Upaya Social Ventures

सही रास्ता चुनना

• निवेश: शुरुआती चरण की, लाभ कमाने वाली कंपनियों के लिए जो अत्यधिक गरीबी में जी रहे लोगों के लिए रोज़गार बनाती हैं। investments पेज पर 'Apply for investment' बटन का उपयोग करें।
• Accelerator: भारत में शुरुआती चरण के सामाजिक व्यवसायों के लिए जो गरिमापूर्ण रोज़गार बनाते हैं। intake खुला नहीं है, इसलिए रुचि दर्ज कराने के लिए 'Introduce your business' का उपयोग करें।
• ClimaFii Alliance: भारत के मध्य-विकास चरण के व्यवसायों के लिए। अगले cohort का विवरण जुड़े हुए फॉर्म के जरिए साझा करें।
• Textile waste facility: कोई खुला intake नहीं है। साझेदारी, निवेश या knowledge-sharing के बारे में taf@upayasv.org पर लिखें।
• Dignified Jobs Collaborative: यह फंडिंग का रास्ता नहीं है। thought partner, funder, data contributor या amplifier बनने के लिए djc@upayasv.org पर लिखें।

आवेदन कैसे काम करते हैं

• निवेश फॉर्म investments पेज से जुड़ा है। कोई deadline नहीं बताई गई है।
• Accelerator visitors से अपना व्यवसाय परिचित कराने और सब्सक्राइब करने को कहता है। Subscribers को भविष्य के cohorts के लिए आवेदन खुलने की जानकारी सबसे पहले मिलती है।
• ClimaFii पेज नहीं बताता कि cohort खुला है या नहीं।

चयन कैसे होता है

• Upaya 2024 accelerator cohort से निवेश के लिए अधिकतम तीन व्यवसाय चुन सकती है।
• 2025 accelerator में 60 व्यवसायों के लिए वर्चुअल पहला स्तर और 10 के लिए छह महीने का दूसरा स्तर है।

संपर्क

• सामान्य पूछताछ: hello@upayasv.org
• Accelerator पूछताछ: cohort@upayasv.org

Upaya Social Ventures is a nonprofit that invests in early-stage, for-profit companies that create jobs for people living in extreme poverty, in India. It was founded in 2011, and its India office is in Bangalore, Karnataka. Alongside its investments, it runs an accelerator, a facility for textile waste enterprises, a cohort in the ClimaFii Alliance and a community of practice on job quality.

Who it invests in

Upaya focuses on what it calls the missing middle: businesses too large for microfinance and too small for traditional bank financing. Its investments page describes them as mission-aligned, early-stage, for-profit companies that create jobs for people living in extreme poverty. Upaya says it is often the first institutional investor in these businesses, and that it gives hands-on advisory support alongside its funding.

Its pages describe its money in two ways. The investments page says seed funding, and the approach page says loans made from a pool of recoverable grants. The site does not say which applies to a given business, or whether equity is taken.

Programmes

Catalytic Investments is Upaya's direct investment work. The Dignified Jobs Accelerator runs in cohorts for early-stage social businesses. The Textile Waste Management Technical Assistance Facility supports sanitation worker-first enterprises. The ClimaFii Alliance is a five-year initiative anchored by Shell Foundation with Accion, in which Upaya is the India partner. The Dignified Jobs Collaborative is a community of practice, and it is not a funding programme.

Accelerator cohorts

The accelerator's two listed cohorts each focused on one sector and each had partners. The 2024 cohort covered the allied sectors of agriculture, ran for six months, and worked with Yunus Social Business Fund Bengaluru. Upaya may select up to three businesses from it for investment. The 2025 Circular Innovation cohort covered plastics and textile and fashion waste management, ran for nine months, and worked with Global Business Inroads and rePurpose Global.

The 2025 cohort ran in two levels. Level 1 is a three-month virtual programme for 60 businesses. Level 2 is a six-month, hands-on programme for 10 businesses. Funding is not part of the accelerator.

ClimaFii Alliance

ClimaFii is a five-year initiative anchored by Shell Foundation in partnership with Accion, with co-funding from UK aid. Upaya joins as the India partner, and BFA Global joins as the Sub-Saharan Africa partner. Its India cohorts include a no-interest loan, and every selected business receives its funding through that loan. The alliance is for mid-growth stage businesses registered and operating in India, with a potential to reach 3,000 to 5,000 micro-entrepreneurs. Its pages list companies in the 2025 and 2026 India cohorts.

Scale

Upaya's homepage gives 153 businesses accelerated and 64 investments made. Both are its own counts, and the site does not define them. Its homepage and careers page give 126,308 dignified jobs created by portfolio companies since 2011. Other pages on the site give different totals for the same measure, and the site does not say which is current.

On gender, its impact page says 41% of jobholders are women. Its gender page says nearly half of the jobholders at its portfolio partners are women. The two figures do not match.

Who can apply

Each programme sets its own eligibility. The Dignified Jobs Accelerator takes early-stage businesses in India that create dignified jobs for people in extreme poverty, and it strongly encourages women-led businesses to apply. Catalytic Investments backs mission-aligned, early-stage, for-profit companies that create jobs for people living in extreme poverty. The ClimaFii Alliance takes mid-growth stage businesses registered and operating in India. The Dignified Jobs Collaborative has no eligibility test. It is a community that invites thought partners, funders, data contributors and amplifiers.

Locations

The site lists an India office on Sri Krishna Temple Road in Indiranagar, Bangalore, and a second office in the United States. It describes itself as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which is a United States designation.