The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organisation of the World Economic Forum and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, not-for-profit organisation of the Jubilant Group has invited applications for the ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ India 2013 Award. The deadline for submitting the first round application is May 31, 2013.

The Social Entrepreneur of the Year award celebrates leading social entrepreneurs and their ventures that design and implement innovative, practical and sustainable solutions to address poverty and the lack of basic services and resources in ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ and ultra-poor communities (i.e. health, education, job creation, water, clean energy and access to information and technology). Whether they set up for-profit entities, hybrid social ventures or not-for-profit organisations, the primary focus of social entrepreneurs is large-scale, transformational impact. They achieve sustainability for their ventures through a creative combination of user fees, revenue through the sale of products and services, grants and key partnerships with governments, business and other sectors.

According to Hilde Schwab, co-founder & chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, “India is home to some of most dynamic social enterprises in the world. The country has developed a progressive ecosystem to support social enterprise growth – including incubators, universities, consultancies, and impact investors. In many ways, India is like the ‘Silicon Valley’ of social entrepreneurship. We are excited to consider more than one winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award from India this year.”

Shyam S Bhartia, director, Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and chairman & managing director of Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd, added, “We are happy to be associated with the Social Entrepreneur of the Year India Awards since 2010 as it furthers the work of Jubilant Bhartia Foundation. In recognising social entrepreneur, who address the needs of under-served communities in both scalable and sustainable ways, we aim to promote and support inclusive growth in India. We have had tremendous response to the award for last three years and we look forward to many young social entrepreneurs applying this year’s award.”

In 2012, Anshu Gupta from Goonj received the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit.

The applications for the award will be assessed on various criteria, including innovation, sustainability, direct social impact, reach, scope, and scalability. The winner(s) of the “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” India 2013 Awards will join the Schwab Foundation’s global community of social entrepreneurs for the year 2014, and will participate in the relevant annual and regional meetings of the World Economic Forum, which provide unprecedented opportunities to engage with global decision makers from the public, corporate, media, academic, and civil society sectors.

The finalists will be chosen after an intensive, four-stage search and selection process which will include expert reviews, reference checks, site visits and a high profile jury meeting in November 2013. The winner(s) will be announced at a high level award celebration in India in November 2013. The awardee is selected by an eminent jury comprising of representatives from media, government, industry and social entrepreneurs.