Concept
Mrida (Sanskrit for ‘Soil’) seeks to facilitate sustainable and scalable, holistic development in remote rural areas, using agriculture, energy access, skill development, health, and related interventions as entry points/development triggers. As a systems integrator and a catalyst, it then uses these triggers to facilitate community engagement, livelihoods, women’s empowerment, education and so on, leading to all-round development.
Building on the Corporate background and experience of the promoters, the objective is to bring the same discipline and the financial rigor of the business world into the development sector, showcasing the social and environmental impact that is sustainable as well as scalable.
Through this Section 8 entity, Mrida partners with Corporate entities and individuals to develop and implement customized interventions on the ground, with measurable impact assessment being an integral part of any engagement. Our approach is to do something that is complete, impactful and self-sustaining in itself, something that instills a sense of pride and belonging amongst all stakeholders, be they Corporate entities, individuals, employees, or the beneficiaries themselves.
Our Philosophy
The core philosophy we seek to promote is that development need not necessarily be just donations, grants or pure philanthropy, but can be run almost on the lines of business. We ensure that the beneficiary community and individuals are an integral part of any initiative that we undertake, that their engagement includes at least some financial commitment – even if as a token, and that local leadership is developed within the community to build further upon, and carry the initiative forward over time.
Our Offering to Our Partners
For prospective partnerships with Corporate entities for their Corporate Social Responsibility Programs, we pitch ourselves as ‘CSR Fund Managers’. Our role is to generate measurable returns on CSR investments – these returns being in the form of a Social Return on Investment (skill development, women’s empowerment, education, sustainable livelihoods, empowering small and marginal farmers), Environmental ROI (promoting clean energy interventions and the associated reduction in carbon-di-oxide emissions, agricultural interventions to reduce the water footprint), and Economic ROI (increasing disposable incomes at the Bottom of the Pyramid).
Our Value Add
As an integral part of the journey towards maximizing returns on CSR investments or individual donations, and building on its own core competence and past experience, Mrida brings in the elements of
Strategy &
Visioning
Operationalizing the Strategy & Vision into a clearly defined roadmap for implementation
Facilitating audits, operational reviews and compliances
Sharing
best practices
and benchmarking
Sustainability and
scalability
These can be fine-tuned and made more specific and focused based on the CSR Partner’s or Donor’s priorities at one end, and the needs of the beneficiaries in remote rural areas at the other