USAID Announces the Winners of the Second Cohort Of Yash Entrepreneurs Program
Published on November 14, 2023
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project, led by Jhpiego, together with Villgro Innovations Foundation, a leading social enterprise incubator in India, are pleased to announce the second cohort of social enterprises selected for the Yash Entrepreneurs Program.
Launched in April 2022, the Yash Entrepreneurs Program supports enterprises across India to invest in solutions to revolutionize how youth and adolescents access quality family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) services. The initial cohort of eight entrepreneurs was announced in August 2022 and are now joined by a second cohort of 11 social enterprises. You can read about the first group of winners and learn more about the progress made by Pinky Promise, one of the selected social enterprises.
Each of these enterprises will receive funding of up to Indian Rupees (INR) 10 Lakhs (approximately U.S. $13,200), as well as technical assistance, mentoring, and incubation support from Villgro. The support will include skill-building on the designing, prototyping, and manufacturing of family planning and sexual and reproductive health-focused products and services, digital marketing, go-to-market strategies, commercial advertising pilots, financial dashboards, legal compliance, organizational culture, and leadership capability. These enterprises also harness the network and resources of Villgro and Jhpiego to scale their businesses and attract follow-on funding from investors and corporations.
The 11 enterprises joining the Yash Entrepreneurs Program are:
Avni Consumer Care Products Private Limited: Avni is a feminine care and hygiene startup that makes tested, functional, and sustainable products for intimate hygiene, menstruation, and incontinence suited for each body type.
Bala Triple E Care LLP: Project Baala is a Delhi-based organization working on innovative menstrual health solutions, primarily in rural India, Nepal, Ghana, and Tanzania. Led by Cornell and Warwick University alumni, Baala has directly benefited over 350,000 women and girls in the past five years.
GTA Solutions Private Limited: Branded as Evolve, it is the world’s most inclusive mental health platform, with 400,000+ users worldwide, committed to making therapy and wellness tools accessible to all through innovative digital interventions.
Ask Techsoft Care Private Limited: The enterprise’s flagship brand, Dr. SafeHands, is a digital health platform for sexual health and wellness focused on preventive, promotive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehab services through an online counseling technology center to provide immediate access, support, and care delivery across the value chain and genders.
Touchkin EServices Private Limited: The enterprise’s solution, Wysa, is an AI-enabled coach for mental and emotional wellness, providing early intervention to high-risk groups through an AI chatbot, a library of evidence-based self-help tools, and messaging-based support from human therapists.
Menstrual Health Private Limited: Boondh is a social enterprise that works on menstrual literacy, policy, programs and interventions, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy, and art activism. Boondh also promotes and propagates the use of sustainable menstrual products.
Davadost Pharma Private Limited: Dawaa Dost offers affordable prescription drugs through physical and online pharmacies, ensuring access to quality generic medications from reputable brands at the best prices.
Prev India Private Limited: Prev is a safe, convenient, and personalized app-based subscription service for birth control pills, with services like in-app medical consultation, prescription, and doorstep pill delivery.
Epsyclinic Healthcare Private Limited: The flagship product of the enterprise, iWill, offers context-specific, multilingual mental health support to individuals and families with a strong focus on rural and urban healthcare. The platform provides online digital interventions to support mental and emotional well-being during all life stages.
KA Healthcare Private Limited: Newmi Care is an omnichannel women’s health lifecycle management platform designed to deliver personalized journey-based care covering all products and services-based needs of women.
Last Mile Care Private Limited: Their platform, 1Care, offers standardized and affordable primary healthcare services to vulnerable populations at accessible delivery points. The platform highlights accountable and transparent digital documentation and transactions.