Facebook, Ficci partner to promote social sector innovation

Ficci's Millennium Alliance, with which Facebook has tied up, has funded 62 projects, dispersing Rs 55 cr

Social media giant Facebook and industry body  Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) have joined to promote social sector innovation.

Facebook has come as an outreach and knowledge partner under Millennium Alliance, a 2012 initiative by government and industry body Ficci,to support and expand the development of the social enterprise sector in India.

Launhed by the Technology Development Board, which consists of people from Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)  and Ficci, with the aim to recognize India's role as a global innovation laboratory, by identifying, testing and scaling solutions that leverage private and public sector resources and expertise to reduce the cost and increase the reach of development improvements in India and around the world.

The Millennium Alliance, which aims to create significant developmental impact at the base of the pyramid, has, so far, funded 62 projects, dispersing close to Rs 55 crore in its key focus sectors.

Under the partnership, Facebook and Ficci will promote replication and scale of the selected social enterprise innovations across the South Asia and Africa regions in the areas of sanitation, education, healthcare, clean energy and agriculture.

This will include organizing regular workshops and webinars for shortlisted applicants to promote the effectiveness of Facebook as a tool for promoting business and social innovations, apart from helping them reach out and connect to relevant resources globally.