eKutir Global Named as Finalist in the MIT IDE Inclusive Innovation Competition

Bengaluru, Karnataka, September 17, 2016 – The MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE) has announced that eKutir Global, a part of eKutir India Social Enterprise Group is a finalist for the Inclusive Innovation Competition (IIC). eKutir is a pioneer in creating sustainable, tech-driven, social Impact solutions for smallholder farmers and is also the country’s first brand to be certified as a B Corp, using business as a force to generate positive social and environmental impact. Awarded as best in class under the “new models” category by MIT IDE, eKutir’s first of its kind human-digital platform has reached 70,000 farmers through a network of licensed community agents. The digital platform captures hundreds of data points to recommend unique solutions for smallholder farmer throughout their production cycle connecting them to tools, finance, and buyers.

IIC Core Judges delivered over one thousand reviews to identify the first official class of IIC Finalists - 24 organizations that are inventing a more inclusive, productive, and sustainable future for all. Award Candidates were chosen based on their innovative support of people who earn middle- and base-level incomes. All Finalists will receive a $25,000 award.

On September 27 at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA, the IIC will explore and celebrate Inclusive Innovation with a day of programming, presented in collaboration with MIT Solve and Boston’s HUB week, a weeklong celebration of innovation and creativity. The day’s events culminate with the IIC Awards Celebration where four of the Finalist organizations will be selected to receive an additional $100,000 Grand Prize. The IIC Awards Celebration, hosted by IDE director Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and IDE co-director Andrew McAfee, is free and open to the public. To register, visit https://mit-iic-awards-ceremony.eventbrite.com. To learn more about the Finalist organizations and the IIC, please visit MITinclusiveinnovation.com.

Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the IDE, says, “The goal of the IIC is to identify organizations that are harnessing digital innovations to create shared prosperity. We are excited to celebrate these amazing innovators that are lifting the economic prospects in the Second Machine Age.”

Throughout the month of September, the IIC will spotlight each Finalist’s work and video on Twitter (@MIT_IIC).

Developed in collaboration with MIT Solve and the MIT Innovation Initiative (MITii), the competition is being funded with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the NASDAQ foundation, and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.

The MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE) explores how people and businesses will work, interact, and prosper in an era of profound digital transformation. Working alone and with public and private sector partners, the IDE supports and conducts groundbreaking research in the areas of productivity and employment, big data, new digital business models, and social analytics. For more information, visit http://ide.mit.edu.

eKutir Global is a public benefit corporation based in the US and is part of eKutir India Social Enterprise Group. Founded by Ashoka fellows, a MIT Sloan alum, a young social entrepreneur, and tech innovator, eKutir’s vision is to connect billions of smallholder farmers through a digital platform, which will use data to recommend the best solutions and a network of trained community agents to disseminate these solutions to the smallholder farmers.

For more information, visit http://www.ekutirglobal.com and http://www.ekutirsb.com