“I expect to pass through this world but once as “I”. Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow being. Let me do it now, let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again". -The Aloha Spirit

Intellecap - in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, NABARD & the Rural Innovations Network (RIN), had organised Sankalp 2009, Asia's largest Social enterprise and investment forum at Mumbai recently. Aloha India received the honour of being a “Social Enterprise” finalist at the first “Sankalp 2009 Awards” for its excellence in business and commitment to creating sustainable impact in the social enterprise space in the category of Growth in the education sector.

We had never considered ourselves as thus until we received the communication from “Sankalp” . It came as a pleasant surprise to us to be recognized for our concept and beliefs.

What is a Social Enterprise?
Social enterprise is an enterprise that has innovated products and services through which they have increased access and quality of services in the relevant sector and not necessarily that which addresses the bottom of the billion. Sankalp was designed with the conviction that the capital should be invested to create multiple bottom-line returns and not exclusively financial or social returns. Many commercial business houses would consider themselves to have social objectives, but social enterprises are distinctive because, their social or environmental purpose is centered to what they do. Rather than maximizing shareholder value, their main aim is to generate profit to further their social and environmental goals.

The social enterprise movement is inclusive and extremely diverse, encompassing organizations such as development trusts and community enterprises, among others. These businesses are from health, education, social care, renewable energy, recycling and fair trade etc. Social enterprise is a business model which offers the prospect of a greater equity of economic power and a more sustainable society - by combining market efficiency with social and environmental justice.

Education for all
Universalizing education has been the mainstay of India's strategy in education. The 86th amendment of the Indian constitution, making education a fundamental right, led subsequently to schemes and stepped up efforts towards increased enrollment and retention of children in schools. With 61% of India's billion plus population literate, educating India is not an easy task. There are 13.5 crore students enrolled in primary schools alone. As many as 54% of the Primary schools (4.17lakh) have either one or two teachers. Drop out rates at the elementary level are as high as 50% suggesting gaps between learning outcomes and employability. Despite increased spending on education, research shows government schools are plagued by low teacher student ratios and a lack of accountability for performance.

The main problems today in India are the access to quality education, lack of infrastructure especially in rural India, the absence of quality assessments and measurement of learning outcomes and the unemployability after education.

Aloha India's innovative curriculum, the methodology and delivery franchised out as services impressed the jury to identify us as one of the social enterprises to reckon, in India. The selection process upon identification went thru 2 preliminary rounds, where we were “identified” amidst 300 companies short-listed across India, purely based on our performance. We were then invited as finalists to the Sankalp Forum 2009. Aloha India got the opportunity to present and make ourselves known at the forum. Aloha India felt proud to be in the midst of industry leaders, to be honoured and recognized for our work without us aiming for it was indeed exhilarating. This recognition serves as a strong motivation for us to work with even more commitment towards our beliefs and achievement of our dream goal.