Deshpande Foundation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.