Upaya Social Ventures

Upaya Social Ventures is a non-profit impact investor founded in 2011 that provides investment and consulting support to early-stage businesses in India. Its mission is to create dignified jobs for people living in extreme poverty. Upaya invests in "missing middle" companies that are too large for microfinance but not yet ready for traditional venture capital, using a model of recoverable grants and providing seed funding through equity and debt. The firm operates an accelerator program and focuses on sectors including agriculture, waste management, handicrafts, and rural manufacturing. It has teams in Seattle, USA, and Bangalore, India.