Social Entrepreneurs Transforming India’s Underserved Communities

New Delhi: Education inequity continues to be one of the most critical developmental gaps that we are facing even today. Social impact organisations are tackling this problem from all angles—from providing quality education to innovating new learning methods. 

Today, a new generation of social impact entrepreneurs are transforming the way education is delivered. As a result, they are helping towards bringing a systemic change in communities across India. Here is a look at some of these inspiring organisations transforming and empowering millions:

Madhi Foundation

Founded by Merlia Shaukath, a former Teach For India Fellow, Madhi Foundation began after Merlia’s firsthand experience of learning gaps in government schools. Determined to address foundational literacy, she started Madhi in Tamil Nadu. Today, through the Ennum Ezhuthum Mission, Madhi partners with the state government to ensure that every child in Grades 1–3 can read and do basic math. The organisation now supports over 37,000 schools, impacting millions of children across the state.

iTeach Schools

Started by Soumya Jain and Prashant Mehrishi, both TFI alumni, iTeach Schools was born from the realization that students graduating from primary schools in low-income areas had no access to quality secondary education. In 2015, they launched iTeach to fill this gap. Today, iTeach runs 12 free schools in Pune and Navi Mumbai, serving 7,500 students, with an outstanding 99% SSC pass rate and 92% of alumni pursuing higher education a huge jump compared to the national average.

Mantra4Change

Co-founded by Santosh More, a TFI alumnus, and Khushboo Awasthi, Mantra4Change started in 2013 with the vision to transform entire schools rather than just individual classrooms. After his Fellowship experience, Santosh realised the importance of systemic reform, leading to programs like STEP and PACE, which empower school leaders and teachers. Today, Mantra4Change operates across multiple states, impacting 75,000 schools and improving learning for over 10 million students.

Haqdarshak

Haqdarshak, co-founded by Aniket Doegar, helps people from low-income and rural communities access government welfare schemes. Through a network of trained agents and a digital platform, it guides citizens in finding, applying for, and receiving benefits from over 6,000 schemes across India. So far, it has helped more than 225,000 people get about 20 million in benefits

Labhya Foundation

Labhya was co-created in collaboration with Madhi Foundation and government partners to introduce social-emotional learning (SEL) into public schools. The program equips children with essential life skills like empathy, resilience, and self-awareness. Today, Labhya works in 22,000+ schools, reaching 2.4 million children and training 150,000 teachers to promote emotional well-being alongside academic learning.

ALSO READ: