PRAYOGI – PAN IIT ALUMNI FOUNDATION

PRAYOGI Foundation’s Innovative Solution

Grassroots mass entrepreneurship through an integrated “Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship” approach & introducing Micro Equity Funding Instrument.

PRAYOGI Foundation is a non-profit section-8 company, is the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Society of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE, IIT Bombay) & PanIIT Alumni Foundation.

PRAYOGI Foundation aims to offer integrated impact ownership on a Design, Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (DBOOT) of the Program, and create and deliver interventions through Education, Employment, and Entrepreneurship strategy as an Institutional Incubator, to contribute to the vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat through Grameen Nari Shakti”PRAYOGI Foundation is also pioneering the power of micro-equity towards the vision of “Hunar se Owner”, with a first-of-its-kind Social Impact Fund (SIF) for micro-equity funding for the village enterprises and promoting women entrepreneurship. PRAYOGI proposes to utilize existing government infrastructure and assets wherever possible to support the Government of Jharkhand in gainful utilization of the same and gain the expected Social ROI.

We are targeting women from the most disadvantaged communities in Jharkhand’s aspirational districts, including Adivasis and other minorities. Our goal is to empower these women by providing them with opportunities to generate additional income, ultimately transforming them into enterprise owners for sustainable wealth creation.

This model aims to shift the focus of livelihoods from mere employment to ownership. Instead of offering traditional employment, we are enabling dignified self-employment and entrepreneurship within their local communities. This approach prioritizes local development, fostering women’s economic empowerment, and opening pathways for self-reliant village industries.

Financial Innovation: Micro-Equity

The current government initiatives to promote entrepreneurship among the economically disadvantaged have primarily relied on debt-driven support, offering interest subventions, subsidies, and credit guarantees through schemes like PMEGP, MUDRA, and Stand-up India.

Equity investments, typically associated with larger urban firms, have been less accessible to micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas who often rely on personal savings or loans from family and friends to start businesses. Pure debt funding places the entire financial burden on already impoverished entrepreneurs, further limiting their prospects. Micro-equity investments provide risk capital, encouraging more entrepreneurs to start businesses, crucial for job creation and poverty alleviation. This approach incentivizes entrepreneurs to take calculated risks with potential for higher rewards.

Why Micro-Equity?

Equity investments in urban contexts have been the backbone of the start-up revolution in India.
The next step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat is to infuse village enterprises with risk capital and provide them institutional incubation support

Institutional Incubation

Institutional Incubation shall address the challenge of the sustainability of village enterprises.

PRAYOGI Foundation’s objective is to pilot and institutionalize the Innovative Women-led Rural Mass Entrepreneurship, Institutional Incubation of worker-owned Village Enterprises via micro-equity and Capacity Building, to address the challenges of skill proficiency, rural livelihood, and promote women entrepreneurship for the vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. The target beneficiaries are women from SC/ST/EWS, and other minorities/communities.