Applications Invited for Buddha Fellowship Program 2025-27 Cohort

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About the Organization

The Buddha Institute (BI) is hosted under Education for Employability Foundation (E2F), and registered as a public charitable trust. The Buddha Institute supports grassroots for-profit businesses focused on social transformation to become profitable, sustainable, and ever-growing. Our range of certifications and registrations essential for our operations, including 12A and 80G certifications, which confer tax-exempt status to donations under Indian law.

Additionally, we hold Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration, allowing us to receive international donations. Our entity is also registered under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Act and the Darpan portal of Niti Aayog, ensuring transparency and compliance with Indian government regulations.

Vision: Shaping a progressive, inclusive India and the world, through entrepreneurial change-makers.

Mission: Bring diverse stakeholders onto a single platform for nurturing ecosystems that add value for the greater good.

Purpose: Build an institution of compassion and enlightenment that attracts enterprising men and women who are passionate about scripting social transformation.

About the Fellowship

A dedicated platform of entrepreneurism, mentorship and support for socio-economic change.

Buddha Fellowship, our flagship program, aims to stimulate economic growth in rural India by nurturing Development Entrepreneurs or Buddha Fellows. These Development Entrepreneurs treat rural India as centers of value addition and help in poverty alleviation. They do this by directly employing them and by engaging them in their enterprise value chain as suppliers.

Buddha Fellowship Program nurtures early-stage, for-profit enterprises through a 24-month intervention focused on 3Ms — mentoring, management skills, and money. This support enables them to evolve from micro to scaled-up enterprises, with annual revenue of INR 10 crore+, ready to raise money in the capital markets based on their profitability and impact.

By 2030, our goal is to cumulatively nurture 1000 Development Entrepreneurs, who in turn will generate 100,000 jobs and add $ 1 billion annually to the rural economy.

The Buddha Fellowship Program offerings:

• Individualized Mentor and Anchor support for two years to grow business & social impact.
• Business Acumen building through workshops, peer-to-peer learning and classroom sessions.
• Linkages to government & other institutional networks.
• Access to impact capital and government funding.
• Returnable grant of INR 10 lacs distributed over two years, based on achieving social and business objectives.

Our goals by 2030:

• Create 100,000 jobs
• Uplift 25 mn poor
• Add $ 1 bn to the rural economy

Sectors of Operation:

Farm-Based

• Agriculture
• Agritech & Soil Health
• Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP)
• Apiculture
• Livestock Productivity

Non-Farm Based

• Handloom & Handcraft
• Gig Economy

Climate and Sustainability

• Recycling and Waste Management
• Renewable Energy
• Rainwater Harvesting

Three-pronged model to enable social impact:

Each Buddha Fellow benefits from a dual support system comprising an experienced industry Mentor with over 30 years of experience and an Anchor, who is a dedicated member of The Buddha Institute team. This triad of Fellow, Mentor, and Anchor collaborates for 24 months to build a sustainable development enterprise — multiplying both business and social impact manifold.

In addition to providing individualized support, the two custodians (Mentor and Anchor) of The Buddha Institute assist the Fellow in collaborating with all relevant players in their ecosystem, helping Fellows engage with opportunities that can accelerate their entrepreneurial journey.

How to Apply

The four-stage admission process:

• Outreach: We conduct an extensive outreach to identify and invite promising development enterprises to apply. The applications are shortlisted based on certain pre-defined criteria.
• Online interview: The shortlisted candidates are interviewed online by a panel comprising members from the Buddha Institute team and Fellows from previous years.
• In-person assessment: Selected candidates are invited to an in-person interview with experienced jury members.
• Due diligence field visit: The Buddha Institute team conducts due-diligence visits to the enterprise of the shortlisted candidate as a final step in the selection process.

Enroll now

For more information please check the Link

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Tags Entrepreneurship Rural Development Skill Development Others