The co-founder of Infosys and Axilor Ventures, talks about the role of leadership, technology and philanthropy in India's education sector, and how his family office has managed to pull hundreds out of poverty by educating their children
SD Shibulal, co-founder of Infosys and Axilor Ventures
Illustration: Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur
SD Shibulal, co-founder of Infosys and Axilor Ventures, and his wife Kumari started their philanthropic work in India’s education sector in 1999 through their family office. Over the years, through a scholarship programme, a residential programme and technology-enabled platforms, they have worked towards breaking the poverty cycle by enabling higher education, and providing training and mentoring to children from underserved families across the country.
Of the more-than-17,300 students who have gone through the scholarship programme so far, 90 percent are from rural areas, with 85 percent of them having parents who are in farming or working on daily wages; 98 percent of them study at government or government-aided schools. An impact assessment study by IIM-Kozhikode found that in the last three years, the programme was able to bring almost 100 percent of the students’ families out of poverty in one or two years, as the students earned three times the scholarship amount as their first year’s salary.
There is no reason why 1 lakh people can’t sponsor one child each and ensure their education. We should not limit philanthropy to the philanthropists and corporates.
(This story appears in the 11 March, 2022 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)