PEARY (Promoting Entrepreneurship Among Rural Youth)
ONGOING
Location: Gujarat
Focus: Promoting green entrepreneurship as a livelihood opportunity among rural youth.
Impact Numbers: 75 youth trained; 75% set up green enterprises
Incubation & Entrepreneurship Development
The Problem
An idea alone doesn't pay rent. A young person with a green business idea, a person with a disability with a craft skill, a woman with a trade: most aspiring entrepreneurs have the motivation to succeed and little else, no collateral for a loan, no mentor to call when an order goes wrong, no route to a buyer beyond word of mouth. Training alone rarely closes that gap. For women, youth, farmers, artisans, first-generation entrepreneurs, and those who tried before, failed, and want to circle back, that gap is widest, and it's where India's entrepreneurship ecosystem still leaves people behind.
The Solution
At ActImpact, we nurture entrepreneurs rather than run enterprises for them: mentoring, investment readiness, business advisory, digital enablement, product development, and market access, delivered until a business can stand on its own. Every enterprise we help build is owned entirely by the entrepreneur or community group behind it: we hold no equity, draw no revenue, and step back once it's self-sustaining. Our contribution is the capability and the connections; the income, and the enterprise itself, belong to the people who built them. Our vision is enterprise built for ripple effects that extend well beyond one business.
Our Projects
ELEVATE: Empowering Livelihoods, Enterprise & Value Addition for Thriving Economies
ONGOING- Location: Slums of Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Focus: Creating inclusive livelihoods for women & Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in Mumbai slums through handmade products.
- Impact Numbers: 60 women & PwDs gaining independent livelihoods through handmade products
Mahila Udyami
ONGOING- Location: Mashobra Block, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
- Focus: Women's economic inclusion through forest-based handicraft enterprises & brand development.
- Impact Numbers: 325 women becoming entrepreneurs with their own pine-needle handicraft brand
Project Sabala
2020–2023- Location: Sangareddy district (Telangana), Sonipat district (Haryana) & Mysuru district (Karnataka)
- Focus: Strengthened rural micro-entrepreneurship & self-reliance through a women-led movement.
- Impact Numbers: 103 women achieved 25% income growth via sustainable micro-nano enterprises; 1,000 women trained in income-generation skills
Sabal Sakhi
2018–2021- Location: Mashobra Block, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
- Focus: Economic empowerment of women through complementary livelihood options & entrepreneurship.
- Impact Numbers: 150 women achieved 25% income growth through sustainable livelihoods & enterprise development; 500 women trained technically; 1,200 reached through awareness building
Better Life Farming Alliance Project in India
- Location: Uttar Pradesh & Jharkhand
- Focus: Equipping rural agri-entrepreneurs with business skills to deliver sustainable farm inputs, advisory services and market linkages to smallholder farmers.
- Impact Numbers: 100+ agri-entrepreneurs trained through the Agribusiness Leadership Programme
Capacity Building of Community Enterprises for Production Efficiency and Market Development
- Location: Vadodara, Gujarat
- Focus: Building the capacity of women's Self-Help Groups in khakhra production to improve quality standards, establish market linkages and create sustainable livelihoods.
- Impact Numbers: 75+ women in 10 SHGs running market-linked khakhra enterprises
Community Enterprise-Led Market Access Initiatives
- Location: 11 states
- Focus: Building the capacity of Farmer Producer Organisations and community enterprises for market access, price discovery, sustainable agricultural practices and inclusive value chains.
- Impact Numbers: 250+ community enterprises strengthened; 14,000 farmers trained in commodity trading via 200 FPOs; 50 FPOs onboarded to e-trading; 60+ agroecological enterprises identified
Building Entrepreneurship Ecosystems Across Continents: South South Exchange Programme
- Location: Pan-India; Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Tajikistan
- Focus: Contextualised Fast Track accelerator programmes to strengthen rural youth as entrepreneurs, driving enterprise growth and job creation.
- Impact Numbers: 150 covered; 50 rural youth accelerated; 15 COVID-affected entrepreneurs given seed capital; 27 training resources created; model shared with 4 countries
Market Linkage & Enterprise Exposure Programs for North East Region
- Location: 5 states & market cities included 4 metro cities
- Focus: Strengthening market access for farmers, women entrepreneurs and artisans through buyer-seller meets, organic festivals, exposure visits and market platforms in metro cities.
- Impact Numbers: 30+ market linkage programmes: 18+ mall-based market events, 7+ organic and horticulture events, 3+ buyer-seller meets
Climate Smart Sustainable Sugarcane Production Project
ONGOING- Location: Nellikuppam & Pugulur district, Tamil Nadu
- Focus: Driving behavioural change among smallholder farmers to adopt climate-smart sugarcane practices.
- Impact Numbers: 1,000 farmers
Scoping Study for the JIVA Programme (NABARD)
2024–2026- Location: 11 states
- Focus: Incubation & Entrepreneurship Development
- Impact Numbers: 11 states mapped; sustainable value chain models developed; 60+ climate-resilient enterprises identified
Green Colleges
2015–2019- Location: Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka
- Focus: Incubation & Entrepreneurship Development
- Impact Numbers: 20,335 youth built sustainable farm enterprises; 500 jobs created; 25%+ income growth
Success Stories
Cultivating Enterprise Through Natural Farming
Machinery support and enterprise training helped Laljibhai reduce manual labour and build Rajput Royal into a market-oriented natural farming enterprise.
From Everyday Resource to Sustainable Enterprise
Training helped Mahendra Bhai and Ranjit Bhai convert cow dung into value-added handmade products, generating local demand and stronger community recognition.
From Adversity to Achievement
With enterprise training and machinery support, Nilesh Bhai restarted Prinee Computerized Embroidery on a stronger foundation and is steadily rebuilding his business.
Growing Confidence Through Vermicomposting
Hitesh Solanki now earns close to ₹5,000 every 45-50 days from small-scale vermicomposting and is working toward ₹25,000-₹30,000 a month through expansion.
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