IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) has launched the Bharat Inclusion Initiative, with a commitment of $25 million from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Omidyar Network and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. The initiative will focus on incubating and backing startups that work in areas such as financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health. 

With seed support from Tata Trusts, CIIE’s new initiative has received an initial commitment of $12.5 Million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and Omidyar Network. This includes a $5 Million commitment for providing support to startups through acceleration programs, research, training workshops and piloting partnerships. 

The initiative aims to channelize approximately $25 Million over the next 3-4 years in backing startups using digital technology to offer services to the unserved. "The Bharat Inclusion Initiative aims to provide a continuum of solutions to inclusion focused tech entrepreneurs across the pre-incubation, seed and scale-up stage and help them jump to the next orbit,' said Neharika Vohra, Chairperson, CIIE Initiatives. 

In addition, CIIE will also invest in seed and pre-Series-A startups through a dedicated Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund - which announced its initial closing at $7.5 Million and is expected to make a final close at $15Million by July 2018. 

"At Gates Foundation, we are committed to creating a disproportionate and sustained impact on some of the most critical challenges facing the nation today," said Pawan Bakhshi, India Lead, Financial Services for the Poor, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "In CIIE, we find a similar drive towards meeting some of these goals."