National Skill Development Corporation Registers On Social Stock Exchange

KOCHI:
To accentuate its role in galvanizing India’s socio-economic progress, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has registered on Social Stock Exchange (SSE). It is an effort by the Government of India to boost organizations that have been devoting their energies to working for underserved communities. The SSE is a unique initiative, envisaged as a platform allowing social enterprises and voluntary organizations working in social sector to be able to access a wider capital pool. In this regard, Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and MD, NSDC International met with Hemant Gupta, MD, BIL Ryerson Technology Startup Incubator Foundation; Head – BSE Social Stock Exchange.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Budget Speech for FY 2019-20 proposed the idea of an electronic fund-raising platform — Social Stock Exchange, under the regulatory ambit of SEBI for listing social enterprises and voluntary organizations working for the realization of a social welfare objective so that they can raise capital as equity, debt or as units like a mutual fund. Regulated platform that brings together social enterprises and donors, facilitate funding and growth of social enterprises enabling mechanism to ensure robust standards of social impact and financial reporting.

Speaking on the occasion, Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and MD, NSDC International said, “Skilling can play a crucial role in incentivizing innovation and boosting income and productivity in India. By investing in skills development, we will be able to empower individuals and help them acquire the knowledge and expertise necessary to innovate and create new products and services, driving economic growth and job creation. It is my firm belief that NSDC registering on SSE will not only help in raising funds for its various skilling initiatives but also scale up its reach and extend the benefits of skill training across the country. Furthermore, listing on the SSE will also increase transparency and accountability, allowing the NSDC to showcase its social impact and attract more investments in the future.”

Sharing his views, Hemant Gupta, MD, BIL Ryerson Technology Startup Incubator Foundation; Head – BSE Social Stock Exchange said, “The Indian Social Stock Exchange is not just a formalisation of the current framework of social development funding, and not only enables new pools for funding to flow into the sector but has the potential of incentivizing innovation and promoting pay for performance structures. The discussion with Ved ji and the NSDC team has focused on innovative financial structures for Income and Productivity enhancements that can be listed on the SSE and will have a dramatic impact on the social development ecosystem in the country and the world.”

Social Stock Exchange (SSE) is a separate segment of the existing Stock Exchange, that can help social enterprises raise funds from public through the stock exchange mechanism. The SSE will act as a medium between social enterprises and fund providers that can help them to select those entities that are creating measurable social impact and reporting such an impact.

The social enterprises i.e. Not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) that meet the registration criteria can register on SSE and undertake to make continuous disclosures on their social impact. Such NPOs may or may not choose to raise funds through SSE, however, would continue to make disclosures including on social impact to stock exchanges.