Rupa was on the verge of celebrating her silver jubilee at CR ISIL before taking the helm of Omid YAR Network India, an impact investment company. These enterprises, which focus on consumer Internet and mobile, financial inclusion, and education, have been founded on innovation, and they aim to have a positive social impact while also advancing the industries in which they compete.
With a lot of foreign capital flowing into domestic ventures, especially those with a double bottom line, it is evident that India is growing as a significant hub for impact investing and social innovation. It is India's moment now," asserts Rupa, partner at Omid YAR Network and managing director of Omid YAR Network India Advisers, a social impact investment company that seeks to advance social good at the speed and scale the world requires right now.
The usage of regional languages on the Internet, the rise in Smartphone penetration in India, opportunities based on Aadhaar cards, skill-based policies, and experiments with property rights are some of the factors driving social impact investment. This narrative follows Rupa as she develops personally at Omid YAR, as well as the company's investment philosophies, methods for identifying portfolio businesses, and long-term goals.
We assist businesspeople who have creative concepts and want to use technology in fresh ways to make a significant social effect. At Omid YAR India, Rupa is in charge of the organization's strategy, day-to-day operations, and portfolio company growth. Through Omid YAR, grants are given to nonprofit organizations, while equity investments are made in for-profit businesses.
India is also one of the few countries where the company has a fully developed portfolio, covering all five industries (consumer Internet and mobile, education, financial inclusion, governance, citizen engagement, and property rights) with investments in for-profit and nonprofit projects. Omid YAR makes investments on three different levels: he changes sectoral legislation, he builds infrastructure for the sector, and he encourages individual businesses to innovate.
Omid YAR has invested in The Education Alliance, a business that collaborates with the government, in order to influence legislation and encourage government schools to partner with private businesses. The company is aware that, aside from financial support, patience is the best gift it can provide its entrepreneurs if it is investing in truly unique ideas with the intention of affecting change within a certain industry.
This lengthy engagement with entrepreneurs enables us to support them in many different ways, be it human capital, recruitment, leadership development, learning new skills in product management, and more, says Rupa. She gives the case of Lenddo, a multinational corporation that makes use of social media data to provide access to affordable financial services to the burgeoning middle class in developing nations.
When referring directly to the for-profit portfolio companies, Rupa emphasizes the significance of never losing sight of the bottom line, saying, "Just because an enterprise has a social impact, it does not imply it should generate lower returns. Of course, depending on the industry, some offer larger returns than others, and this is separate from social responsibility.
The effects of Omid YAR's investment in India can be evaluated by looking at the changes at the sectoral level, which is appropriate given the very nature of patient capital. Rupa provides a concrete illustration by saying, In education, we measure our influence based on the change in the learning outcome for children. An excellent way to gauge influence in the financial services industry is to increase access to more cutting-edge goods and services at reduced prices.
Rupa continues on a hopeful note: We hope that in five to ten years' time, the pool of capital impact investment in India would get much greater.
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