impACT | Q1 2024 Edition

Our quarterly newsletter is a viewport into the latest updates from the community - highlights from ACT, stories of our social entrepreneurs and sector insights.

This newsletter is by and for the ACT Collective. We hope that you enjoy reading!

WHAT'S NEW

ACT Fellowship 2024-25: Applications now open

A 9-month, full-time and fully-funded apprenticeship program for early to mid-career professionals, the ACT Fellowship is looking for 6 aspiring changemakers for its 2024-25 cohort.

If you know someone who is looking to build their career in social impact, pivot their professional journey towards impact investing, or become a social entrepreneur, do encourage them to apply here before 13th August!

altM, Evolve & Learn Tube join ACT's portfolio

altM, an alternative materials startup, joins ACT For Environment to explore how agri-waste derived lignin can replace petrochemicals as manufacturing inputs. 

Evolve, a digital health startup, joins ACT For Health to accelerate the vernacular version of its mental health solution for underserved populations, including LGBTQIA+ communities.  

LearnTube, a skilling platform, joins ACT For Education to refine its proprietary multi-agent AI model to curate the best/most relevant content across the web to hyper-personalise the user learning experience.

ACT conducts its first cross-vertical Stepback

April saw founders from across our portfolio join ecosystem funders and industry experts for an immersive 2-day stepback filled with conversation, connection, and collaboration! 

From interactive sessions and fireside chats to customised pod mentoring modules that addressed articulated challenges, the stepback helped our portfolio founders explore new ideas and come together as a powerful community of changemakers for Bharat.

Solinas raises Series A funding, while F4F & Zerocircle pitch on the global stage 

The funding round led by SBICAP Ventures and supported by Rainmatter will allow Solinas Integrity Pvt. Ltd. to scale to more cities in efficiently managing their water and sanitation assets, thereby significantly reducing water wastage.

Farmers for Forests (F4F) pitched at Fast Forward's 11th annual Demo Day, a global accelerator for tech solutions, while Zerocircle presented their plastic alternative product at the World Ocean Summit, a global platform advocating for ocean health and sustainable industry strategies.

Vidyakul gains recognition by ET Education while Rocket Learning presents at Skoll World Forum

Tarun Saini received the ET Emerging Edupreneur Award for making significant strides in improving the access to quality and affordable online education for state board students. 

Namya Mahajan and Utsav Kheria took the stage at the Skoll World Forum 2024 to share how Rocket Learning, a free Whatsapp-enabled AI solution, is revolutionising early childhood education in Anganwadis.

ACT For Women concludes its first pilot for women in startups with Harappa

The program enabled 28 promising mid-level female managers across 7 startups (Urban Company, Wysa, Kheyti, WAPP, Digital Paani, Verse, Supertails) to create a pathway into leadership positions, through supervisory sponsorship and soft skills development.

ACT For Women will launch the next cohort for Women in CXO (Tech and Product roles) in October 2024.

AdagioVR and Wysa progress on taking mental healthcare to Bharat

AdagioVR announced its partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a bid to build better for underserved populations and bridge the gap on access to affordable mental health through their VR solution.

Wysa piloted the Hindi version of its digital mental health solution, which will also be accessible through Whatsapp, to enable stigma-free and affordable access to mental health services for people from low-resource areas.  

Cancrie, Solinas, F4F and OHCN gain prestigious recognition for their innovations

While Cancrie received the Inspirational Award at the Cleantech Days Summit, a global event for clean-tech innovators, both Solinas and Farmers For Forests were felicitated as sustainability front-runners by the Chanakya Centre for Sustainability. 

At the same time, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke applauded Open Health Care Network as “a profoundly inspiring story of how we can accelerate human progress by enabling the world's soon-to-be largest developer community with the possibilities of AI”. 

Periwinkle, Niramai progress on building affordable cancer diagnostics for Bharat

Periwinkle Technologies Pvt. Ltd. received the US FDA approval, which will allow them to further their mission to transform cervical health through innovative technology. 

Niramai Health Analytix got selected for MedTech Asia Accelerator’s 2024 cohort, the world’s largest accelerator for med-tech companies, out of 400 global startup applicants, to drive the adoption of their technology.

LET'S ACT

Grassroots Energy seeks warm connections to global impact investors

Grassroots Energy , from the ACT For Environment portfolio, is looking to raise their next funding round for their US entity and any warm connections to international funders will be exceptionally catalytic for their journey. If you know someone you can connect us with, please do write to shazib@actgrants.in.

MiniMines, Solinas and Cancrie seek support on hiring for key roles 

Minimines, a battery recycling startup, is looking for a Project Manager with 7-10 years of experience in managing chemical plants to lead the design and implementation of a new plant. If you know anyone who’d be a good fit, do ask them to write to the co-founder at anupam@m-mines.com.

Solinas, a water management robotics startup, is looking for a Content Writer with 3-4 years of relevant experience to lead impact articulation and public communication for the brand. If you know someone who’d be interested, do ask them to write to the co-founder at divanshu@solinas.in.

Cancrie, an alternative materials startup, is looking for a Manufacturing Head with 10+ years of experience in specialty chemicals to lead process flows. If you know someone who’d be interested, do ask them to write to the co-founder at akshay@cancrie.co.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Stories Of Hope: iKure 

For many residents in the remote area of the Sundarbans Delta, accessing basic healthcare services is a significant challenge. Conditions like hypertension which are easily manageable if detected early, worsen in patients in remote areas. Through their Wireless Health Incident Monitoring System (WHIMS), watch how iKure has enabled community health workers to screen, monitor, and follow-up with patients like Dilip right at their doorstep, significantly improving their quality of life. Watch the video here.

#UnHerd Podcast: Dr. Akshay Jain & Suman Gopalan 

May hosted a conversation with Dr. Akshay Jain (Co-Founder, Cancrie) who shared the trials and triumphs he went through as a founder of a startup that converts coconut waste into nanocarbons that enhance battery efficiency.

June witnessed a conversation with Suman Gopalan (ex CHRO, Freshworks and Advisor, ACT For Women) who shared actionable steps on how startups could lead the way in changing the game for women at the workplace.

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

In 2022 along with our partners, ACT For Education set out to understand the best practices to improve delivery, adoption, and usage of dedicated devices at-home. Central Square Foundation recently released the findings of this endeavour in a series of two in-depth reports.

As water sources dry up in cities across India, the need to build resilient water management systems is imminent. Studying Bengaluru’s recent water crisis, Alankrita Khera (Director, ACT) and Sailee Rane (Fellow, ACT For Environment) write for The Hindu to decode potential solutions that can help India avoid a large-scale water crisis.

The role the trinity of existing state-led health infrastructure, patient capital, and technology can play in improving healthcare systems. Writing for ET HealthWorld, Krisha Mathur (Director, ACT) shares how Bharat could leverage innovation to achieve its goal of enabling better health outcomes.