Six social ventures secure Rs 57 lakh at SBI Youth for India Conclave

SBI Foundation, the CSR arm of the State Bank of India, recently hosted the SBI Youth for India (YFI) Conclave 2025 in Guwahati. The event saw a gathering of social entrepreneurs, development sector experts, academicians, and SBI YFI Alumni. The event's focus was on scalable solutions for rural transformation.

The highlight of the event was SBI YFI Sahyog – The Pitch Fest, where 10 social enterprises presented their impact-driven ideas, competing for seed funding and mentorship.

Held in Shark Tank style, the winners of this year’s Pitch Fest were chosen by a jury panel that included Anupam Joshi and Swapnil Sinha. The winners will receive funding, along with strategic mentorship from SBI Foundation and industry leaders, said a press release.

This year's winners who received Rs 11 lakh each are:

• Pratibha Krishnaiah and Anvi Mehta of Himalayan Blooms, a women-led, not-for-profit initiative that empowers local women through crochet and knitting in Uttarakhand.

• Ruchinilo Kemp of Kenono Foundation, a non-profit based in Nagaland dedicated to conserving forest biodiversity and supporting forest-dependent communities.

• Teja Sanjay Ghorpade of BEPCoR (Be-Ecoliteracy Pollinator Conservation and Research Foundation), a social enterprise committed to empowering rural and tribal women through sustainable beekeeping, pollinator conservation, and honey-based micro entrepreneurship.

Here are the winners that received Rs 8 lakh each:

• Krishna Thiruvengadam Rajagopal of dVerse Technologies Pvt Ltd, which is building an immersive edtech ecosystem for visually impaired students, combining bilingual bite-sized lessons with interactive tactile graphics.

• T Sai Krishna of Fishy Farmers Pvt Ltd, a for-profit venture founded in 2018 to simplify and scale sustainable aquaculture in India.

• Sachin Korla of UdyamWell, a tech-enabled platform that serves as a one-stop solution for rural and grassroots enterprises, offering end-to-end support for market linkage, ecommerce readiness, and business growth.

Over the years, the fellows of SBI YFI have initiated transformative projects across diverse domains—education, alternate energy, women’s empowerment, traditional craft, environmental sustainability, rural livelihood, water, and health, among others.

In the last four years, SBI YFI Sahyog has supported 24 social ventures, with a total funding of Rs 1.06 crore. This has enabled them to scale and sustain their initiatives.

Speaking at the event, Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director and CEO, SBI Foundation, said, "For over 14 years, the SBI Youth for India Fellowship has been a catalyst for social change, empowering 640 dedicated individuals to co-create sustainable solutions at the grassroots. Through our focus on key thematic areas, including education, healthcare, women empowerment, and rural livelihoods, our fellows have made a lasting impact across 21 states and union territories, transforming the lives of over 1,50,000 people."