iPowerz joins with Mijwan Welfare Society to support and accelerate rural livelihoods in India

As COVID-19 takes a heavy toll across India, millions of migrant workers were forced to return to their villages with loss of jobs and livelihood. An international team of social scientists, business experts and IT architects have joined forces with the Mijwan Welfare Society (MWS) to provide support and solutions for fast-tracking grassroots entrepreneurship and innovations. 

iPowerz, the first of its kind, is a one-stop digital ecosystem that virtually connects entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups, and small businesses with investors, mentors and professional service providers to offer new opportunities for accelerating business growth and value creation by leveraging a wide network of leading academics and industry experts.

For global and domestic investors, the platform presents credible and validated business propositions, including CSR projects, for inclusive, sustainable and transformative impact for wider communities. Leveraging new age technologies, iPowerz facilitates virtual collaborations in a secure digital environment. Professional service providers can be listed on the platform as trusted go-to advisors across various business and enterprise sectors.

“iPowerz makes a real difference by unlocking the entrepreneurial potential across the board, and it offers a unique proposition in terms of leveraging technology for economic empowerment”, said Dr. J.P. Tamvada, co-Inventor of iPowerz and Associate Professor at Southampton Business School. 

Mr. D. Raja Rao, co-Inventor and Chief Technological Architect said, “This unrivalled platform embraces modern advanced technologies including AI and Cloud computing, making it easier to authenticate users, collect data, and perform audits in a secure digital environment”.

Under Saksham (self-empowerment) entrepreneurship project initiated by Mijwan Welfare Society, iPowerz will first provide support for 30 small business projects led by women from villages in Uttar Pradesh.  

Shabana Azmi, President of MWS, globally acclaimed Indian actress and social activist, commented, “I am delighted to see how our relations with the University of Southampton have grown organically and institutionally to make a significant difference to ordinary lives by equipping and empowering them with state-of-art technologies and tools for prosperity.” 

“iPowerz as a user friendly and simple bespoke digital platform will add significant value to our Rozgar Dhaba programme which empowers over 200,000 community members in villages with information and guidance about local jobs, government and health schemes”, Vinod Pandey, CEO of MWS.

Professor Jane Falkingham, Vice-President International and Executive Director of the University India Centre commented, “iPowerz takes our partnership with Mijwan Welfare Society to the next level of solidarity, sustainability and commitment. We continue to cherish the opportunity to working with Mijwan Welfare Society, which is transcending Indian villages towards growth and prosperity.”

This timely and exciting partnership is supported by London based India Business Group (IBG), a leading business advisory consultancy working in the UK-India corridor.  “IBG will facilitate support and access connecting global investors, corporates and professional service firms”, says Amarjit Singh, Chief Executive Officer who also serves as Special Advisor for India to the University of Southampton.

“iPowerz brings synergies, multilevel expertise, practical and sustainable business solutions to address the critical challenges that our societies face in the aftermath of pandemic outbreaks and economic shocks. To start its journey with Mijwan Welfare Society is truly inspiring and a great privilege”, commented Professor Sabu Padmadas, Founding Director, University India Centre, and Associate Dean International, Faculty of Social Sciences.