Here is an irony: most non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organizations working at the grassroots level to bring the fruits of development to people who have not been affected by them continue to lead an archaic existence fraught with problems and challenges.
Now, to correct this anomaly, GoBarefoot, a startup founded by Poulomee Ghosh and his friend Mithun Kalaga, addresses the challenges faced by NGOs, particularly those related to raising donations, hiring skilled manpower, and generating visibility for their programs.
Poulomee, a 10-year veteran in the development sector, whose insider status has enabled her to better understand the challenges faced by NGOs, and Mithun, a BITS Pilani alumnus, launched GoBarefoot in June 2015 as a dedicated development sector platform where various stakeholders including NGOs, development practitioners, donors, volunteers and pro bono consultants connect with each other.
The GoBarefoot Team
Mithun, 30, a BITS Pilani alumnus and serial entrepreneur, says:
“Our goal is to create a portal that brings together the global development community and helps share knowledge, best practices and the latest innovations across sectors and geographies. We also help NGOs leverage technology to recruit, raise donations and reach out to potential donors and volunteers.”
Mithun started his career at Satyam Computers as a software developer, during which he worked with State Farm Insurance, a Fortune 500 company. He then founded Ordell Educational Services in 2009, which advised students on career options and trained them to be job-ready. In 2012, he co-founded GetMeFood, a Hyderabad-based food delivery startup, which was later acquired by Monocept and merged with its restaurant-based food offering DinerKonnect.
Poulomee (41) is a postgraduate student in Environmental Management from IISWBM (Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management).
Delhi-based GoBarefoot has been incubated by Third Sector Partners (TSP), a pioneering executive search firm for social impact organisations. According to Mithun, TSP is uniquely positioned to understand the challenges of the development sector. The startup has received a seed investment from TSP which is being used for technology, marketing and manpower.
GoBarefoot uses a multi-faceted approach to customize its services based on the specific needs of organizations. This customization has proven useful in convincing NGOs to join the GoBarefoot portal.
Post your job offers
Currently, over 3,500 NGOs including AzimPremji Foundation, Magic Bus India, NASSCOM Foundation, Railway Children, Tech Mahindra Foundation, among others, are actively posting job vacancies and looking for potential candidates on the GoBarefeet portal. Poulomee says:
“We currently post an average of 10 to 20 new job ads per day. We are currently growing at a rate of 20 percent month-over-month, with paid job ads being the primary source of revenue.”
The startup has three distinct revenue streams: job posting packages, where NGOs buy job packages at nominal fees to post their vacancies; convenience fee on donations, where a small percentage of the donation amount is charged as a commission for helping organizations raise funds; and premium accounts for individuals with enhanced features.
Job posting packages start from Rs 1,500 per post to Rs 15,000 for 15 posts. Currently, GoBarefoot charges a 4 percent commission on the donation amount from the NGOs it collaborates with.
According to Mithun, word of mouth has been the main driver for individuals and organisations to join GoBarefoot. Their marketing strategy also revolves around digital platforms (Facebook and Google) and email notifications to registered members.
GoBarefoot is planning to conduct workshops in educational institutions and corporate organizations to educate them about the benefits of GoBarefoot and how they can use this platform to connect with NGOs working on social causes.
Under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, companies having a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore and above are required to contribute 2 per cent of their net profits towards CSR activities.
GoBarefoot has a team of eight people working across a variety of verticals: NGO onboarding, individual registrations, job postings, volunteering, and NGO donations.
In the next fiscal year, GoBarefoot aims to increase the number of users to 10,000 and add 50,000 organizations. Expansion plans also include reaching out to international organizations to transform GoBarefoot into a global platform.
“We are currently in talks with investors to raise funds, which we would use to fuel our growth and establish GoBarefoot as the go-to platform for everything related to the development community,” says Mithun.
Website: Go barefoot
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