Social Innovation Archives

Unprecedented Work Opportunities for Women in India

The Tandon Group strongly believes that social innovation is just as important as technical innovation and has a long history of taking the lead in social responsibility on a range of issues. By developing and applying new ideas about what social values we have and should have, Tandon has not only become a leader in India economically but also politically, using its influence to encourage the country’s growth to the best benefit of all its citizens.

From 1984 to 2000, the Tandon Group became the largest employer of women in the tech sector. Not only did this pave the way for other tech companies to start employing more women, but social innovation led to technical innovations and economic advantage for both India and Tandon.

By employing more women, Tandon gained access to a previously untapped source of potential and expertise and this move helped fuel India’s growth into one of the top tech producing companies in the world. Additionally, through positively influencing the Indian Supreme Court, Tandon helped gain women in the technology industry the right to work at night, increasing women’s freedom in the workplace and indirectly improving their living conditions as a whole.

Tandon also used its political influence to help encourage the creation of “tax-free zones” throughout India. These have proved to have had an incredible impact on the growth rate of the Indian economy, increasing production and foreign investment and ultimately driving India into the top ten of the world’s biggest economies.

Time and again, social innovation has proven to be not just the right thing to do, but a key indicator of economic success; by innovating socially as well as technically, the Tandon Group continues to find success and make a difference in a variety of impactful fields. Looking at a problem with innovation and tenacity, both economically and socially, has been a key driver behind Tandon’s past and present successes and continues to push them towards ever greater growth and influence.

Tandon Freecharge Sudeep Sept 9 2016 Blog Post

FreeCharge Chat-N-Pay Brings Digital Convenience to India’s Most Basic Transportation

Tandon Group

September 1, 2016

Innovation, Social Innovation

It’s easy to see how quickly app-based rideshare services revolutionized urban transit in the United States. FreeCharge has taken that model a step further, bringing innovative mobile services to India’s most popular form of low-cost local transportation: motorized rickshaw taxis.

As low-cost smartphones have come to dominate the Indian market, FreeCharge has been a pioneer in the deployment of mobile e-commerce applications in a national economy where 98% of consumer transactions have traditionally been cash-based. Originally a Tandon Group portfolio startup before being acquired by Snapdeal in 2015, FreeCharge currently serves an estimated 80% of India’s $119 billion domestic e-commerce market. These consumers increasingly rely upon FreeCharge for convenient mobile bill-paying and for other day-to-day expenses.

After FreeCharge’s initial success, the next challenge became clear: How can this modern innovation extend deeper into the Indian economy, such as the simple point-to-point services performed by rickshaw drivers?

FreeCharge’s solution was to adapt Chat-N-Pay to collect rickshaw fares. From an intuitive mobile app, customers can easily complete online payments in as little as five seconds, ensuring speedy service while eliminating fumbling with cash payments and change.

The initial pilot program in India equipped 15,000 “e-rickshaws” in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru with the Chat-N-Pay mobile app. FreeCharge provided each driver with comprehensive training, helped them register for the service as independent merchants, and assisted each in setting-up a digital wallet or other electronic accounts to collect payments.

Today, FreeCharge is on target to register 100,000 drivers by the end of 2016. The emerging benefits of Chat-N-Pay have already generated significant buzz among Indian media, drawing the attention of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who attended a personal demonstration by Sudeep Tandon, FreeCharge Chief Business Officer, in Noida this past April.

Later quoted by The Economic Times in July, Tandon outlined the company’s e-rickshaw business plan: “We aim to get 100,000 taxis in the country to go cashless by the end of 2016 by offering a frictionless payment process and help them be part of the digital payments ecosystem.”

This landmark Chat-N-Pay innovation has brought welcomed convenience to both the rickshaw drivers and their passengers while representing a major milestone toward extending the full benefits of the “digital revolution” deeper into India’s diverse service economy. Read more about this Tandon Group success story at www.freecharge.in.