The new Vadodara chapter of FICCI FLO , started recently , which now has over 100 members in Vadodara city, organized one of its kind event on Wednesday 27th April 2022 , a 1st ever Project Shark Tank Social entrepreneurs to help the society through various NGO’s, this event was conceived by the Vice Chair of FICCI Flo Vadodara, Mrs. Barkha Amin.
The event was organized to give social women entrepreneurs of Vadodara a platform to come forward and present their projects / ideas to the Sharks through FICCI FLO VADODARA chapter. The social entrepreneurs pitched to a selected group of sharks / sponsors who were present to chose and invest in the social projects.
The investing sharks came from various social backgrounds with having huge experience in working with varieties of social causes in India and Abroad.Each social entrepreneur was given 5 minutes to present their cause. This was followed by a negation round from the sharks. At the end of this round, the sharks bided to sponsor the project.
The 4 sharks for this event were women who have contributed and continue to contribute to the cause for society.
The Sharks were,
Mrs. Taruna Patel, CEO of Elecon group Anand and Madhubhan Resort and Spa.
Mrs. Malika Amin, Managing Director and CEO of Alembic Group Vadodara. Alembic Group, established more than a century ago in the year 1907 is a diversified industrial house today, having interests in various businesses such as pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, glassware, engineering and real estate.
Dr Ruchi Mehta is currently head of strategy at Deepak Foundation. She has worked in London for 3 years advising the government on health policies.
Madhavi Agarwal is the founder of Cygnus World School Vadodara. She graduated in Economics from Delhi’s prestigious Shri Ram College. She did a rigorous course in Child Psychology from UK. A strong proponent of all round development, she acquired a diploma in Business Finance from ACFAI.
The participants from the NGOs included Ms. Nihar Agarwal from Anwesha Foundation, who had come to raise funds for the setting up of a local lab facility and waste collection system, processing it and turn waste into useful valuable products.
Ms. Swati Bedekar from the Vatsalya Foundation , who came to raise the funds for the Menstrual hygiene project, followed by Ms. Nisha Grover from Akshar trust who had come to raise fund in ‘Early intervention for deaf babies’, where a facility is set up for early detection, diagnosis and intervention of deaf babies.
Out of the five participants Dr Juin Dutta, from Srotsoshwini Trust was the one who had cuome to raise the fund for setting up ‘New classroom support’ in terms of providing furniture and learning material for the pathshala the trust runs which would enhance the learning environment of children, leading them to perform better in academics and co curricular activities.
The fifth participant was Hetaxi Champaneri representing the State home for Women, also known as the Nari Sanrakshan Gruh. It’s a Government run Institution under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. She participated for her immediate requirement which included supporting 3 women to be self-sufficient through skill development and organizing their weddings.
Out of the five participants Akshar Trust got Super Deal of 8lakhs against the ask of Rs. 4 lakhs. All the four sharks funded the noble cause of Akshar trust . While Anwesha Foundation received 14 lakhs against the ask of Rs12lakhs through the support of two Sharks Dr Ruchi Mehta and Mrs. Mallika Amin , who contributed Rs. 7 lakhs each for the noble cause of Anwesha foundation. While Srotsoshwini Trust received funding of Rs. 8,98,000/- jointly from two sharks Mrs. Madhavi Agarwal and Mrs. Taruna Patel for the noble cause of New classroom support for underprivileged kids.
Social Shark Mrs. Mallika Amin from the Alembic Group, Talking about her experience said “I must congratulate the FICCCI FLO Vadodara for such a wonderful concept . These kind of program will help the NGO’s to raise funds for various noble cause. The program has been a grand success and I wish all the best to FICCI FLO Vadodara for their future endeavors.
It was an emotional moment for the Sharks, and spectators when all four sharks offered combined support of Rs. 4 lacs to Hetaxi , who was representing Nari Sanrakshan Gruh and had asked for Rs.4 lacs , which were to be used for the vocational training of three destitute females of the Gruh and for their marriage. All the spectators gave a big round of applause, on the occasion of handing over of the cheque and wished for the happy life of the three girls.
Talking to Media, the Chairperson of FICCI FLO , Ms. Reshma Patel said, “ the event has displayed the commitment of women towards making the world a better place and bringing about change the way we look towards the society. The chapter is going to focus on major activities throughout the year which will give power to empower the Ladies members of FICCI FLO Vadodara and other women of the City, and this was the first effort towards the same.
