Are corporates doing enough for society and to ensure equal opportunities for all? Has Corporate Social Responsibility really realized its limits? Entrepreneur Madan Padaki tells Flipkart’s Blue Sky about the enormous possibilities of well-planned CSR
Can corporates do more than just donate the 2%? Madan Padaki, Co-founder of Head Held High, a nonprofit organization focused on initiatives against poverty, poses the question. In a Blue Sky address to Flipsters, Madan shared his perspective on how corporates can work together to help alleviate poverty.
An engineer by profession, Madan Padaki previously worked with firms like Infosys and Wipro before he started Head Held High, a social enterprise focused on the development of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems.
In this Studio 34 Blue Sky podcast for Flipkart Stories, Madan talks about how corporates need to discover a model to “Do good, feel good and make good money.” Donating 2% of their average net profit just isn’t enough, he says. He believes that the answer to alleviating social problems such as poverty lies at the intersection of these three points. The objective must be to generate positive social outcomes and, at the same time, run a commercially viable business.
For an organization like Flipkart, Madan says, the best employable resources in CSR activities are the scores of passionate youngsters who can make a positive and meaningful impact on society. As long as social causes are at the core of the enterprise, corporate India can move towards this model of CSR sooner rather than later, he says. Madan is currently researching solutions to one of Indian society’s main concerns — job scarcity. He believes that the answer lies in inspiring youngsters to become micro-entrepreneurs and create more jobs.
According to Madan Padaki, time and effort are of more importance when it comes to working towards a prosperous society. He asks, “Why just 2% CSR? Why not 100% CSR?”
Madan Padaki’s address to Flipsters came close on the heels of the launch of Flipkart Cares, Flipkart’s organization-wide initiative to bring corporate social responsibility activities under a single umbrella.
Want to hear more? Listen for the full story.
