approach things. With Prof’s help we had access to lab facilities at IIT. We were completely bootstrapped; Moin and I pooled in all our savings,” he says. Gradually the two began meeting the investor community, but most meetings turned out to be more educational than transactional; the industry was at a very nascent stage back then.

[caption id="attachment_3562" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Agnibaan, the rocket designed by Agnikul Cosmos[/caption]

They got their first break when Vishesh Rajaram from Speciale Invest helped them with seed funding of $500,000. Gradually people began taking them more seriously and they test-fired their first rocket in 2018. By February 29, 2020 they got more investors on board and raised $3.5 million. Three weeks later the country entered a nationwide lockdown. “But we used the time to focus on design, backup strategies, ways to minimize hardware iterations and maximize software iterations,” says Ravichandran.

Space for more

But Agnikul is not the only player in this burgeoning space. Several companies such as Skyroot Aerospace, Oneweb, Pixxel, Bellatrix Aerospace, and Dhruva Space are vying for the honors, Hyderabad-based Skyroot, founded by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, too revealed their fully 3D-printed cryogenic rocket engine called Dhawan-I late last year.

The government’s decision to throw open space tech to private players in June 2020 came as a shot in the arm for Agnikul. The team went on to consolidate their standing by signing a formal agreement in November 2020 to work with ISRO on building launch vehicles from India.

[embed]http://twitter.com/anandmahindra/status/1359417110762450945?s=20[/embed]

Earlier this year Anand Mahindra tweeted about the company and announced that he had invested in them in a personal capacity. In February 2021, the team successfully test-fired Agnilet, a completely 3D printed rocket engine; probably the first to be made entirely using a 3D printer.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1GVGbn4-U4[/embed]

Interest in space tech is starting to grow. In fact, the global space industry is expected to generate $1.1 trillion by 2040, according to a report by Morgan Stanley.

Agnikul’s clients include people wanting to do satellite imaging, telecom companies, pharma companies, people looking to store data in space, researchers experimenting with microgravity, and even people looking to create artificial fireworks.

“We are essentially a cab ride for these people. We help them take their payload up to space. India is now being taken seriously for its private space tech and the industry is changing as we speak,” says Ravichandran.

Reading Time: 10 mins

Beyond Classrooms: SpaceBasic CEO Madhavi Shankar helps make campus life easy

(March 11, 2023) Some decisions can change the trajectory of life, forever. For Madhavi Shankar, it was moving to Australia to study in 2012. Living independently and practising independent decision making, she realised her potential when she joined a technology startup and went on to work there for four years, juggling different roles. The experiences came in handy when she had a chance meeting with Indu Navar, a successful entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, during a trip to the US in 2016. Five hours of conversations later, Madhavi Shankar’s career had taken off. “I returned to Sydney, quit my job and flew back to India the following year with a goal to solve the real problem in the education space. The result was the birth of SpaceBasic.inc,” smiles the Co-founder and CEO of SpaceBasic, the ed-tech company which works on digitising student experiences for universities and campus housing communities. Back to basics: The idea behind SpaceBasic was to create a digital platform beyond the classroom for students and educators. “Today, over 50 colleges and universities use SpaceBasic to empower their campus housing communities by digitising everyday tasks and communications to deliver a better living experience,” Madhavi tells Global Indian. With rigorous due-diligence,

s Global Indian.

With rigorous due-diligence, Madhavi learnt that over 80% of universities in India use little to no technology outside of the classroom. Campus operations like student housing, managing cafeterias and access control were ineffective and all performed manually with fragmented data sources. “We knew there had to be a better way,” says Madhavi, about the events that led to the launch of SpaceBasic.

[caption id="attachment_36087" align="aligncenter" width="416"] Madhavi Shankar, CEO and co-founder, SpaceBasic[/caption]

Under her leadership and entrepreneurial skills, SpaceBasic has grown 300% year on year. The AI-enabled SaaS platform digitises the non-curriculum life of a student by automating everyday tasks and communication within universities, schools and student housing communities, in one workspace.

Early life

A first generation entrepreneur from Bengaluru, Madhavi comes from a traditional South Indian family. Her parents, both doctors made sure education was the cornerstone of their children’s upbringing. “Throughout my school and college days, I would often get into trouble for my grades,” recalls the technology enthusiast, who enjoyed participating, curating and hosting events.

She did her schooling from National Public School and then went to Visvesvaraya Technological University for her Bachelor's degree.

Sydney calling

Come 2012, Madhavi moved to Sydney to pursue her Masters and MBA from the University of Technology. “My passion for startups started in Sydney. I wanted to start a company from the experience I had in Australia as an international student and drawing comparison to my experiences in India. I was inclined to build something in the education space,” says the Forbes 30 Under 30, Asia 2020 awardee.

While working in the tech startup in Sydney, Madhavi handled different responsibilities, from front desk receptionist, door-to-door sales to finally product manager, Asia Pacific.

[caption id="attachment_36088" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Madhavi and Indu Navar, co-founders, SpaceBasic[/caption]

The entrepreneurship journey

Referring to her meeting with Indu Navar, with whom she co-founded SpaceBasic, Madhavi says their conversation made them realise they shared the common passion of bringing about a change with the use of technology in undeserved sectors in India.

“The goal was to bring together meaningful data sources from everyday tasks and communication and to provide universities actionable insights, leading to cost reductions and streamlined operations,” explains the entrepreneur, who was honoured with Global Australian Award - Advance.Org & Government of Australia 2022.

SpaceBasic is backed by early stage Venture Capitalists SucCeed, Turbostart and have prominent angels from India and the US. Presently, SpaceBasic is working with institutions like Manipal Academy of Higher Education, PES University, DY Patil University, Indus International Schools among others and enables 120K+ users.

The company is expected to accelerate towards a revenue goal of $25M by 2026. “Universities and colleges today want to digitize manual, redundant campus operations and adopt AI technology to make predictive data-driven decisions that will help with cost reductions, optimized operations and provide an amazing connected campus experience to students,” she explains.

Empowering women everywhere

As an empowering woman leader, Madhavi had the opportunity to speak at the United Nations HQ in Geneva in 2019. “Representing India as one of the nine youth speakers was an incredible experience. I interacted and learnt about the social initiatives by young entrepreneurs,” says Madhavi. The event was part of the one million youth leaders by 2030.

She has also been invited to speak at IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Chennai, ISB Hyderabad and TEDx talks as well. “The common theme around these talks have been women empowerment and the economic need for more women in the workforce and what we can do to support this,” informs Madhavi.

So what are her future plans ? “Our goal over the next three years is to digitise the campus experience of one million students with SpaceBasic.” She says her company believes in equal opportunities for all and giving back to the community. Affiliated with the movement ‘Pledge 1%’ where the company pledges 1% of their profits, time and software to invest back into the community, SpaceBasic works towards educating women each year, informs the entrepreneur.

Madhavi’s work involves lot of travel, something she loves. “I try to read half a dozen self-help books or biographies a year,” says the CEO.

Follow Madhavi on LinkedIn

Maya Vivek and Minal Dalmia: Recycling ‘HolyWaste’

(May 10, 2023) Maya Vivek and Minal Dalmia, two Telangana-based social entrepreneurs, tackle India's flower waste pollution with their innovative startup, Oorvi Sustainable Concepts. By recycling flower waste into eco-friendly products, they not only contribute to sustainability but also provide employment for marginalized women. “Every year, approximately eight million tons of waste flowers are dumped in the rivers in India, choking them to death. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers used to grow flowers mix with the river water, making it highly toxic,” states a report published by the International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology (IJRASET). “Various drains and waterways connected to the water bodies also get clogged, creating civic problems of great magnitude. We always tend to blame the industrial waste but never give a thought to flower pollution,” the report mentions. The city of Hyderabad alone generates some 1,000 metric tons of flower waste per day, and Telangana-based social entrepreneurs Maya Vivek and Minal Dalmia decided to do something about it. They founded Oorvi Sustainable Concepts, which recycles flower waste collected from temples and social gatherings, and processes them into eco-friendly products like fertilisers, incense sticks and soaps. The social entrepreneurs are not just

ed to the water bodies also get clogged, creating civic problems of great magnitude. We always tend to blame the industrial waste but never give a thought to flower pollution,” the report mentions.

The city of Hyderabad alone generates some 1,000 metric tons of flower waste per day, and Telangana-based social entrepreneurs Maya Vivek and Minal Dalmia decided to do something about it. They founded Oorvi Sustainable Concepts, which recycles flower waste collected from temples and social gatherings, and processes them into eco-friendly products like fertilisers, incense sticks and soaps. The social entrepreneurs are not just doing their bit for sustainability but also creating livelihoods for marginalised women in their locality. “We work with most beautiful things that nature has ever created – flowers and women,” says Maya, in an interview with Global Indian.

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A post shared by Holy Waste • Products from Upcycled Flower Waste. (@holy.waste)

It all began when…

Maya and Minal, who became friends while picking up their kids from school, had been toying with the idea of doing something for the marginalised women of their area, Gundlapochampally. While Minal was involved with her family business, Maya was thinking of a career switch, after spending two decades as an international logistics and freight forwarding professional. They wanted their next career move to be purposeful and of value to the local women.

As they brainstormed various ideas, they came across a video of Kanpur-based entrepreneurs who were recycling flowers and making a difference. The idea resonated with Maya and Minal, who decided to adopt the cause too. “We started our organisation in 2019. However, we had begun experimenting in 2018. Once we were ready with the prototypes, we went ahead and registered the firm,” tells Maya.

HolyWaste

They named their company ‘Oorvi’, or ‘earth’, and their products are made under the clever brand name, HolyWaste. They infuse new life into floral discards through a process they call ‘FloRejuvenation’.  

“We wanted to get into a business where women and the environment could benefit together. Waste management was a huge area where we could explore possibilities and floral waste seemed niche, full of opportunity.” Mays says. “Any problem in the environment affects a woman’s life first. So, she is best suited to think of solutions too,” she adds.

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A post shared by Holy Waste • Products from Upcycled Flower Waste. (@holy.waste)

Slow and steady growth

Oorvi began operations with just one temple, setting up their first bin to collect used flowers at the Skandagiri temple in Secuderabad. They set up their processing unit in Gundlapochampally village, which is a half-hour drive from Hyderabad. Four years later, the organisation partners with more than 40 temples.

“A friend knew the head of Sri Subrahmanyaswamy Temple in Skandagiri, so the idea clicked," says Maya. The sarpanch of Gundlapochampally was happy with their idea of benefitting local women. He helped them out by giving them access to the village community hall to start their initial operations.

This helped the duo win the trust of the local families and attract local women, who started joining their venture. The local women were trained in how to segregate and make eco-friendly products. Since the workers were mothers too, Maya and Minal made sure work hours were convenient – from 10 am to 4 pm every day. It allowed the women to devote themselves to work without worrying about neglecting their home and kids.

As the enterprise grew, Oorvi’s operations moved to a rented premise in the vicinity. The entrepreneurs have been partnering with places of worship, vendors, event planners, decorators, and just about anybody who generates floral waste.

[caption id="attachment_38339" align="aligncenter" width="603"] Maya Vivek | Minal Dalmia | Indian Social Entrepreneur | Global Indian Maya and Minal with few of the Oorvi workers[/caption]

The extra mile

The entrepreneurs wanted HolyWaste products to be totally sustainable, down to their eco-friendly packaging. To avoid the use of plastic, the products are packed in pouches stitched from old and traditional handloom sarees and dupattas. To add a personal touch to their products, they attach handwritten notes on handmade paper with every package. "More than the products themselves, we found that people were fascinated with our process," Maya smiles.

They made an impact quickly and IDEA, the startup incubator at the ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, took Oorvi under its wing, giving them the mentorship they needed. IDEA helped the HolyWaste project with the minutest of details, like getting just the right butter paper to lock the fragrance and freshness of the soaps and incense sticks to make the dream project successful.

Later, Maya and Minal’s startup was incubated by WE Hub (Women Entrepreneurs Hub), which is India’s first and only state-led incubator to promote and foster women entrepreneurship.

With dedication and the right mentorship Maya and Minal managed to find success despite starting operations just before the pandemic hit. They process over 1,000 kilograms of floral waste every week, preventing it from ending up in waterbodies and landfills.

The entrepreneurs were awarded the India Sustainability Award 2022. Their social venture was also honoured with the coveted Best Green Startup award in the Eco Ideas category at the prestigious Green India Awards, 2019. 

“What is holy today is becoming waste tomorrow, so we should try to make it holy again,’ signs off Maya.

[caption id="attachment_38345" align="aligncenter" width="656"] Maya Vivek | Minal Dalmia | Indian Social Entrepreneur | Global Indian Ambar gift box by HolyWaste[/caption]

Takeaways:

Sustainability through innovation: Oorvi Sustainable Concepts demonstrates how identifying a niche environmental issue, like flower waste pollution, can lead to the development of innovative solutions and business opportunities.
Vocal for local: The founders of Oorvi recognized the importance of empowering marginalized women, and their venture exemplifies how social entrepreneurship can create meaningful employment opportunities and improve local communities.
Social empowerment and profitability: Oorvi's commitment to sustainability, demonstrated by their eco-friendly packaging and products, serves as a reminder that businesses can have a positive impact on the environment while still being profitable.
The social entrepreneurship landscape: The recognition and awards received by Oorvi, such as the India Sustainability Award and the Best Green Startup award, highlight the potential for social entrepreneurs to gain support and acknowledgement when addressing pressing environmental and social issues.

Follow Maya Vivek on LinkedIn

Follow HolyWaste on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

Reading Time: 5 mins

Akshita Bhanj Deo: Building sustainable tourism with social impact

(August 31, 2023) Akshita Bhanj Deo and her sister are the directors of the 200-year-old Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj. Together, they're working to build sustainable tourism with social impact. Akshita is also the manager of Dasra, which launched GivingPi, Inda's first invite-only family philanthropy network, which has raised $300 million and impacted over 100 million Indians, with members that include Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder, Zerodha and True Beacon, Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Nisaba Godrej, Executive Chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Born into the fading glory of India's royals, among palaces falling to ruin, Princess Akshita Bhanj Deo sometimes compares her life to Downton Abbey. A descendant of the Bhanja Dynasty, her great grandfather is the late King Tribhuvan of Nepal. Raised in Kolkata, she studied at the prestigious La Martiniere for Girls and then at United World College of Southeast Asia Singapore. She was an athlete in school and college and a national-level equestrian, participating in dressage and jumping. After school, she went to college as a Davis scholar at Bard College in the US, where she studied Political Science and Human Rights with a concentration in Media in conflict areas. After college, she moved to New York

ollege, she moved to New York City to hone her skills in communications, brand management and entrepreneurship while working at the International Rescue Committee.

[caption id="attachment_44289" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Akshita Bhanj Deo, one of the directors of the 200-year-old Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj with her sister, Mrinalika.[/caption]

Royal Call

Currently she is a TedX speaker and a manager at Dasra, Akshita is working to build a conversation around strategic philanthropy in India through GivingPi. In 2019, she moved full-time to Mayurbhanj, where she developed an interest in building social enterprises and refurbishing the historic Belgadia Palace on a startup model. "My sister Mrinalika and I restored our 18^th century ancestral home (The Belgadia Palace) to have tourism be a catalyst for sustainable development in Odisha's largest district Mayurbhanj,” she says, in an exclusive with Global Indian. The idea was to use the property as a platform to divert funds into the district's small and medium-sized enterprises and attract investment, by serving as a point of local contact between non-profits, the media, and entrepreneurs. Raising funds from guests who visited the palace, the sisters started the Mayurbhanj Foundation to help the local community in terms of healthcare, education, arts and culture, livelihoods, and sports. They hope to positively impact at least 10,000 people by 2025.

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Partnering for Success

They have tie-ups with local communities to promote business and provide an alternative livelihood from eco-tourism by giving them access to market linkages with travellers. These include Project Chhauni (Arts), NGO Sangram (Livelihoods), Mayurbhanj Art Foundation (Arts and Culture), ORMAS Sabai grass SHGs (Livelihoods) and Thakurmunda Sports Academy (Sports). Since they opened in August 2019, they have had 1000 guests in 2.5 years and have conducted over 500 property tours on heritage conservation and heritage. With over 100 meet-and-greets with Dokra and Sabai Grass artists with ORMAS and 100 Mayurbhanj Chhau dance performances with their local NGO partner Project Chhauni, they have had three artist residencies, one international from an artist duo from New Zealand and one national with an emerging photographer from Bhatinda and a partnership with Frequencies Foundation and one with the BEADS Studio in Bhubaneshwar. They had two volunteer-led trips to empower the local community students with Living to Change and Youth for sustainability and one grant tie-up with the Mehrangarh Fort Museum and Trust supported by the Tata Trusts heritage conservation initiative. “We have also been actively supporting the local sports groups in Mayurbhanj and have tied up with NGO Sangram to support tribal youth. We run fundraising drives to deliver sports equipment and kits to the youth and hold workshops on conservation and livelihood capacity training since many live on the fringes of the Simlipal Elephant and Tiger Reserve and biosphere which witnessed the tragic forest fires this year,” Akshita adds.

Giving Back

Akshita manages Dasra, which launched GivingPi in July 2022, India’s first and exclusive family philanthropy network, an independent initiative under the aegis of Dasra and has managed to positively impact over 100 million Indians with the $300 million raised. GivingPi's Founders Circle members include Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder, Zerodha and True Beacon, Nisaba Godrej, Executive Chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Sunny (Gurpreet) Singh, Founder, RoundGlass and Tara Singh Vachani, VP, Max India Ltd. "Public healthcare is a critical need in a developing district, especially in a state like Odisha which is so prone to natural disasters. So I worked for three years at the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence in various roles from communications to special projects and one of the verticals the institute was focussing on was healthcare," Akshita adds.

Entrepreneurial Journey

Having dabbled with different activities, she admits that getting a set of skilled team members to bring to a hospitality venture and retaining them as a boutique heritage hotel which is family run is a challenge. “To find the entrepreneurial minds who are open to growth and change and can be community ambassadors in rural areas is challenging but we try to bring in speakers and external collaborators who can help us train, build and skill a new young India. Invest in the best team and earnest professionals - you cannot be everything, all at once, but the strength of a team is unstoppable,” she opines. When she is not working, she indulges in sports, fitness, and being part of artistic or creative talks and dialogues. “I love to travel and have just got back from Vietnam and Nepal and can safely say that Asia is exploding with hidden spots to discover.” Looking ahead, she hopes to scale the Mayurbhanj Foundation to be self-sustainable and have a corpus that can provide jobs and help skill tribal youth every year. This is in addition to main streaming tribal culture, art, and ambassadors to be part of the global narrative on Indian Craftsmanship.

Follow Akshita M Bhanj Deo on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn

Madhukar Varshney: The US-returned innovator-turned-entrepreneur helps children problem solve

(November 30, 2021) If the Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum is right, 65 percent of students entering primary school will ultimately work jobs that haven’t even been invented yet. Then how does one prepare children for the future? It involves a farsightedness that Madhukar Varshney, founder of NimbleQ, has made a part of his DNA. The IT honcho imbues children with essential skills — creative thinking, communication, problem solving, critical thinking and collaboration. Technology is at the heart of many jobs, and understanding how to apply it to innovate and create able future generations is Varshney’s core strength. The idea, says the innovator-turned-entrepreneur, is to teach children to apply knowledge to solve real world problems and have a growth mindset. “Did you know only 2 percent of Fortune 500 companies have CEOs of Indian-origin?” he asks, adding, “This is because there is some flaw in the way we teach our kids. We focus on the math, but where is the creativity? Where is the proclivity to create and innovate?” [embed]https://twitter.com/HakimHabibulla/status/1418132814600433673?s=20[/embed] A holistic approach NimbleQ’s holistic skills development programme focuses on building the next generation of leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs, and it was developed by the US-returned Varshney and his wife Shailey Motial, who handles brand

mbed]https://twitter.com/HakimHabibulla/status/1418132814600433673?s=20[/embed]

A holistic approach

NimbleQ’s holistic skills development programme focuses on building the next generation of leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs, and it was developed by the US-returned Varshney and his wife Shailey Motial, who handles brand development and strategies.

What started as an after-school curriculum, now focusses on helping youngsters to innovate. “The idea is to get children to think independently like creators. While it is important to learn all things tech-related, it is also important that children know how to apply the knowledge, understand business, entrepreneurship, and money,” says Madhukar, who was in the US for 20 years thanks to the citizenship he was awarded under the Outstanding Researcher Category in 2009.

[caption id="attachment_16994" align="aligncenter" width="4898"] Global Indian Madhukar Varshney Madhukar Varshney with students during a NimbleQ class[/caption]

Raised in a very conventional family in Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), entrepreneurship didn’t even cross his mind. Born in 1974 to a father, who was a government contractor father, and teacher mother, Madhukar grew up believing that the route to success was through a US education. “Career choices then were either as doctors or engineers. I’d never thought about starting up. When I moved to the US, I got the opportunity to explore with an exposure to diverse cultures and professional experiences,” recalls Madhukar, who graduated in chemical engineering from HPTI, Kanpur, and then did a master’s and PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Arkansas.

Madhukar then worked at Cornell University as a research associate studying micro and nanomechanical cantilever-based sensors. A job at NABsys, a company which develops semiconductor-based tools for genomic analysis, came next.

The researcher turned educationist

During his career as a researcher, Madhukar published over 35 papers and owns three patents. Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, he decided to branch out on his own. In 2014, he set up his first company Forty-Five NE, a digital healthcare company that influences disease outcomes by empowering patients to get involved in self-care.

[caption id="attachment_16984" align="aligncenter" width="1065"] Global Indian Madhukar Varshney Madhukar Varshney with his wife and co-founder Shailey Motial[/caption]

He ran the Massachusetts-based company for two years. The Varshneys then began searching for something empowering in education. “We weren’t too happy about where the education system was headed. For instance, in India, students are not encouraged to question. There is no room for creativity, independence or leadership qualities. In the US too, though the system is different, there is still a loophole that needs to be plugged,” he tells Global Indian.

The seed was planted, and the couple moved lock, stock, barrel and family, to India and set up NimbleQ in 2017. Headquartered in Lucknow, NimbleQ is aimed at developing nimbleness of the mind. “They say that intelligence and capability are not natural talents; they are built by the flexibility of the mind. At NimbleQ, that’s what we aim to do: we encourage students to learn how to learn, question, focus, (even) fail and take in their stride and begin again,” says the founder of the so far bootstrapped startup.

Designed to teach

The NimbleQ experience is designed to teach kids to adapt, be flexible, question the status quo and adopt a holistic approach to life. “This is why business and entrepreneurship and understanding money are important aspects of the programme. So children are truly future ready,” he adds.

[caption id="attachment_16986" align="aligncenter" width="758"] Global Indian Shailey Motial Shailey Motial[/caption]

With programmes aimed at kindergartners to class 10 students, the startup has already been seeing some very positive results. For instance, a six-year-old student of theirs, won a Business Idea Hackathon for suggesting that energy be harnessed from Mars. “We don’t want our engineers to build a Taj Mahal. What’s the point of a Taj Mahal if it cannot be sold? The idea is for our engineers to innovate and design buildings that can be scaled and sold,” says Madhukar. So far, about 4,000 students have signed up since they started, with 80,000 plus hours of classes conducted.

The programmes are designed to treat students like adults, show them real time scenarios and what real jobs involve. After months of research, sit-downs with industry leaders, educationists, and researchers, Madhukar developed the programmes which today they are helmed by NimbleQ teachers (all engineers).

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlpvltyIF9M[/embed]

The startup has students in India, US and UAE. Plans are afoot to resume offline classes again, with expansion plans. “We’re also looking to raise funding to aid these plans,” says Madhukar, who is headquartered in Lucknow and always wanted to start small. "We’re not in it for the race.”

The father of two, loves to unwind with his children and encourages them to explore and question the world.

“At the end of the day, we put the student at the centre. We treat them like grown-ups. We don’t restrict ourselves to premium schools, we want to democratise education and also tie up with mid-size and small schools,” says the entrepreneur, who loves to sketch.

Follow Madhukar Varshney on LinkedIn.

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