Since our founding in 2011, Upaya has ardently been committed to fighting poverty in India’s most vulnerable communities by investing in social businesses that create dignified jobs that are safe, stable, inclusive, and rewarding. 

Core to Upaya’s mission of creating dignified jobs is our focus on impact measurement through which we validate the quality and dignity of the jobs our investments create. Over the last 12 years, Upaya has conducted surveys with over 3,000 jobholders. For each company in our portfolio, we conduct a baseline survey, a midline survey, and an endline survey. The operating principles for impact management — along with IMP’s 5 dimensions of impact and GIIN’s IRIS+ thematic taxonomy — provide the guiding structure for our impact surveys.

Throughout the year, we interview the jobholders of our portfolio companies directly to learn how these jobs are impacting their lives. Every quarter, we collect data on the number of jobs created, broken down by gender. We share this information in real-time through dynamic dashboards that our supporters can track all year long. We share the good with the bad.

IMPORTANCE OF DATA VISUALIZATION

We’re starting this year by launching Upaya’s revamped dashboards in line with its refreshed branding. Data visualization improves data comprehension, insights generation and helps in communicating complex patterns and concepts. Our aim is to advance the way we comprehend the impact data that is collected continuously from job holders and our enterprise partners to make it more helpful for usage in decision making and communicating our impact. 

WHAT TO EXPECT

Each dashboard provides a quick overview of our impact along with detailed analysis — slicing and dicing the data to unveil deeper insights. Take a quick look at our impact at a glance, or take your time exploring more nuanced details for a comprehensive understanding of our impact.

Here’s what you will find on each dashboard!

Dashboard 1:  What are we doing for our mission to fight poverty?
This dashboard sets the stage for an understanding of the depth of the impact we have created. The dashboard features the number of jobs our investments have created, grouped by sector and employment type. We also showcase the number of businesses and sectors we have invested in and the amount we have invested. 

Till date, Upaya’s investments have created 35,900 dignified jobs for the poor, invested $1.48M in 37 portfolio companies across 5 under-financed sectors — Food & Agriculture, Waste Management, Rural Manufacturing, Textiles and Handicrafts, and Skill Development. 

Dashboard 2:  How are our portfolio companies performing?
Upaya identifies early-stage companies and provides long-term patient capital and support to help them grow their operations, achieve profitability, and expand their business. In this dashboard, we take you through the portfolio performance.

Upaya was the first institutional investor in 62% of the companies we have invested in. After Upaya’s investment, portfolio companies have raised 12X to 23X on average in follow-on investment. The valuation of our portfolio companies has grown by 1.59X since the time of our investment.

Dashboard 3: How much impact are we making in the lives of the jobholders?
Here, we highlight data around enhanced stability and impact on incomes of a jobholder after joining Upaya’s portfolio company. Overall, 62% jobholders reported their income to be more stable and households have experienced an average income increase of 68%.

Dashboard 4: How does a dignified job provide a reliable and sustainable pathway out of poverty?
This dashboard unfolds the impact of a dignified job on jobholders and their families. We see that jobholders are able to save more, send children to school, access basic facilities, and work towards achieving their life goals. 45% of jobholders reported being able to save regularly, 79% of jobholders are able to send their children to school, and 94% of jobholders said that they would recommend their job to others.

PARTNER WITH US

When we look at our impact dashboards, we realize that we have come a long way in demonstrating and enhancing the dignity in jobs created for people in poverty. However, we also acknowledge the need to further deepen our impact. While the data on our dashboards and the stories of our jobholders are a testament to the life-changing effects of dignified jobs, we also get insights on gaps that exist like the need for financial literacy, deeper understanding of gender pay gap, and increasing debt burden on the jobholders across sectors. These are some areas where we would like to deepen our impact in 2024.

If you want to know more about our work or chat with us about meaningful collaborations, then reach out at hello@upayasv.org.

ABOUT UPAYA SOCIAL VENTURES:

Upaya Social Ventures is a nonprofit organization building an inclusive economy by providing investment and support to early-stage businesses creating dignified jobs 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 30,000 dignified jobs across India. Please visit upayasv.org for more information.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Madlin Dsilva
mdsilva@upayasv.org