The Business of Giving

Young business leaders and entrepreneurs joined representatives from a range of charitable organisations on Tuesday, 8 September at The Gherkin in London, for an evening focussing on philanthropy and the Third Sector in India. The event, entitled ‘The Business of Giving’ was hosted by Coutts, in collaboration with the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) and supported by The British Asian Trust, Dasra and UnLtd India.

The evening was aimed at the ‘next generation’ of business people and entrepreneurs who were considering philanthropic engagement in India and wanted to know more about NGOs on the ground.

A panel of distinguished experts, including Maya Prabhu – Senior Philanthropy Advisor at Coutts, Malcolm Lane – Director, Corporate Affairs at Tata Consultancy Services, Deval Sanghavi – the Founder and President of Dasra and Abha Thorat-Shah , Director of The British Asian Trust, sought to dispel some of the myths surrounding philanthropy in India and draw parallels between the world of business and the Third Sector. Attention was drawn to social entrepreneurs and organisations already working in India to radically transform a hitherto archaic, paternalistic and ungoverned sector into a dynamic ‘Third Sector’, centred on transparency, good governance and sustainability.

The evening had a distinctly optimistic tone. The conviction that individuals really can make a difference was a recurring theme throughout the talks. For example, Abha Thorat-Shah illustrated how even relatively small individual contributions can have a significant impact through syndicated funds such as The British Asian Trust.

UKIBC Next Generation Board member, Rajeeb Dey, presided as moderator. Dey has been named as one of the UK’s “rising stars of the business world” by Spectator Business Magazine and is dedicated to promoting social entrepreneurship.

Tara Panjwani, Next Generation India’s coordinator said, ” The event was extremely successful in demystifying the not-for-profit sector in India, highlighting the realities on the ground especially the wonderful work of innovative individuals and encouraging and stimulating the audience to embrace philanthropic measures.”