Tata Trusts, Shell India launch rural tool for start-ups, investors

Tie-up aims to promote sustainable economic growth; framework reduces lab-to-market journey for start-ups, helps them identify partnerships that will aid in integrated rural development

Tata Trusts and Shell India have launched Stages of Development (SOD) Framework for Rural Collaboration, a data-driven tool that aids start-ups, philanthropists and investors working in the rural development space to make informed decisions, identify relevant solutions and maximise social impact through an integrated, collaborative approach.

This was being done as part of India2022 Coalition that is spearheaded Norway-based Xynteo. The tool will classify villages into four categories based on stages of development – underserved, nascent, advancing and rurban (rural+urban) based on key development indicators.

The framework reduces the lab-to-market journey for start-ups and helps them identify partnerships that will aid in integrated rural development.

This partnership will further the UN Sustainable Development Goals and supporting the Indian government’s strategic priorities. “Access to reliable and affordable energy is critical to help unlock development across multiple sectors in rural India. Similarly, access to finance, both for consumers and enterprises, can increase the uptake of several interventions, across different sectors. We are proud to be part of this collaboration with an aim to ensure that decentralised, fit-for-purpose and low carbon energy solutions are made available to all rural households and rural enterprises,” said Nitin Prasad, chairman, Shell Companies in India.

According to Ganesh Neelam, head – central and east north zone, Tata Trusts and executive director, Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives, "The framework allows matching of needs of communities with appropriate interventions, based on a cross-sector approach, from all required stakeholders. We are happy to have contributed in the development of this framework basis Tata Trusts’ extensive understanding of the sector and hope it helps align stakeholders towards a common goal for the good of the community-at-large.”

The SoD framework could potentially be used by any stakeholder interested in understanding rural market needs and viable solutions. The purpose of the exercise would be to provide potential solutions and delivery models across eight key core sectors--energy, finance, healthcare, education and skill development, communications and digital inclusion, financial services, water and sanitation. To begin the exercise would be done in villages where Tata Trusts is already working. The joining of Shell will in bring the required scale, said Prasad. 

Start-ups and for-profits can use the SOD framework to shortlist target geographies that have local characteristics that suit the adoption and acceptability of their solution to reduce transaction costs and increase the market reach to scale the solutions/offering. 

Osvald Bjelland, CEO of Xynteo, said the purpose of coalition was to bring together visionary leaders and help work with them to transform their organisations and wider systems. “We launched together with Shell and in 2017, India 2022 a purpose driven coalition committed to give new growth and to progress SDGs. We are trying to see economic growth that advances in the boundaries that nature can carry, that offers opportunities and inclusion for more and more people, as also that we can be proud as we have achieved across generations.”

The framework addresses problems like data asymmetry, fragmented data from multiple sources using different methodologies and timelines that create inconsistences and make it difficult to holistically assess the needs of rural communities.

Prasad said community needs and demand for products and services vary based on proximity to markets, resources available, climatic conditions and socio-economic parameters, requiring custom solutions and delivery models.

There is need for risk sharing between solution providers and end consumers through delivery and payment models and market linkages in order to have commercial viability of solutions. While technology needs to be user-friendly, consumers may be averse to adopting new technologies, and this perception may hinder the acceptability of solutions relying on new technologies.