Tata launches fellowship programme for entrepreneurs with innovative ideas

Tata Trusts and Social Alpha Wednesday launched here a 12-month fellowship programme for the entrepreneurs who are aiming to create impactful ventures with their innovative ideas.

The first group of up to eight entrepreneurs, under the Social Alpha Entrepreneurs for Impact (E4i) programme, will be selected to solve problems in areas such as water, sanitation, health, agriculture, energy and environment, Tata Trusts said in a statement.

All throughout, Social Alpha will provide support to the E4i finalists through a network of experts from the public and private sectors, non-profit entities and foundations.

"It's a 12-month programme that equips passionate entrepreneur-in-making to leverage India's deep science, innovation and entrepreneurship environment," it said.

The objective is to create an avenue for passionate, emphatic, and mission-driven change makers to scout for potential technologies, create co-founding teams, build and test their ways and convert them into impactful ventures, the statement added.

Social Alpha Chief Executive Officer Manoj Kumar said, "Today, a farmer has to go miles in order to get the soil tested, but tomorrow if the entrepreneurs come up with some idea, the facility could be provided at the farmer's doorstep."

Established in 2016, Social Alpha is a joint initiative of Tata Trusts and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.