Apple partner Acumen shortlists 15 Indian social startups

In July this year, Apple partnered with Acumen to support social enterprises in India through clean energy initiatives. The latter has now shortlisted 15 entrepreneurs across the spectrum -  agriculture, e-mobility, and hydropower, and more for the Energy for Livelihoods Acceleration in India, under which Acumen experts will lead a 12-week program designed to help social entrepreneurs scale and refine their businesses to transform the lives of people living in poverty, while also protecting the environment. This could contribute towards scaling Sustainable Development Goals of no poverty, affordable and clean energy, and climate action.

The 15 entrepreneurs shortlisted for the cohort include business facilitator Nimisha Tiwari of LinkITBlueCollar and Harsh Tiwari of EMPBindi International. From the agriculture and allied sector, the shortlisted names include  Runjesh Bargal of Vanya Environmental Services, Riddhish Soni of Aumsat Technologies, Riddhish Soni of Aumsat Technologies, Neelkanth Mishra of Jaljeevika infotech pvt ltd, Dhananjay Abhang of Kisangas, Srinivas Marella of Coolcrop, Rishabh Rawat of Arth,  Ashwini Vikas of Suryanirbhar Agritech LLP. The list also included names from Business Sector - Nikky Kumar Jha from Saptkrishi Scientific Private Limited, Upamanyu Ghosh of BluPower, Tushar Devidayal of Devidayal Solar Solutions,  Zunzar Patil of Eidikos Business Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Jai Bharathi Addepalli of Mowo Fleet, and Dharmik Bapodara of Yotuh Energy.

"This cohort represents a diverse mix of innovators working at the intersection of sustainable energy and poverty reduction. We are excited to support them in partnership with Apple to develop their business models with the ultimate aim of scaling their impact. We also view this accelerator as an opportunity to gather insights directly from entrepreneurs and further refine and shape our work in this area," says Mahesh Yagnaraman, Acumen’s India Director.

Under the twelve-week program, participants will develop and refine a scalable business model that has the potential to transform the lives of low-income people while conserving resources and protecting the environment. The cohort will participate in a blend of virtual Learning Labs, seminars, and self-directed customer experiments to support the development of their business models and impact. At the end of the program, they will be invited to pitch to a curated audience of sustainable energy ecosystem stakeholders at a Demo-Day.

Upon completing the program they’ll join The Foundry, Acumen Academy’s global community of over 1300 social innovators — who have collectively made an impact on more than 8 million lives across the world — to share in a lifelong journey of solving problems of poverty and building a world based on dignity. Accelerator participants will also be considered for additional technical assistance and investment from Acumen’s Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative - Powering Livelihoods Using Solar (PEII+). This 5-year $25 million initiative invests in early-stage productive energy companies in India, East Africa, and West Africa.

Apple is focusing big on sustainability, and other than partnering with Acumen, Apple has also partnered with Frank Water to expand access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene; and with the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) to preserve mangroves along India’s west coast.