Ahona Ghosh and Gauri Kamath of India’s Economic Times assess three organizations that have taken a marked based approach to philanthropy in a special feature on Philanthro-capitalism.
The thought is echoed by the Chairman of Naandi Foundation which is promoted by India’s three leading industrialists K Anji Reddy, Chairman of Drug maker Dr Reddy's; Anand Mahindra , Vice-Chairman and MD, Mahindra & Mahindra; and Rajendra Prasad Maganti,Chairman of infrastructure company Soma Enterprises. The three promoters along with DANONE.Communities have invested in Naandi Community Water Services (NCWS) to supply safe and affordable drinking water to Indian villages, at a nominal price. Says Reddy, “ To provide high quality safe drinking water and collect user fees from communities, one needs a team with an entrepreneurial outlook that is driven by passion, efficiency and the creation of an economic surplus."
Chairman of Piramal Group, Ajay Piramal, makes the point, “For-profit ventures give a greater push in getting more customers and delivering high-quality service at minimum costs."
According to Bhavnani, history has shown that results don't last with plain-vanilla charity, as "there are simply not enough grants available." So, the new approach to philanthropy for Shell is solving developmental issues through the creation of scalable, sustainable enterprise-based solutions. Shell Foundation India has committed $16 million to the eight enterprises it supports.
The report points out that as investors with business partners, Shell hopes to achieve its twin targets of scalability and profits, which will ensure sustainability in the long run as it means less reliance on continued grants and the end customer benefit from innovations that are required to deliver affordable goods and services.
This approach is evident in the investment in Envirofit and dealing with the challenges of marketing improved cook stoves to rural households. The challenges to scale in the case of enterprises seek to market products that combat indoor air pollution range from raising awareness to enabling financial options and ensuring distribution reach to the smallest and furthest villages.
Read the full feature on: A look at three models of philanthro-capitalism
