29 November, 2017
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park in association with the TATA group hosted the Thinking Social Seminar at T-Hub, Hyderabad on November 20th, 2017. The primary objective of this event was to build awareness about social entrepreneurship, generate interest and inspire the youth to come up with innovative solutions to social challenges. The speakers of the seminar comprised of eminent and social entrepreneurs, investors and members of academia having established their own outstanding ventures having an impact on the lives of thousands .
The panel of speakers comprised of esteemed entrepreneurs including Mr, Gaurav Kapoor: (Serial Social Entrepreneur), Mr. Brig P Ganesham Founder – President, Mr. Palle Srujana Prashant Lingam Co-Founder, Bamboo House India; Dr. Praveen Kumar SecretaryTelangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS).
The seminar commenced following a welcome address by Mr Gaurav Kapoor, emphasizing on what it means to be social entrepreneur he added and we quote “Being social doesn’t just mean being on the social media but also being Social in the true sense of the word. A social entrepreneur is a person who pursues novel applications that have the potential to solve prevalent community-based problems. These individuals are willing to take on the risk and effort to create positive changes in society through their initiatives”.
Brig P Ganesham Founder – President, Palle Srujana spoke about villagers who have their own knowledge and ways of expression. Stating facts that traditional knowledge of the villagers has been ignored and the rural people are not able to cope with modern knowledge being disruptive. Its urban populations responsibility to bring their usefulknowledge back by engaging in conversation with the rural people. The speaker said and we quote “The whole world is run by the people and for the people, henceforth we shouldn’t be dependent on the machine, we should extend our hand and help the farmers”. He mentioned that to become a social entrepreneur one needs to first become a coachable individual and have the right kind of skills set.
Later Mr. Prashant Lingam Co-Founder, Bamboo House India spoke about his journey in social entrepreneurship. Bamboo House India is a social enterprise established by two first generation entrepreneurs Prashant Lingam ( Management Graduate) and Aruna Kappagantula (Science Graduate) in the year 2008 with an aim of utilizing bamboo as an economic driver for providing sustainable livelihood opportunities to rural and tribal communities dependent on bamboo for livelihoods and at the same time utilize bamboo as a eco friendly substitute for wood , steel, iron steel and plastic thus establishing the – Bamboo House in Hyderabad.
Lastly spoke Dr. Praveen Kumar Secretary, Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) about the zeal a social entrepreneur should have. He emphasized on the fact that a social entrepreneur should be ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.
The seminar ended with an interactive Q & A session, where questions were posed by students and faculty members.
