Entrepreneurial mentorship: 15 social entrepreneurs have been selected for the Apple-backed Acumen’s Energy for Livelihoods Accelerator program, Acumen stated in a release. The accelerator aims to build an ecosystem of scalable social enterprise in India by uplifting the people out of poverty through sustainable energy. The selected entrepreneurs come from agriculture, e-mobility, and hydropower.
The duration of the cohort will be four months, during which the entrepreneurs will develop a business model to help transform the lives of low-income people. As per the report, the cohort will provide virtual learning labs, seminars, and customer experiments to support these business models. Towards the end of the cohort, these entrepreneurs will be provided an opportunity to pitch their models to sustainable energy stakeholders.
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After the program, the entrepreneurs will be eligible to join The Foundry, Acumen Academy’s global community of 1,300 social innovators. According to the release, the selected entrepreneurs will further be considered for additional technical assistance and investment from Acumen’s Pioneer Energy investment initiative.
“This cohort represents a diverse mix of innovators working at the intersection of sustainable energy and poverty reduction. We are excited to support them in partnership with Apple to develop their business models with the ultimate aim of scaling their impact. We also view this accelerator as an opportunity to gather insights directly from entrepreneurs and further refine and shape our work in this area,” says Mahesh Yagnaraman, Acumen’s India Director.
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Apple in July this year partnered with Acumen to support social enterprises in India. Working towards its Apple 2030 objective of achieving carbon neutrality for every one of its products, Apple has partnered with over 250 global manufacturers, including 12 based in India, to ensure that all Apple production relies on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
Furthermore, all final assembly facilities in India have successfully eliminated waste production. Apple has recently expanded its Restore Fund for the purpose of high-quality carbon removal through nature-based methods. The company has also unveiled new targets for 2025, which include the use of 100 per cent recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries, recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and recycled gold plating and tin soldering in all Apple-designed printed circuit boards.