Pathways Out of Poverty: Empowering Rural India with Karya.in

In this episode, the founders of startup Karya.In discuss their mission to create pathways out of poverty for people in low-income communities. Drawing from their personal experiences growing up in India, they share the challenges they faced and the emotional drive behind their entrepreneurial journey. The conversation explores the intersection of entrepreneurship and impact, emphasizing the importance of the smartphone application that connects rural Indian workers to tech companies, allowing them to earn income. The conversation also touches on the challenges and solutions in India's nonprofit sector, the importance of measuring impact and worker satisfaction, and the economic value of Indian languages. 

“I think both the desire to create a nonprofit and the desire to tackle poverty comes from my childhood. For me personally, it's such an intense desire that I feel like . . . working on anything else always felt like a waste of time because it was almost existential.”

Topics covered:

(00:07:47) Growing up in poverty

(00:15:09) Entrepreneurial Journey and Impact

(00:22:28) The Impact of Travel

(00:29:55) Karya: Empowering Rural Indians

(00:36:37) Challenges and Solutions in India's Nonprofit Sector

(00:43:18) Working with Gates Foundation and Microsoft

(00:50:36) Measuring Impact and Worker Satisfaction

(00:56:59) Amplifying Existing Human Forces

(01:03:33) The Economic Value of Indian Languages

(01:11:20) The Importance of Compassion

Links mentioned:

https://karya.in/

https://altruous.org

Guest links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuchopra42/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivek-seshadri-07127511/