Yes Foundation Accelerator Launches Cohort 1 – 23 Social Enterprises Shortlisted

YES FOUNDATION, the social development arm of YES BANK has selected 23 social enterprises and NGOs for the inaugural cohort of YES! i am the change (YIAC) Grant & Accelerator program. The shortlisted enterprises were awarded a Grant of INR 7.5 crore along with 3-year accelerator support at the annual YES! i am the CHANGE award ceremony held in Mumbai.

The accelerator will support social impact organisations working on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with scalable solution models, helping them achieve higher efficiency and scale, thereby maximising impact. Towards the same, YIAC Grant & Accelerator program partnered organisations such as Our Better World (Singapore), Thomson Reuters Foundation, Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), Start-Up Oasis, Upaya Social Ventures, DHFL and NASSCOM Foundation. 27 organisations were also given Golden Tickets from jury members that enables them to access funding, mentoring and support in addition to YES FOUNDATION support.

These enterprises were shortlisted through a rigorous 3-step selection process. The challenge received an outstanding response of over 11,500 submissions, out of which 714 organisations were shortlisted to submit project proposals for the Grant and Accelerator program. Post evaluation proposals, top 60 organisations were further nominated for final round of the jury pitch to select the final grantees.

The award ceremony also witnessed felicitation of 20 youth filmmakers selected by a 6 member national film jury comprising of Shabana Azmi, Indian Film Actor; Ally Derks, Founder, International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam; Paul Pauwels, Director, European Documentary Network amongst others. The top 20 winners were awarded cash prizes up to INR 10 lakh.

Prerana Langa, CEO, YES FOUNDATION said, “India is in a revolutionary phase with the nation’s youth driving social impact by developing innovative solutions to social challenges. Through YES! i am the CHANGE, we are delighted to provide a platform to young changemakers and development sector organisations to accelerate and maximise their social impact.”

Chief Guest, Shri. Subhash Chandra, Hon’ble MP, Rajya Sabha said,” “I congratulate all the winners of YES! i am the CHANGE who have made social films with the purpose of creating a national difference. YES FOUNDATION and Mr. Rana Kapoor have done remarkable work in these five years.”

Francine Pickup, Country Head, UNDP India, said “India represents innovation and change. We need to tap into entrepreneurship and youth to accelerate and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. YES FOUNDATION’s engagement with youth and social impact organisations to develop innovative and sustainable solution models is highly commendable.”

The Grant & Accelerator program is part of YES FOUNDATION’s flagship YES! i am the change program, launched in 2013 to inculcate the spirit of responsible youth citizenship and drive positive social action through the impactful medium of films.

About YES FOUNDATION:

YES FOUNDATION is the social development arm of YES BANK and works towards a vision of an empowered and equitable India. It focuses on stimulating entrepreneurship and innovative use of media initiatives for social transformation, to enable India’s inclusive growth and development.

About YES BANK

YES BANK, India’s fourth largest private sector Bank with a pan India presence across all 29 states and 7 Union Territories of India, headquartered in the Lower Parel Innovation District (LPID) of Mumbai, is the outcome of the professional & entrepreneurial commitment of its Founder Rana Kapoor and its Top Management team, to establish a high quality, customer centric, service driven, private Indian Bank catering to the future businesses of India.

YES BANK has adopted international best practices, the highest standards of service quality and operational excellence, and offers comprehensive banking and financial solutions to all its valued customers.

YES BANK has a knowledge driven approach to banking, and offers a superior customer experience for its retail, corporate and emerging corporate banking clients. YES BANK is steadily evolving as the Professionals’ Bank of India with the long term mission of “BUILDING THE FINEST QUALITY LARGE BANK OF THE WORLD IN INDIA”.