Category : India

The journey of two of the Seed for Change 2020 winner projects, Growthosphere and Sahayak, exemplifies how seed funding can act as a springboard for bold ideas with the potential to create lasting impact, and the diverse pathways through which meaningful change can be fostered. Growthosphere, born from a vision to empower marginalized youth through entrepreneurial mentorship, has grown into a thriving initiative that bridges skill gaps and cultivates innovation. Meanwhile, Sahayak’s endeavor to address labor migration through rural skill development has provided key insights into the structural challenges of fostering systemic change. 

Every January, Dominic Mao, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Andrea Wright, Assistant Dean of Harvard College, train and accompany a group of Harvard undergraduates to India in what’s known as the Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL). There, they collaborate with local college students to deliver a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences curriculum to high school students. This immersive camp provides intense, hands-on learning experiences, exposing high school participants to diverse academic disciplines, extracurricular activities, and meaningful cultural exchanges. By fostering interactions across these three groups, the program creates a vibrant environment for intellectual growth and cross-cultural understanding.

Looking back at the journey of the Seed for Change competition 2022 winner, e-Rehri, exemplifies how bold ideas can create lasting impact. Born from a vision to support informal vendors in Chandigarh, this initiative has grown into a transformative solution for mobility, sustainability, and livelihoods. From its first prototype addressing lockdown challenges to the deployment of an electrified fleet, e-Rehri has become a testament to innovation driven by community needs.