Upaya and Acumen Invest In Haqdarshak To Reach Families In Extreme Poverty
Upaya and Acumen join forces to invest in Haqdarshak, bringing essential services to families in extreme poverty.
Seattle, Washington | August 19, 2020
We are pleased to announce Upaya’s latest investment in Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions to connect Indian citizens with government schemes and services through its mobile and web platforms. With a presence in 20 Indian states, Haqdarshak has so far reached over 300k individuals and has helped over 60k people this year with COVID-19 specific relief schemes.
“We were impressed by the traction that Haqdarshak has already shown in reaching poor families to connect them with government schemes that have never been more relevant,” said Upaya CEO, Kate Cochran, in a press release issued by Acumen, the leading investor in the round. “We look forward to working with the team to help them reach even deeper into extreme poverty.”
Haqdarshak relies on a network of entrepreneurs (Haqdarshaks) to transform the way people find out about, apply for, and benefit from welfare schemes, while creating livelihood opportunities for the Haqdarshaks who enable the service. To date, the company has trained over 5,000 Haqdarshaks who have facilitated over 230k applications for government services. Haqdarshak aimes to scale to 10k trained entrepreneurs in the next few years.
For more details, view the press release issued by Acumen at Acumen.org.
ABOUT UPAYA SOCIAL VENTURES:
Upaya Social Ventures is building a dignified economy by providing investment and support to early-stage businesses creating sustainable livelihoods for people living in the most extreme poverty.
Upaya’s award-winning impact-first model seeks out and supports oft-overlooked companies creating work that is safe, stable, inclusive, and rewarding—generating a transformative impact on families, communities, and economies.
Since its founding in 2011, Upaya’s portfolio companies have created over 44,000 dignified jobs across India. Please visit upayasv.org for more information.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Madlin D’silva
mdsilva@upayasv.org