ONergy Solar , a Kolkata based startup has raised a syndicated round of funding through IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE). The fund was contributed by Bajaj Electricals Limited as a part of their CSR initiative to actively support the start-up through strategic engagement.Bajaj Electricals Limited, a part of the Bajaj Group, is a consumer durables (brown goods) and electrical manufacturing company. With diversified interests in lighting, luminaries, appliances, engineering & special projects, Bajaj Electricals aims to help ONergy Solar in innovative, disruptive and scalable schemes.
ONergy is one of the leading social enterprise that provides reliable and affordable clean energy products for solar lighting, cooking and electrification by setting up energy distribution and service networks to underserved households and institutions.Speaking on the occasion, Piyush Jaju, CEO, ONergy Solar said, “The investment from Bajaj Electricals has great strategic importance as we can bank on the expertise of Bajaj to grow our business. Also the investment is directed towards our growth in North East India, which faces acute energy poverty. We truly value the role of CIIE is facilitating this investment. Using CSR funds to invest in enterprises like ours can have a multiplier effect and can truly achieve greater impact than doing plain vanilla CSR.”
Mr. Shekhar Bajaj, CMD, Bajaj Electricals Limited, said “We would like to deploy our CSR funds by identifying right partner organizations who have the capability from ideation to execution, projects relevant to bring positive changes in the society we live in. We also try and leverage our in-house expertise and encourage employee engagement through volunteering from the vast pool of talent we have with us. Environmental sustainability is one our priority areas in CSR and supporting enterprises working in promoting renewable energies in energy deficit regions serves the larger purpose.”
CIIE, the technology business incubator at IIM-A, pursues entrepreneurship promotion through various funding, advisory, mentoring and incubation initiatives. CIIE helps corporates redirect their CSR contribution to a deserving startup and instigates relations between industry and incubators. In addition to these, CIIE engages in research about the industry trends and best practices. These are facilitated through extensive networks, and partnerships with the IIMA community, investors and other crucial stakeholders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of India and abroad.
