Infosys Foundation Collaborates with Several Social Organizations to Bolster Women Empowerment in India

Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of Infosys, announced that it has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) in this financial year, with Avanti Fellows, Nirmaan Organization, and Shrimad Rajchandra Aatma Tatva Research Centre, to bolster women’s empowerment in India. These strategic collaborations are aimed at providing quality education and employment opportunities to women from underprivileged communities across the country.

With the right attention, and in alignment with the efforts of the government, women’s empowerment has the potential to solve multiple challenges being faced by the nation and its people at large. Infosys Foundation has also focused on women’s empowerment as a category for entries in the third edition of the Aarohan Social Innovation Awards.

The Infosys Foundation’s strategic collaboration for empowering women include:

·       A grant of INR 25.7 crore to Avanti Fellows to provide free engineering and medical test preparation for over 10,000 girl students in government schools across Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, North-East regions, and Delhi.

·       A grant of INR 4.9 crore to Nirmaan Organization to create purposeful livelihood for over 5,000 unemployed literate women from marginalized communities. Leveraging Infosys’ digital learning platform, Infosys Springboard, this program entails instructor-led training and self-learning models for market-oriented skills, workplace readiness, and leadership and life skills to improve employability. This will help the beneficiaries with placements across Bangalore, Hubli, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Indore, Mumbai, Pune, Gurugram, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

·       A grant of INR 9 crore to Shrimad Rajchandra Aatma Tatva Research Centre for the construction of a hostel for underprivileged girl students. Through this collaboration Infosys Foundation aims to provide quality education and help reduce the school dropout rates among girl students.

“We are proud to collaborate with social organizations that have done remarkable work with tangible outcomes, in making a difference for women in society. At Infosys Foundation, we believe in the continuous need to give impetus to women’s empowerment in India and keeping the cause of women’s education and employment at the forefront,” said, Inderpreet Sawhney, Trustee, Infosys Foundation.

Expressing her thoughts on this collaboration, Vandana Goyal, Co-CEO – Avanti Fellows, said, “Our work at Avanti Fellows focuses on ending intergenerational poverty by helping young women pursue rewarding careers in Science, Medicine and Technology. Our partnership with Infosys Foundation will help 10,000 young Indian women qualify into top tier colleges and help them pave the way for the accomplished, fulfilling lives that they deserve."

Mayur Patnala, Founder & CEO – Nirmaan Organization, said, “All of Nirmaan’s efforts are directed towards creating a society that is empowered in diverse ways. This collaboration fortifies the collective mission of Infosys Foundation and Nirmaan Organization to build a society that values its women, especially those hailing from disadvantaged communities, and gives them the opportunity to reach heights of success by equipping them with appropriate knowledge and skills.”

Nileshbhai Mehta, Managing Trustee,  Shrimad Rajchandra Aatma Tatva Research Centre, said, “Changing lives for the better, especially for those who have been marginalized or at risk, has been one of the most gratifying experiences for us. We thank Infosys Foundation for this engagement which will enable numerous young women at the grassroot level to receive quality education consistently and comfortably.”