Upaya is a different kind of investor. The “patient capital” we are able to provide is only possible because of the donors who provide philanthropy to us.

Upaya’s model depends on finding the right entrepreneurs to achieve our mission of fighting poverty with job creation. But finding those entrepreneurs who align with our mission is not always easy.

Why do we care so much about collecting data, evaluating the results, and sharing it? Because it’s extremely important to us to ensure that the families impacted by our work are in fact making their way out of extreme poverty.

Counting jobs sounds straightforward, right? Think again. Jobs come in many forms, and we need to ensure the jobs our partners create can and will lift families out of extreme poverty.

Many people who hear about Upaya try to compare our work to that of microfinance. And while the idea for Upaya’s model took shape while I was working in a microfinance institution, our model and our target demographic are quite different.

Upaya Social Ventures announced today the 11 companies that have been selected for its third accelerator program. All 11 social enterprises show the potential to create jobs at scale for the extreme poor in India. They represent cities across India and operate in a diverse range of industries from rural manufacturing to tourism.

I’ve often heard mission-driven organizations talk about the importance of scale. While reporting large and wide outreach is a commendable goal, it should not preclude measuring the depth of impact.

In our collective quest to grow the impact economy, we should not lose sight of the full set of actors, tools, and methods that are needed in concert to effect disruptive change. Namely, we must not overlook the earliest stages of social enterprise innovation, the so-called “Pioneer Gap” that still remains stubbornly under-funded.

Upaya Social Ventures announced its latest investment in Laymen Agro, an early-stage social enterprise based in Tamil Nadu that procures and delivers farm-fresh milk and vegetables to families in Coimbatore.