Bharat Inclusion Initiative has already raised $12.5m to back projects in sectors such as financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health.

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has secured $12.5m of a targeted $25m for an impact-focused entrepreneurial program called Bharat Inclusion Initiative, according to the Ahmedabad Mirror.

Tata Trusts, the philanthropic arm of diversified conglomerate Tata, supplied capital together with impact investment firm Omidyar Network, philanthropic outfit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and family office Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

The program will be managed by IIMA’s Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE).

The $12.5m consists of $5m for entrepreneurial support, such as accelerators, workshops and piloting partnerships.

The remaining $7.5m has been raised for the initiative’s Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund, a vehicle that will back pre-series A startups and is expected to close at $15m by July 2018.

The seed fund will be sector-agnostic and open to businesses from different geographies capable of empowering the estimated 500 million Indians expected to join the internet through their mobile phones over coming years, according to Omidyar Network.

Bharat Inclusion Initiative will operate over the next three to four years, focusing on technology-orientated businesses in spaces including financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health.  

Lessons learned from the initiative will be made openly available to help drive the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Neharika Vohra, chairperson for initiatives at CIIE, said: “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.”