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promoting
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Why Bougainvillea?

Innovation, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Start-Up, Incubation Centeretc. are the buzzwords these days. There seems to be a big wave of government and investor support for start-ups. While this is an appreciable trend, the whole eco system is aimed at strengthening existing market economy. Start-Ups are trying to imitate Silicon Valley kind of entrepreneurship based on the tag line “Come with an idea, go back as millionaire”. Cracks have already appeared in the market driven economic model with many countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Iceland going broke. A fifth of the world population is still living in abject poverty, income inequalities are at an all-time high. Most importantly, if the whole world follows the lifestyle of the developed world, we would need a few more earths to satiate the demand for natural resources. Even Governments which do not believe that market is the ultimate solution for human problems, do tend to promote market driven entrepreneurship, probably because of lack of alternates. Bougainvillea is the attempt to create an alternate model of entrepreneurial eco system wherein societal issues drive technology and business. A society driven economic model in lieu of market driven one! In the current scenario, socially responsible ventures have a great role to play in tilting the economic balance towardsmore sustainable businesses and lifestyle. To create a more equitable and sustainable world, it is imperative to incubate and promote such businesses.

Where is the Problem?

The free market model of development depends on the market to solve human problems, but lack of resources and home-grown expertise restrict the markets in developing countries from developing products and systems that they need. As these countries are mere markets for products from the west, they just do not have any control on the market cycles, resulting in highly unstable economic cycles for the country and unstable income streams for the population. Farmer suicides and mass entrenchment in outsourcing industry are apt examples of this phenomenon. When developing world enter developed markets with products and resources that could cost local jobs, one could witness a wave of protectionist measures being undertaken by developed countries. In a nut shell, developed countries promote market economy when they are at advantageous position and denounce the same when the balance tilts against them. Also, promoting consumption as the tool to improve economies has been the most disastrous trend that causes environmental destruction of unresolvable proportions and depletion of societal values.

Barring streaks of advances in space research, automotive parts manufacturing and IT services, India has not made any significant strides in indigenous technology development. To improve quality of life of its population and to ensure sustainable growth of its economy, agriculture and industry, India needs to develop and nurture indigenous technology talent.

About Us

Our Vision

Create a sustainable businesses model by promoting socially responsible enterprises.

Our Mission

Identify, evaluate and incubate socially responsible ventures. Provide guidance in building, operating and maintaining such commercial ventures.

Socially responsible Organisation

A new breed of enterprises need to be spawned in whose primary focus would be to resolve societal issues. Most Organisations boast about ideal visions and missions, but in reality, they all work with monolithic vision of becoming rich & powerful. Success of a venture need to be measured on how successful they are in addressing the issue and how efficiently they are doing it.
Focus should be on developing indigenous intellectual capital. Ventures with focus on R&D for socially responsible products and resolution to societal issues, should be accorded highest priority. Examples are firms who could develop solutions like Energy efficient water & land transport systems suitable for India, Value added products from farm produce which ensures reduced wastage & stable farming income, Low cost and environmental friendly buildings and materials, Service outsourcing model utilizing literate yet un-employed people, especially housewives etc.
Such enterprises would be owned by all stake holders – Idea generators, employees, incubator and investors
Ideally these are not “made for sale”, but “built to endure”. According to changes in societal needs, change in focus could be effected. But the focus would be in resolving the identified issues rather than chasing domains which offer higher revenue.
Any Organisation has to generate healthy profit margins for sustainability. Organisations like Amul have proven that financial viability is possible even while sticking to core objectives. In fact Govt and society need to devise systems to ensure that socially responsible enterprises are financially sustainable. As this is not in our control, what we could do is to come up with campaigns which ensure that preference in purchasing decisions is accorded to value based and socially responsible enterprises. Many a times, buying Organisations are also looking out for such Organisations to be part of their supply chain as everyone would like to deal with an ethical supplier.
Value system being followed by these ventures need to be of impeccable order. Highest levels of transparency and integrity need to be ingrained into Organisational DNA. Inclusivity and support for weaker sections to be ensured among employees and partners.

Salient Feature Socially responsible Organisation Normal Organisation
Objectives Serving the needs of the society Purely financial
Products Focus on developing indigenous solutions Promote any products that provide returns
Ownership Owned by all stakeholders Promoter and funding agency
Exit Build to endure Treats organisation like a commodity up for sale at right price
Values Principle driven Depends on leadership
Educational interface Aims at bridging the industry-education gap Looks at recruiting crème layer from select colleges

Bougainvillea incubation model

  • Seed funding model

    Funding against stake in the venture and legal agreement incorporating conditions to honour the Bougainvillea (BV) vision. Up to 10 lakhs of seed funding would be provided based on accepted milestones.

  • Identifying ventures

    Prospective entrepreneurs shall submit detailed venture proposals to the BV program. The proposals shall be evaluated in terms of selection criteria.

  • Prospective Entrepreneurs

    Alumni and students of professional educational institutions, NRI professionals who want to settle back in home land, innovators, self-help groups and co-operatives are welcome to apply. In addition, subject matter experts among the above groups are encouraged to become foundation members.

  • Marketing assistance

    BV shall assist in taking the products/services of incubated ventures to domestic & international markets.

  • Mentoring assistance

    Incubated ventures can draw Management and Technical support from BV Foundation members. Periodic review and monitoring process would be established.

  • Growth funding model

    BV intends to develop a crowd funding platform to support incubated ventures to meet their funding needs in the growth curve.

Our Team

The core group of Bougainvillea consists of professionals with significant industry experience, international exposure and subject matter expertise. This group is responsible for raising seed funds, evaluating and selecting ventures, mentoring the incubated ventures, assisting in marketing, liaison with government for availing assistance from various schemes, support growth funding and monitoring the venture’s progress, if needed.

Who can benefit?

Any socially responsible venture that aims to create sustainable products or services, is eligible to apply for our funding and guidance. The criteria of selection are:

  • Sustainability score
  • Potential of the idea to serve the needs of the society
  • Prospects of the business plan to succeed in the market place
  • Indigenous technology
  • Ethical standards
  • Seed investment requirement in the range of 10 lacs

Want to join us?

Please contact

Bougainvillea Social Entrepreneurship Foundation,
#86, 4th Street, Nehru Nagar, Kuriachira, Thrissur, Kerala, India. PIN: 680006
9947700052
info@bvstartup.org