Social stock exchange, or SSE, is a visionary initiative of the Government of India that was presented in the 2019 budget to create an ecosystem that fosters social innovation, inclusion, and impact.
The National Stock Exchange of India’s Social Stock Exchange (NSE SSE) segment scripted a historic moment on December 13, 2023, with the celebration of the country’s first ever listing by the SGBS Unnati Foundation. The event, held at NSE’s headquarters located at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai, was attended by an esteemed gathering of dignitaries, NPOs, regulators, and media houses.
The first listing witnessed a fund mobilization of approximately INR 1.8 crore, which will enable the SGBS Unnati Foundation to impart training to approximately 10,000 graduating youths in their final years from government colleges located across various states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
Shri. Ashwani Bhatia, Whole Time Member, SEBI, said, “This is a momentous day for our country as we witness the launch of listings on a new platform that will enable social enterprises, including non-profit organizations, to access capital and raise funds for a noble cause. Social stock exchange, or SSE, is a visionary initiative of the Government of India that was presented in the 2019 budget to create an ecosystem that fosters social innovation, inclusion, and impact. SSE, as envisaged in India, does not have any parallel across any jurisdiction across the world and aims to provide a transparent and credible mechanism for investors to identify, evaluate, and support social ventures that are creating positive change in our society.”
Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, Chairman, Social Stock Exchange Advisory Committee, SEBI, said, “The historicity of today’s event is truly coming from the space of working at the grass roots with communities operating under the distress of inconsistent, inadequate funding to ensure social change happens. It is a moment of real pride and honor to be participating, with the hope that this will change the social fabric of this country itself. It is all our collective responsibility to make sure that the SSE of India becomes a global benchmark.” He also mentioned that capacity building is not only required for the NPOs but also for the regulators and exchanges. They need to equally understand the social sector.
Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO of NSE, said, “NSE-listed companies have created social impact in the form of wealth creation, job creation, and overall economic growth through the common person’s participation in the markets for the last three decades. With the listing on the Social Stock Exchange, the impact is going to be manifold. This framework offers a host of advantages, such as transparency, trust, efficiency, cost savings, discoverability, impact measurement, and outcome-based philanthropy. By aligning the dual goals of corporate success and societal impact, SSE creates a space where philanthropists, impact investors, donors, and NPOs converge, each contributing to a shared vision of a more equitable and sustainable future.” He also gave a special mention to SEBI, which played a pivotal role in launching the Social Stock Exchange framework in India.
On this occasion, Shri Ajit Kesari, Additional Chief Secretary Finance, Government of Madhya Pradesh, talked about the “Social Impact Bond initiative of the Government of Madhya Pradesh through outcome-based funding mechanisms under the Social Stock Exchange framework. The Madhya Pradesh government has been a pioneer in adopting new and innovative mechanisms for service delivery, backed by research and diligence. We have identified certain projects across the healthcare and livelihood sectors for the implementation of social impact bonds and defined outcome metrics in a simple and measurable way. The State Government can offer large-scale enhancement opportunities to SSE-registered NPOs through this mechanism.”
Shri Amit Chandra, co-founder of the A.T.E. Chandra Foundation and chairperson of Bain Capital India, a member of the SSE committee, said that “ordinary Indians are capable of solving problems of their brothers and sisters, and therefore the social stock exchange is a great enabling idea with the potential to thrive in the coming future. Every social stock exchange in the world has failed before, but this one, over a decade old, has the potential to succeed. With that, there will be hundreds, possibly thousands, of listings that will democratize the raising of capital for Indian social profit organizations.”
Currently, there are 39 registered non-profit organizations (NPOs) on the NSE SSE Platform, and among these, several NPOs have already initiated their fund-raising process across developmental areas such as education, skilling, agriculture, and poverty alleviation for tribal farmers. Moving onward, many other NPOs are intending to raise funds through the SSE platform.
Also read: Organizations should be driven based on people and processes instead of emphasizing technology
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