Manjari Corner
89 small enterprises have been established under our Entrepreneurship Development Program with DS Group, across various locations. A public awareness rally was organized in Zawar to highlight the significance of literacy. Banda, Uttar Pradesh, where Manjari Foundation is actively working on water conservation, wins Best District award at 5th National Water Awards. Mega Bank Credit Linkage camp organized in Kalinagar village, Rudrapur, where ₹1.25 crores were disbursed in loans to 101 SHGs. Hand over of essential initiatives carried out in Badgaon & Pipret villages, including Aanganwadi, schools, hostels, bus stop, open gym & women-led pickle unit in partnership with SBI Card.

Mahsie

Manjari Hub for Social Innovation and
Entrepreneurship (MaHSIE)

A start-up incubator exclusively for India’s underserved.

Born out of the legacy of our parent organisation-Manjari Foundation in building women’s institutions from the bottom-up, MaHSIE is the first innovation hub of its kind to be established in the aspirational district of Dholpur. Our aim is to create a vibrant ecosystem that nurtures ideas and innovations emerging from the grassroots and usher in a new wave of entrepreneurship in India’s untapped hinterland.

We are enablers

We are not in the business of selection. We build capacities and nurture ideas to maturity, allowing the market to determine viability.

We are sector-agnostic

We have built expertise in some sectors, yet we recognize that one size cannot fit all. Rather than sectors, we prioritize ideas that create impact.

We are A launch pad

We hand-hold entrepreneurs, offering tools, training, guidance, and resources to bring ideas to action.

We serve the underserved

We pioneer bottom-up developmental solutions for India’s untapped and underserved non-metros and rural areas.

Bridging the divide

A Tale of 'Two Indias'

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” - Mahatma Gandhi

The vast majority of social incubators and start-ups today are concentrated in major metropolitan cities. India needs more innovations focussing on the needs of the common man and the upliftment of weaker sections of society. Since independence, the government has been cognizant of this divide. The popular slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan'' coined by our erstwhile prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri more than 50 years ago, holds true even today and has been the guiding force behind our parent Manjari Foundation’s extensive work to empower small and marginal farmers towards self-sufficiency. Our experience working at the grassroots has taught us a valuable lesson - when people are mobilized into institutions, they hold the collective potential to bring lasting change to their communities.

“No doubt we have to have bigger projects, bigger industries, basic industries, but it is a matter of the highest importance that we look to the common man, the weakest element in the society.” Lal Bahadur Shastri

India needs a second wave of entrepreneurship to pave the way for bottom-up solutions that can address the unique developmental needs of underserved Bharat. Toward this end, MaSHIE will adopt a dual focus:

1 Contextual innovations for BOP needs - Rural India has unique challenges requiring innovative bottom-up solutions. Over the years, Manjari Foundation has laid a strong foundation across Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh through its numerous interventions to build local capacities and improve the overall quality of rural life. As a next step, MaHSIE seeks to encourage and empower aspirants emerging from the grassroots to conceive and pursue innovations relevant to their own socio-economic backgrounds.

2 A finishing school for grassroots entrepreneurs - Unlike the mainstream, entrepreneurs emerging from less affluent backgrounds lack the same privilege or exposure as their urban counterparts. By virtue of being based in the aspirational Dholpur district, MaHSIE is strategically positioned to democratize entrepreneurship in the region and serve as a ‘finishing school’ for such aspirants, grooming them to compete in the market on an equal footing.

Sectors

MaHSIE has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and expertise in three key sectors, owing to the work of its parent organization, Manjari Foundation across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

International Women Day 2019
Agriculture & allied sectors

Innovations in technology and processes that enhance productivity and the transition to environmentally sustainable and organic practices.

A Move Towards A Safe Life
Natural Resource Management

Climate-positive solutions to conserve and regenerate depleting natural resources including projects to conserve and improve access to clean water, solar and other renewable sources of energy etc.

Despite all odds, she started an atta chakki (flour mill) in her village
 
Education & Livelihoods

Initiatives that expand access to learning, skill development, and livelihood opportunities for rural and underserved populations

About Us

Launched on the 152nd birth anniversary of Bapu, MaHSIE is guided by the Gandhian ideology of self-reliance rooted in the concepts of Swadeshi (of one's own country/community) and Sarvodaya (upliftment for all). By virtue of being based in the aspirational Dholpur district, MaHSIE is strategically positioned to democratize entrepreneurship in the region and serve as a ‘finishing school’ for start-ups from rural India, grooming them to compete in the market on an equal footing. An incubation platform focussed exclusively on underserved rural and semi-urban regions of India, where nearly 70% of the country’s population resides, MaHSIE is a step towards nurturing untapped potential and creating a league of change-makers geared towards revolutionizing development for the bottom of the pyramid.

VISION

A vibrant start-up ecosystem that nurtures innovations in underserved India.

MISSION

MaHSIE is pioneering a new approach that promotes innovators from the grassroots; and champions bottom-up solutions to meet the unique challenges of India’s rural and underserved populations.

ECO-SYSTEM OFFERINGS

Providing entrepreneurs with what matters most

Incubation & Research Lab

customized assistance for new innovations in R&D, product design, Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development, production and logistics, validation, prototyping and testing, risk analysis, and competition mapping. hands-on strategic and operational solutions for existing models to achieve scale and financial viability

Mentorship Programme

One-to-one coaching and capacity-building support for 1st generation entrepreneurs by our industry-wide experts, theme-based panel discussions, sessions and workshops, business connections and networks, scrutiny by experts, collaboration opportunities and support in enhancing customer experience, building an online presence and market linkages

Technical Support

state-of-the-art software and hardware for new product development and quality testing including 3-D printing and fully automated ESDM labs inputs, technology, and training in best practices to boost productivity in agriculture and allied sectors

Access to Finance

assistance in creating and refining pitch decks, DPRs and selecting the most appropriate modes of finance for seed and series funding linkages to donors, angel/VC investors, banks, NBFCs and financial institutions, govt. schemes.

Our Testimonials

What People Say About Us

'Manjari’ literally translates to “seed of Tulsi”, a sacred Indian plant. When women mobilise themselves to form institutions, they are empowered to sow their own ‘seeds of change’.