Mphasis Secures NABCB-Accredited AI Governance Certification Amid Rising Demand for Responsible Tech

Mphasis, (BSE: 526299; NSE: MPHASIS), an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, today announced that it achieved the ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification by TÜV SÜD South Asia Private Limited, accredited by the Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB). Leading the industry in adopting global Artificial Intelligence (AI) standards, the company received certification for the international Artificial Management Systems (AIMS) framework, ensuring responsible AI development and use while promoting trust and interoperability across the global AI ecosystem.

The NABCB-accredited ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification reinforces our commitment to responsible AI innovation, and we are pleased to have received it. This achievement assures our enterprise clients that every Mphasis AI solution is developed and governed to the highest global standards of integrity, reliability, and compliance, said Nitin Rakesh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mphasis.

The accreditation was issued by TÜV SÜD South Asia Pvt. Ltd., one of only two certification bodies accredited by the NABCB under India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This recognition affirms Mphasis’ adherence to the highest standards of ethical governance, transparency, and global best practices in AI.

We congratulate Mphasis on being accredited with the ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification with TÜV SÜD. This milestone reflects Mphasis’ strong commitment to responsible AI and excellence in designing and operating trustworthy AI applications. We are proud to have supported this achievement and look forward to deepening our collaboration with Mphasis in advancing ethical and future-ready AI, Mr. Panneer Selvan, Vice President, TÜV SÜD South Asia Private Limited.

ISO/IEC 42001:2023 provides a structured framework for developing, deploying, and governing AI systems. For clients and regulators, NABCB accreditation ensures that the recognition is based on independent verification under rigorous national and international oversight, strengthening trust and reducing risks in AI adoption. While AI offers immense opportunities, it also brings challenges such as data opacity, bias, and ethical concerns. With regulatory scrutiny intensifying and customer expectations rising, organizations need to demonstrate accountability and integrity in AI deployment. By aligning with ISO/IEC 42001:2023, Mphasis has adopted a globally recognized framework to address these risks and instill confidence in AI-driven systems.

As of Q1 FY26, Mphasis’ AI-led deals represent 68% of its total new contract wins, up from around 30% a year ago. This reflects growing customer demand for Mphasis’ AI-driven solutions across its cloud and cognitive services portfolio.

About Mphasis

At Mphasis, engineering has been in our DNA since inception.

Mphasis is an AI-led, platform-driven company with human-in-the-loop intelligence, helping global enterprises modernize, infuse AI, and scale with agility. The Mphasis.ai unit and Mphasis AI-powered ‘Tribes’ are focused on client outcomes and embed artificial intelligence and autonomy into every layer of the enterprise technology and process stack.

Mphasis built NeoIP™, a breakthrough AI platform which orchestrates a powerful pack of AI platforms and solutions to deliver impactful outcomes across the entire enterprise IT value chain, because we believe ‘AI Without Intelligence Is Artificial™’. NeoIP™ is powered by the Ontosphere, a dynamic and ever-evolving knowledge base, delivering continuous and constant innovation through perpetual intelligent engineering - driving end-to-end enterprise transformation.

At the heart of our approach is customer-centricity—reflected in our proprietary Front2Back™ transformation framework, which uses the exponential power of cloud and cognitive to deliver hyper-personalized digital experiences (C=X2C2™ = 1) and build strong relationships with marquee clients. Our Service Transformation solutions enable enterprises to pivot from legacy systems and operations to secure, adaptive, cloud-first operating models with minimal disruption. Continuous investments in platforms, such as the Neo series, enable enterprises to stay efficient, relevant, and ahead in a dynamic AI-first world. Mphasis is a Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch, Hi-Trust company, rooted in a learning and growth culture.

Mphasis Launches NeoIP™, a Unified AI Platform for Continuous Enterprise Transformation

• Platform utilizes Ontology-Powered Knowledge Graph, Ontosphere, to deliver compounding value and continuous transformation.
• Early client deployments of the platform are demonstrating up to 60% efficiency gains, 50% reduction in incident resolution time, and measurable margin improvements.

Mphasis, (BSE: 526299; NSE: MPHASIS), an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, announced the launch of Mphasis NeoIP™, a breakthrough Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform, integrating multiple Mphasis.ai innovative solutions, designed for continuous enterprise transformation and differentiating competitive advantage. The platform perpetually rewires core systems, turning enterprise knowledge across legacy systems, data and operations driving intelligent engineering. At the core ofNeoIP™ is this living – breathing layer of connected enterprise understanding, that unifies data, systems, and processes to proactively optimize, modernize, and transform business and IT operations.

NeoIP™ enables organizations continuously evolve, rather than through one-time transformation programs, by making enterprise knowledge machine understandable. NeoIP™ automates complex decisions, predicts and prevents issues before they occur and drives sustained innovation. It empowers CIOs and business leaders to shift left, embedding intelligence early in the software and operations lifecycle to create self-healing, resource efficient systems that learn and improve over time. In addition, it integrates evergreen business intelligence with AI-assisted implementation, fostering continuous learning and evolution with every subsequent initiative. The platform creates a connected, data-centric environment where AI and human teams collaborate to plan, build, and manage transformation.

"Traditional enterprise transformation often fails to deliver value and requires ongoing reinvestment to keep pace with AI's rapid evolution. NeoIP™ redefines the model. NeoIP™ brings together Mphasis-built AI solutions, partner technologies, and client assets into a single platform that supports multiple data sources, large and small language models, and computing environments. It represents the future of enterprise tech, which is intelligent by design, secure by default, and scalable by nature," said Nitin Rakesh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mphasis.

A key component of NeoIP™is Ontosphere that in collaboration with various AI Agents constructs and sustains the intelligence through dynamic knowledge graphs using enterprise domain context. Together these capabilities form a foundation for contextual insights, autonomous actions and intelligent orchestration. Ontosphere ensures AI-driven transformation is fast, accurate, and strategically aligned with long-term business goals.

NeoIP™ includes solutions grouped under four categories, namely: Modernization, Application Development, ITOps & BusinessOps. These capabilities are delivered via specialized AI Agents and frameworks:

Agent & Frameworks	Category	Function
Mphasis NeoCrux™	Modernization, App Development	Orchestrates AI-driven code generation and quality automation.
Mphasis NeoZeta™	Modernization	Enables organizations overcome challenges of modernization through comprehensive knowledge graph
Mphasis NeoSaba™	Application Development	Provides agile AI agents for quality-driven product definition and user story elaboration.
Mphasis NeoRigal™	Governance	AI Agent for planning, building and orchestrating various AI components and provides AI governance
Mphasis AIOps	ITOps	Features capabilities for integrated operations, including proactive incident prediction, root-cause analysis, and self-healing automation based on deep system observability.
Mphasis NeoOrko™	Application Development	Agent, model and knowledge operations management system
Mphasis NextOps™	Business Ops	A collection of Domain specific business operations agents that are autonomous in nature
Mphasis NeoARCHE™	Application Development	Analyzes the code stream to route workloads between CPU & GPU: Autonomous Routing for Compute Heterogeneity
Ontosphere	Modernization, App Development, ITOps, Business Ops	Enterprise intelligence encoded with contextual knowledge based on domain ontologies

NeoIP™natively connects with third-party AI agents through Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent2Agent (A2A) standards, expanding the agent fabric for unified, cross-enterprise orchestration.

Early client engagements have delivered measurable impact across multiple dimensions:

· Up to 60% improvement in development and modernization efficiency through AI-led code generation, testing, and optimization

· 50% reduction in mean time to detect Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and resolve IT incidents through improved observability and automation

· 3–5 hours of predictive early warning for major outages using AI-based anomaly detection

· Sustained cost and margin improvements through a Savings-led Transformation approach that builds continuous value

· Build a cloud-ready, composable, business capability-driven platform with real-time event-driven architecture.

Mphasis has also transformed its AppStore into an AI-powered marketplace, enabling employees to easily discover, download, and use NeoIP^TM solutions. With intelligent search and curated categories, the platform streamlines access to tools that drive innovation and efficiency across the organization.

NeoIP™ further sets the stage for Mphasis’ next phase of innovation under the Mphasis Quantum initiative, which will introduce new solutions using quantum computing and AI to further enhance enterprise decision-making and transformation.

About Mphasis 
At Mphasis, engineering has been in our DNA since inception.

Mphasis is an AI-led, platform-driven company with human-in-the-loop intelligence, helping global enterprises modernize, infuse AI, and scale with agility. The Mphasis.ai unit and Mphasis AI-powered ‘Tribes’ are focused on client outcomes and embed artificial intelligence and autonomy into every layer of the enterprise technology and process stack. 

Mphasis Acquires 26% Stake in Aokah to Power AI-Driven GCC Transformation

Mphasis, (BSE: 526299; NSE: MPHASIS), an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, announced that Mphasis Corporation, USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, on July 10th 2025, has acquired a 26% preferred equity stake in Aokah a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) company designed to help enterprises set up, scale, and optimize next-gen Global Capability Centers (GCCs), to drive speed, intelligence, and efficiency. Through this strategic investment, Mphasis is poised to offer global enterprises who are looking to set-up/optimize GCCs, a Human-Led, AI-Powered end-to-end lifecycle support services and transformative solutions, thus building high-performing GCCs that drive innovation, resilience, and long-term business impact.

Aokah drives outcome certainty with a category-defining platform that unifies real-time data insights, intelligent automation, and strategic wisdom in an execution hub that stakeholders can access anytime, anywhere. At its core are five foundational engines:

• Program Wisdom: Protects initiatives against delay and drift
• Geo Wisdom: Finds the best-fit city and location for scale and resilience
• Talent Wisdom: Surfaces the right talent at the right time
• Ecosystem Wisdom: Orchestrates high-trust vendor ecosystems with built-in compliance and fallback options
• Delivery Wisdom: Oversees operations and realizes outcomes

“Combining Mphasis’ technology and scale with Aokah’s AI, human insight, and execution orchestration, removes friction from global transformation and delivery initiatives, helping organizations operate with greater agility and precision. Their platform supports every stage of the GCC lifecycle, from identifying optimal locations using real-time, data-driven insights to building a future-ready workforce with AI-powered talent intelligence. By integrating AI innovation with our domain and delivery strengths, we aim to help enterprises unlock greater value in their GCC journey,” said Nitin Rakesh, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director, Mphasis.

“Aokah offers a smarter, faster, and risk-averse path to multiply an enterprise’s efforts to expand, transform, and optimize their global operations and GCCs. We are thrilled to have Mphasis as our early investors and partners as we build a world-class platform to help Global Operations and GCCs move to orchestrated execution at AI-speed, enable seamless integration across enterprise and partner ecosystems, and automate governance to drive efficiency and scalability,” said Atul Vashistha, Chairman and CEO, Aokah.

Mphasis Announces Strategic Partnership with Sixfold to Strengthen Insurance Underwriting Capabilities

Mphasis, (BSE: 526299; NSE: MPHASIS), an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, today announced a strategic partnership with Sixfold, the US and UK-based AI underwriting company redefining how insurers assess risk.

As an implementation partner, Mphasis will integrate Sixfold’s AI platform to help insurers accelerate their underwriting process—speeding up submission intake and equipping underwriters with the contextual risk insights they need to make faster, more confident decisions. Designed for Life & Disability, Commercial P&C & Specialty, and Reinsurance, Sixfold reduces review times by more than half and increases Gross Written Premium (GWP) per underwriter by enabling smarter, faster risk selection —without sacrificing accuracy.

Through this partnership, Mphasis aims to help streamline underwriting processes, enhance operational efficiency and drive intelligent decision-making using Sixfold’s advanced AI solutions. Already in production at market-leading carriers, Sixfold’s platform integrates seamlessly into existing workflows and quickly adapts to each insurer’s unique risk appetite—delivering tailored recommendations that align with the insurer’s underwriting guidelines.

“Mphasis is excited to partner with Sixfold to accelerate AI adoption in the insurance industry. By leveraging Sixfold’s AI expertise in combination with expertise from Mphasis.ai and our insurance technology capabilities, we are able to deliver advanced, data-driven automation solutions for global insurers, driving efficiency, accuracy, and innovation across the insurance value chain,” said Srikumar Ramanathan, Chief Solutions Officer, Mphasis.

“Sixfold was built to solve real problems for underwriters—and to make the entire process better for brokers and customers,” said Alex Schmelkin, Founder & CEO of Sixfold. “That means making implementation simple and fast. Mphasis has a great track record of getting technology live inside real-world insurance workflows. With them, insurers can move quickly, see impact fast, and do it all without adding extra work to their teams. That’s a win for everyone involved.”

This partnership marks a significant step in the evolution of insurance underwriting, allowing insurers to navigate the future of risk assessments with greater speed and accuracy.

Mphasis Granted U.S. Patent for Quantum Prediction System

Mphasis, (BSE:526299; NSE: MPHASIS), a leading Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specialising in cloud and cognitive services, today announced the award of a U.S. patent on “System and method for optimized processing of information on quantum systems”.

The newly issued patent outlines a pipeline to improve the scalability and performance of quantum machine learning (QML) on near-term quantum computing systems including quantum simulators.

This solution transforms high-dimensional classical input data into an enhanced feature space in quantum format. The feature space transformation ensures efficient mapping and preparation for quantum state loading, paving the way for improved quantum data processing and analysis. The optimal representation method for classical data on quantum systems minimizes the need for additional qubits for higher-dimensional data, handles large feature sets and high volumes of data, and ensures efficient convergence during quantum machine learning (QML) model training.

QML leverages its ability to process high-dimensional, complex data, delivering solutions beyond the reach of classical high-performance computing hardware.

“Quantum Machine Learning (QML) is emerging as a transformative paradigm, enabling academia and industry to solve real-world AI challenges with unprecedented efficiency. This technology and the associated patent stand as a testament to our commitment to innovation and the advancement of next-generation technologies,” said Srikumar Ramanathan, Chief Solutions Officer, Mphasis.

Mphasis and Cybersecurity Firm SecPod Announce Strategic Security Partnership

Mphasis, (BSE: 526299; NSE: MPHASIS), an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, today announced a strategic partnership with SecPod a SaaS-based cybersecurity products and technology company. As a part of this partnership, Mphasis will offer disruptive vulnerability management services for its clients through SecPod’s SanerNow CVEM platform.

Through this partnership, Mphasis aims to help enterprises overcome challenges such as delayed risk identification, an increasing backlog of remediation, and inefficiencies caused by siloed products in vulnerability management. Leveraging SanerNow’s CVEM approach, Mphasis will enable its clients to consolidate multiple-point solutions into a unified, integrated solution. This solution continuously scans, detects, prioritizes, normalizes, and patches vulnerabilities, ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, prevents cyber-attacks, and keeps organizations audit-ready at all times.

“We look forward to leveraging SanerNow's advanced capabilities to empower our clients as they transform their cybersecurity approach. This shift includes moving from reactive to proactive, periodic to continuous, and manual to automated. This enables them to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats, reduce complexity, and focus confidently on achieving their core business objectives,” said Srikumar Ramanathan, Chief Solutions Officer, Mphasis.

“We are thrilled to partner with Mphasis to integrate SecPod’s SanerNow platform into their advanced cybersecurity offerings. With Mphasis’ innovative focus on AI-driven solutions and cloud-native strategies, they are the ideal partner to amplify the benefits of SanerNow’s Continuous Vulnerability and Exposure Management (CVEM) capabilities,” said Pramod Sridharamurthy, SVP of GSIs & Strategic Alliances at SecPod. He added, “This collaboration allows us to leverage Mphasis’ extensive industry expertise and global reach, combining it with our automated vulnerability and exposure management solutions. Together, we aim to help organizations not only strengthen their cybersecurity posture but also proactively address vulnerabilities and mitigate risks in an ever-evolving threat landscape.”

This partnership driven through our Sparkle innovation ecosystem, will accelerate the adoption of SanerNow’s Continuous Vulnerability & Exposure Management (CVEM) capabilities and integrate its services to enhance delivery capabilities, improve SLAs, reduce time-to-market, and offer integrated vulnerability management solutions.

About SecPod:

SecPod is a SaaS-based cybersecurity product and technology company created with a singular, unwavering goal of preventing cyberattacks. Founded in the year 2008, the company provides top-of-the-line continuous vulnerability and exposure management solutions that strengthen the cybersecurity posture of enterprises, SMBs, MSSPs and the like.

For more information, visit https://www.secpod.com/.

About Mphasis

Mphasis’ purpose is to be the “Driver in Driverless Car” for Global Enterprises by applying next-generation design, architecture, and engineering services, to deliver scalable and sustainable software and technology solutions. Customer centricity is foundational to Mphasis, and is reflected in the Mphasis’Front2Back™ Transformation approach. Front2Back™ uses the exponential power of cloud and cognitive to provide hyper-personalized (C=X2C2TM=1) digital experience to clients and their end customers. Mphasis’ Service Transformation approach helps ‘shrink the core’ through the application of digital technologies across legacy environments within an enterprise, enabling businesses to stay ahead in a changing world. Mphasis’ core reference architectures and tools, speed and innovation with domain expertise and specialization, combined with an integrated sustainability and purpose-led approach across its operations and solutions are key to building strong relationships with marquee clients. 

Mphasis Appoints Former LTIMindtree Executive Vinay Kalingara as Head of Investor Relations

Mphasis, an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider focusing on cloud and cognitive services, has recently announced the appointment of Vinay Kalingara as the Head of Investor Relations. Vinay has over 25 years of professional experience that includes a unique blend of corporate and entrepreneurial experience in Investor Relations as well as various roles in the IT Services industry. In this role, Vinay will lead all aspects of Mphasis’ engagement with the investor and analyst community.

Vinay joins Mphasis from LTIMindtree, where he was the Head of Investor Relations. Previously, he also led the Investor Relations functions at Mindtree and Hexaware. As a co-founder of a boutique Investor Relations advisory firm, Vel Research, Vinay has served prominent clients across the technology and consumer sectors. Vinay has also worked for several IT services organizations including EY, Accenture and IL&FS among others, in technology strategy and delivery roles.

“Vinay brings unique and diverse experience from the IT industry and strong relationships within the investment community. We look forward to leveraging his expertise as the company continues its growth journey, aiming for newer areas of success and greater innovation. I extend my best wishes as he embarks on his new role at Mphasis ,” said Nitin Rakesh, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director, Mphasis.

“We welcome Vinay as he joins our team. His wealth of experience and expertise in leading investor relations functions will enhance our engagement with the investor and financial community. We look forward to working together towards our shared goals,” said Manish Dugar, Chief Financial Officer, Mphasis. 

Vinay holds a degree in electronics from the University of Mumbai and is an alumnus of the postgraduate program at IIM Bangalore.

Mphasis’ purpose is to be the “Driver in a Driverless Car” for global enterprises by applying next-generation design, architecture, and engineering services, to deliver scalable and sustainable software and technology solutions. Customer-centricity is foundational to Mphasis, and it is reflected in the Mphasis’ Front2Back™ Transformation approach. Front2Back™ uses the exponential power of cloud and cognitive to provide hyper-personalized (C=X2C2TM=1) digital experiences to clients and their end customers. Mphasis’ Service Transformation approach helps ‘shrink the core’ through the application of digital technologies across legacy environments within an enterprise, enabling businesses to stay ahead in a changing world. Mphasis’ core reference architectures and tools, speed, and innovation with domain expertise and specialization, combined with an integrated sustainability and purpose-led approach across its operations and solutions, are key to building strong relationships with marquee clients.

Mphasis and Classiq Partner To Accelerate Quantum-powered Solutions for BFSI, Supply Chain & Logistics, Lifesciences & Healthcare verticals

Mphasis, an IT solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, has announced a strategic partnership with Classiq, a leading quantum software company. This collaboration aims to pioneer Quantum Computing Solutions for various sectors including BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance), Supply Chain & Logistics, Life Sciences, and Healthcare. 

The partnership is set to accelerate the adoption of quantum solutions by integrating them into enterprise operations. Mphasis will focus on building industry solutions utilizing advanced algorithms developed by Classiq. Together, they plan to develop industry-specific intellectual properties (IPs), market and implement customer IPs, execute customer projects, and provide support for the commercialization of Classiq’s platform and IPs.

Mphasis' Quantum Initiative, launched in 2020 within the Applied R&D division, NEXT Labs, is designed to facilitate clients' transition to the quantum era through awareness-building, assessment, consulting workshops, and the development and implementation of quantum solutions in key domains such as optimization, AI, simulation, and Cybersecurity.

This partnership is a significant step towards redefining technological boundaries and paving the way for a quantum-powered future, with both companies combining their expertise to unlock the vast potential of quantum computing.

Classiq is a Tel Aviv, Israel, headquartered quantum software company that has developed a platform for faster and more efficient quantum algorithm design. The company is known for its cutting-edge quantum development platform and its role in fostering innovation in quantum computing.

By leveraging Classiq's quantum platform, Mphasis will develop industry-specific intellectual properties (IPs) and will also jointly market and implement customer IPs, execute customer projects, and provide support for the commercialization of Classiq's platform and IPs.

The collaboration is a significant step towards integrating quantum solutions into enterprise operations and redefining technological boundaries.

Govt's BIRAC with Social Alpha and Mphasis are Looking for Startups in Assistive Technology Sector

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Government of India, along with Social Alpha and Mphasis, announced the launch of the ‘BIRAC-Social Alpha Quest for Assistive Technologies – supported by Mphasis’ today, a search for startups in the Assistive Technology sector to support innovations focussed on enabling and empowering solutions for persons-with-disabilities.

The Quest will identify and select up to 10 innovations that enhance the learning, working and independent living for persons-with-disabilities. These winning innovations will also be provided up to INR 20 lakhs each to facilitate their market access journey, for implementation of work orders.

Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary DBT & Chairperson, BIRAC said, “BIRAC is promoting development of innovative biotech solutions to address unmet needs. A number of initiatives rolled out in last few years have positively impacted the Biotech Startup ecosystem which has now grown to 2500+ across the country. This includes products and technologies focused for persons-with-disabilities. BIRAC - Social alpha launch of “Quest for Assistive Technologies” intends to identify, handhold and deploy Assistive Technology solutions for the deserving ones. This partnership could prove instrumental in building a pipeline of innovative and affordable solutions. I hope that this initiative will encourage national & international stakeholders to join hands in delivering assistive technologies at scale.

Addressing the audience at the launch event, Dr. Mohd. Aslam, MD, BIRAC said, “BIRAC promotes entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs to undertake strategic translational research to develop innovative products and technologies. Technology driven solutions can steer the change for societal well-being and impact billions of lives. I hope that BIRAC-Social alpha Quest for Assistive Technologies would provide a platform for start-ups to leverage this engagement for creating and deploying innovative assistive technologies across the country.

[caption id="attachment_131539" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] (Left to Right) Manoj Kumar, Meenu Bhambhani and Dr Manish Diwan[/caption]

Speaking at the launch event, Manoj Kumar, CEO and Co-founder, Social Alpha, and Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Tata Trusts said, “There is a huge shortage of quality solutions that cater to and empower persons-with-disabilities at a price point they can afford.  Sometimes we come across innovators who have built the right prototypes, but find them struggling with the end user acceptance, design for manufacturing and market access. Affordability and user experience are the key to large scale adoption of such solutions and our program is designed to validate the product-market fit, help with clinical trials where required and bridge the gaps that exist in the distribution and service channels. We have already incubated four innovative companies in this sector—Bionic Yantra, Blee Technologies, Innaumation, and Tactopus, and through this Quest we are deepening our commitment the sector.”

Meenu Bhambhani, Vice President & Head- Corporate Social Responsibility, Mphasis, addressed the event, and said, “At Mphasis we have a strong focus on improving the lives of persons-with-disability. We have partnered with Social Alpha to support the curation, design and implementation of the Quest. This initiative is aimed at introducing game changing innovations to the market; building this cohesive ecosystem with critical organizations will significantly fast-track the lab-to-market journey for innovators. We believe this can really move the needle for disability inclusion in India and through this partnership we are committed to further the cause” Mphasis, through its CSR initiatives, has been doing pioneering and cutting edge work to promote disability inclusion in the mainstream. This partnership with Social Alpha resonates with our focus on providing solutions that enhance equal participation and dignity for people with disabilities in all spheres of life especially through inclusive solutions.

Upon selection, the winners of the Quest will be enrolled into the Accelerator for Inclusive Solutions — a game-changing 3-month accelerator program where they will be given the chance to work with selected implementation agencies within the Social Alpha, BIRAC and Tata Trusts network, interact directly with potential users of their product, and gain exposure to other funders, buyers and CSR initiatives. As a unique feature, these winning start-ups will also be provided up to 20 lakhs each to kick-start their market access journey, for implementation of work orders, and further support for clinical validation and product engineering. In addition, the start-ups will also have the opportunity to work closely with experts on price discovery, cost optimization, market validation, and marketing and sales.

Multiple estimates suggest that there are anywhere between 4 to 8 crore disabled people in India—i.e. one in twelve households has a family member with a disability. Moreover, due to low literacy levels, social stigma and lack of opportunities, people with disabilities remain the most excluded and unidentified members of Indian society. Large number of children with disabilities stay out of school, disabled adults are likely to be unemployed, and families with a disabled member tend to be economically weaker. While there are several players working to improve the situation, currently, there is no concerted industry effort. To address this gap, Social Alpha also announced that it would be launching a unique Open Innovation Platform which will serve three key purposes: first, identification of key problems and the critical areas where technological interventions are necessary, second, collaboration of innovators and entrepreneurs to develop the technology to serve identified problem, and third, facilitation of  market access for these innovations by aggregating end users and inviting funders, eventually reducing the cost to the end consumer.

“We envisage this platform to include organisations working with persons-with-disabilities, experts and thought leaders, start-ups, channel partners, CSRs arms of companies, family offices and foundations that focus on disabilities, as well as Central and State governments. This platform will bring together the innovation and investment ecosystems; map problems with potential solutions and help capital allocation decision of both philanthropic and commercial capital providers” said Manoj Kumar.

Presently, Social Alpha has partnered with several leading organizations working for inclusivity including Enable India, Artilab, Jaipur Foot, Saksham Trust, Xavier’s Resource Center for the Visually Challenged, National Institute of Speech and Hearing, and AssisTech at IIT-Delhi.

The Quest for Assistive Technologies is open for applicants starting today, June 27, 2019 and will be accepting applications till August 15, 2019. For further information visit - www.socialalpha.org/assisistivetech

IT firm Mphasis partners IIM Bangalore to Incubate Social Startups

Mphasis F1 Foundation, the CSR arm of IT firm Mphasis, has partnered with NSRCEL, the startup incubation centre at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), as part of its Social Venture Incubation Program, to support ‘early-stage social ventures. The program aims to incubate and support 'for profit' social ventures and comprises start-ups that have been in operation for one to three years, announced the company in a press release.

The programs focus is on helping startups build financially sustainable and scalable models in the
area of education, livelihood and disability.

The program received 550 + applications from social ventures out of which 16 promising ventures were selected to
go through a 3 months pre-incubation program. Following the pre-incubation, shortlisted ventures was given an
opportunity to pitch before an advisory council for selection in the incubation program which will be for a period of 12-18 months.

Selected ventures include TAXSHE Services Private Limited, ECONUT Coconut Producer Company Limited, Blink Research and Services Private Limited, ThinkZone and Rural Caravan Private Limited.

These selected startups would receive an entrepreneurial grant and will be supported through a series of curated events and workshops aimed at addressing specific challenges and areas of assistance required. Additionally, these ventures will also be able to avail on-site infrastructure as well as expand their network through interactions with ecosystem partners, IIMB faculty, alumni and subject matter experts.

Speaking on the partnership, Srikanth Karra, Chief Human Resources Officer, Mphasis, said: “The talent present in
the startup ecosystem in India has been visibly increasing over the past few years. However, support to social
enterprises is still limited It is essential that social enterprises also get the right kind of support in mainstream incubators to ensure they can make telling contributions within the industry space. Our partnership with IIMB is aimed at addressing this issue and through the facilities and mentorship support, we hope to enable the selected social ventures to achieve their highest potential."

Professor Suresh Bhagavatula, Chair, NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore, explained: “NSRCEL has been helping early stage
ventures since 2002. Leveraging this experience and expertise, the Social Venture Incubation Program was
launched in 2017."

"NSRCEL Social Ventures is the first-of-its-kind incubator of the country with an ascertained focus is to create a playbook and template for social enterprises incubation. Such an approach can be replicated at other academic institutions and incubation hubs across the country. This initiative aims to identify, engage and support early-stage social ventures with high growth potential to build scalable models for sustained impact," said Bhagavatula.

The event was also marked by a panel discussion on ‘Social Entrepreneurship: Values, Objectives, and
Sustainability’. The panelists included Srivardhini K Jha, Young Faculty Research Chair and faculty in the
Entrepreneurship area, IIMB, Anuja Master Bose, Philanthropy Strategy Advisor, Villgro Innovations Fund, Srikanth
Karra, Chief Human Resources Officer, Mphasis, Sudha Srinivasan, CEO, N/Core, and Vandana Suri, Co-founder,
TAXSHE. The discussion will be moderated by Dalhia Mani, Young Faculty Research Chair and faculty in the
Entrepreneurship area, IIMB.

“Given the scale of social and economic services that are needed at the bottom of the pyramid, social ventures and
an ecosystem to support them are extremely important for India, and this panel aims to bring people together to
discuss and learn together,” said Dalhia Mani, Young Faculty Research Chair and faculty in the Entrepreneurship
area, IIMB.

Mobile Based Skills Training Platform SkillTrain Gets Funding From Mphasis Through CSR Money

Mobile based skills training platform SkillTrain, Incubated by social enterprise platform Villgro, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from the corporate social responsibility programme of IT services company Mphasis.

The startup will use the money to set up a skill training centre in Indore. "We currently have five blended learning centres including three centres with NGO partners. We are planning to scale in additional five cities over the next quarter before we look for equity investment," said B Ganesh, founder of SkillTrain.

The vocational training platform provides two-month long video-based and practical training programmes through its blended learning centres and has 21,000 subscribers for its learning channel online across the world.

The company offer training programmes for several vocational skills. All its courses are offered on a blended learning format with an equal amount of audio, video & simulation learning combined with practical training at SkillTrain certified practical training centers. These courses are aimed at training the learner to be at par with the best vocational skill practitioners. The use of audio, video and simulation tools, can help the learner not only understand the content but also help the learner in gaining mastery over the skill.

One of the often lamented issues from an industry perspective is the huge skill gap that exists among fresh talent. Its courses aim to address this gap through an effective and efficient blended learning methodology while also enabling the reach of vocational training to a larger geography.

SkillTrain offer courses in a wide range of trades including Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Computer Science & IT, Automobile, Fashion Designing, Plumbing& Carpentry. The startup aims to eventually offer training content for all the courses listed in the Government of India’s Modular Employability Skills Scheme.