Insaan works with philanthropists who want their giving to be more impactful.
We do this by investing in innovative social enterprises in the Indian Ocean region that create opportunities for the poor through education and entrepreneurship.
We call this high-impact or catalytic philanthropy.
We re-invest all revenues from our investments in new ventures.
We connect those who want a better world with those in need and measure
that lives are indeed being changed, for the better, and for good.
Insaan was founded with support from the Pierre, Pamela Omidyar Fund. We work with families, individuals, corporate and institutional donors.
We work through our networks to find ventures involved in education and entrepreneurship. We get to know the organizations and people within them.
We meet the end-users or beneficiaries in the field. We engage them, listen, ask questions, and try to understand their vision of a better life – in their own words.
We disburse funds through equity or grant and continue to work closely with ventures over the life of the funding. We help ventures grow so they can better serve the poor.
Our work derives from our values, and not the reverse.
Insaan is an intellectual and ethical engagement that represents our team’s long-standing dedication to changing the lives of the poor.
We have years of experience in the field, working with the poor and living among them in cities and villages across the developing world.
We apply our diverse personal and academic backgrounds, from economics to philosophy, human development to statistics to approach the problems of poverty with critical thinking and ingenuity.
From our virtual office to our commitment to attracting outstanding and committed professionals to build knowledge, we strive to be a model of cost-effectiveness.
We are open to market solutions and extra-market approaches because reality is complex for the poor. We don’t over-simplify solutions to poverty.
Social Investments
Our Investments
The ventures we fund provide innovative, sustainable and high impact solutions to the problems of the poor.
We implement a rigorous selection process, ourselves, which involves regular field work.
Primary Education
Gyan Shala
Secondary Education
Gyan Shala
Voices From the Field
We build our metrics from the ground up based on the narratives of people who are changing their own lives.
Meet Gyan Shala Secondary Students
Dharmesh Grade 9
Dharmesh Grade 10
Julekhabanu Kayamuddin
Afrin
Firdoz – Senior Supervisor
Saiyad Sena Saifanbhai – Teacher
Performance
On Access Afya
On Mela Artisans
On Soko
Book