Indian entrepreneurs rule the world: Hilde Schwab

"Social entrepreneurs in India are role models today for countries globally and provide lessons for China and other countries on how to fuel innovation for inclusive growth," says Hilde Schwab, 64, who along with husband Klaus (founder and executive chairman of World Economic Forum) founded the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2001.

Speaking to Business Today at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit in New Delhi, she said: "Today, we get the highest number of top quality applicants from India for our 'Social Entrepreneur of the Year competition."

They got 104 such 'high quality' applications this year from across the country, against an average 60 to 80 from others.

What she finds striking is the degree of innovation in this area of expertise in India. Schwab said: "I do not see this innovation coming out of any other country. Also, a typical social entrepreneur working in India has 10 to 100 times more impact (in terms of reach out to beneficiaries), than we see elsewhere in the world."

The Schwab Foundation founder said the models here, like the four finalists this year - LifeSpring Hospitals' Anand Kumar with low-cost maternal hospitals; Vaatsalya Healthcare's Ashwin Naik with focus on setting up hospitals in tier II and tier III towns of India; Aajeevika Bureau's Rajiv Khandelwal and Krishnavatar Sharma with focus on helping rural seasonal migrant workers succeed in difficult economies and AISECT's Santosh Kumar Choubey that has pioneered a model of ICT-based education in rural India - show radical method of looking at extreme affordability and ultra-low prices.

"With this kind of innovation, India is surely leading the way," she opined.

The Foundation has long involved social entrepreneurs from India in its network - since the very beginning in 2001 - even before it started the 'India's Social Entrepreneur of the Year' award in 2005.

"We have only 30 social entrepreneurs that we can bring to the annual meeting in Davos, and the largest numbers from any specific country are always the Indians. They are the top role models that we can showcase and leverage at the annual meeting, she said.

Adding: "This will be particularly relevant for our upcoming annual meeting, where we will focus on the theme 'India inclusive' and highlight several models of entrepreneurship from the country."

In the selection of social entrepreneurs, Schwab said: "It is important for them to have models that are self-sustainable and not dependent on state subsidies or grants. The criteria for selection include aspects like innovation, sustainability, direct social impact, reach, scope and reliability. Surely then, social entrepreneurs from India have reasons to see themselves as role models for a global audience."