Give A Job
Change A Life
Upaya Social Ventures creates dignified jobs for the poorest of the poor.
Upaya is breaking the vicious cycle of extreme poverty through job creation.
We have invested in 14 businesses that have created 8,004 jobs for the extreme poor and improved over 200,000 lives.
We start by selecting early-stage entrepreneurs to join our accelerator program.
We select up to three businesses from each accelerator for investments and ongoing consulting support.
The businesses we partner with have created thousands of dignified jobs for the poor in their communities.
Read the stories of the jobholders whose lives are being transformed through your contribution to Upaya.
Plate Maker & Trainer, Barpeta, Assam
Craftsman & Designer, Mirze Town, Assam
Paper Maker, Mirze Town, Assam
Reema Sathe is on a mission to improve the lives of small-holder farmers in India through her company Happy Roots.
Farmers around the world face intense pressure. Steadily rising cost of inputs, combined with downward pressure on prices, and price volatility in general, make it difficult to predict how much income one can earn in any given season. Despite the grim trends, I am optimistic that dedicated entrepreneurs and creative business models can usher in the operational and technological innovations that are needed.
Woman agripreneur and Upaya Partner Siddhi Karnani of Parvata Foods is breaking stereotypes in the highly male-dominated agriculture industry in India. Read the article on globalcitizen.org >>
While accelerator programs are sprouting up like mushrooms all over the world, we think that Upaya’s objectives give us a unique approach to selection. The first part of any application that we review is their articulation of how their business will build livelihoods for the extreme poor.
Upaya is pleased to announce the kick-off of our partnership with UpSkill Management Services, a Mumbai-based business focused on training unskilled workers for employment in sectors such as retail and auto repair.
Earlier this year, we at Upaya wrote about the tenacious female founders in our portfolio and how their companies were outperforming the others. We asked them what piece of advice they would give to other aspiring women entrepreneurs. From their insights, several themes emerged. . .
In a piece written for NextBillion.net, Upaya's CEO, Sachi Shenoy, and board member, Nathan Byrd, discuss the challenges and opportunities around pioneering capital, and how impact investors can do so much more with much less.
Sanju's life was transformed when she got her first job as a rickshaw driver through SMV Green. Prior to starting this job, Sanju was afraid to leave her home. She feared for her family's future and she couldn't afford her daughter's education.
Global Washington's March newsletter featured Kate Cochran, CEO of Upaya Social Ventures, as this month's changemaker. The article shares Kate's journey into international development, and how she ultimately became the CEO of Upaya.
Upaya Social Ventures was recently featured in GeekWire's Impact Series which focuses on organizations that are using innovative solutions to solve societal challenges.
