EDII supported ‘Green Ideology’ receives YES BANK debt funding
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), an acknowledged national resource Institute for Entrepreneurship Education, Research, Training & Incubator, has tied up with YES BANK, India's 4th largest Private sector bank, to lend to start-ups supported by EDII. In the first such initiative, YES BANK is going to provide a loan of Rs 50 lakh to EDII supported start-up, Green Ideology under the CGTMSE program (Credit Guaratee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises). Founded by Abhishek Lodha and Neerja Lakhani in 2013, Green Ideology has introduced India’s first premium organic antimicrobial lingerie brand ‘Inner Sense’. Speaking about this initiative, Mr. Sunil Shukla, Director, EDII said, “Since many years, EDII has been mentoring and supporting start-ups, especially those founded by alumni of our Institute. But, our ability to lend to these start-ups was miniscule as we are an educational institute. Now, in association with YES BANK, EDII is in a position to provide debt to many of the start-ups whom we support in various ways. Additionally, EDII’s recently set up technology business incubator, Centre for Advancing & Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE), will also nurture start-ups in the fields of manufacturing, food/agri business, renewable energy and healthcare.” Commenting on the tie up, Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and CEO, YES BANK, said, “Start-ups are critical to the growth of the economy as they create job opportunities in addition to contributing to economic dynamism by spurring entrepreneurship and innovation. As an extension of our YES HeadStartup program, we are pleased to collaborate with EDII to help start-ups scale up and grow rapidly, thereby creating a multiplier effect on the Indian economy. YES BANK remains committed to growing this dynamic partnership, offering sector specific solutions and emerging as the Banking partner of choice for startups across India. Green Ideology’s founder Abhishek Lodha is a B.Text. in Textile Chemistry, while the other promoter, Neerja Lakhani, holds a degree in apparel design from NIFT, Gandhinagar. They observed that India’s humid climate makes women more vulnerable to unhygienic conditions which are further compounded by unavailability of healthy and quality inner-wear in the market. Sensing this gap, the two founders came together to create ‘Inner Sense’ that is fashionable, eco-friendly, and most-importantly healthy. Green Ideology had initially received a grant of Rs. 5 lakh from the Government of Gujarat acting through its nodal institute EDII, to commence its operations and launch its product range. With the Rs. 50 Lakh debt funding from YES BANK, the startup can now scale-up its operations. Elaborating on their business
trajectory, Abhishek Lodha of Green Ideology said, “It was difficult at first to explain the concept of ‘organic and antimicrobial’ innerwear range to our customers. To top it, we also had to meet the requisite standard of yarn and fabric processing MOQ for this type of product. Our first collection had only eight styles and today we have more than 60 styles under our brand Inner Sense. Apart from our own e-commerce portal, our products are available on all major e-commerce sites. We are also selling our products in the US, UK, and Malaysia.” Neerja Lakhani of Green Ideology added, “We will be increasing the width and depth in products and categories. We want to revolutionise the shopping experience by developing an innovative software as a fitting and styling guide. Our aim is to become one of the top 5 brands in the Indian lingerie industry.” About Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) is an acclaimed International Resource Centre facilitating all facets of Entrepreneurship Development. EDII’s mission is to be a catalyst in facilitating emergence of competent first generation entrepreneurs and transition of existing SMEs into growth-oriented enterprises through entrepreneurship education, training, research & institution building. EDI’s mission has led to the emergence of several programmes under strategically planned centres to generate awareness, sensitise environment, strengthen institutional linkages and networking and impart training in specialised areas. EDII’s focus areas are: 1) Entrepreneurship Education & Research; 2) Micro Enterprises, Micro Finance and Sustainable Livelihood; 3) SMEs & Business Development Services; 4) Cluster Competitiveness, Growth & Technology; 5) Social Entrepreneurship & CSR; 6) Women Entrepreneurship & Gender Studies.
Yes Bank Joins Adv. Afroz Shah to Clean Versova Beach for World Environment Day
On the eve of World Environment Day, hundreds of YES BANK employees came together in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNE) to support Advocate Afroz Shah and participate in the world’s biggest beach clean-up operation at Versova beach. Prominent personalities and dignitaries such as Puja Bhatt, Dr. Bharti Lavekar, MLA, Versova, Mr. Vijay Samnotra, India Head, UNE and Namita Vikas, Group President and Global Head, Climate Strategy and Responsible Banking, YES BANK, among others, joined more than 2000 volunteers, and cleaned 160 tonnes of garbage from the beach. The activity undertaken to mark the World Environment Day was part of YES BANK’s unique community engagement program, YES COMMUNITY. Advocate Afroz Shah, is the winner of the United Nation’s highest environmental award ‘Champion of the Earth’, which he received for initiating the Versova beach cleanup drive, ridding the beach of more than 5 million Kgs of plastic waste and debris since 2015. The initiative, currently in its 87th week, was also commended by the Honourable Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modi. Namita Vikas, Group President and Global Head, Climate Strategy and Responsible Banking, present at the event, said, “Just like everyone in the country and the world, we are very grateful and proud of this incredible initiative by Afroz Shah. India needs many more changemakers like him to address the many environmental and social challenges we face. YES BANK, through its YES COMMUNITY platform, aims to act as a multiplier force for creating positive impact in the communities it serves, and we are delighted to work with and support environmental champions like Afroz Shah.” Commenting on the completion of the 87th week of the clean-up drive, Advocate Afroz Shah, said, “The remarkable work done today by so many volunteers is even more special as it marks the World Environment Day. Everyone has a responsibility of keeping the environment clean and safe. I also thank YES BANK and its employees for their help and support during the drive.” YES COMMUNITY is YES BANK’s unique community engagement program that utilizes the Bank’s 1000 strong branch network as a knowledge exchange platform to partner local communities in driving environmental action and social transformation. Through YES COMMUNITY, YES BANK branches act as community transformation centres, connecting stakeholders in Branch Serving Areas (BSA), on socially & environmentally pertinent issues, forging partnerships and taking interactions beyond the transactional. In FY17, YES COMMUNITY’s initiatives, aimed at enhancing India’s green cover, spreading awareness about cleanliness and waste management, youth empowerment, and financial literacy, among many others, touched over two million lives.