Akshaya Patra Chairman, Madhu Pandit Dasa, was invited to speak at the Development Dialogue 2015, hosted on 7^th and 8^th February at the Deshpande Foundation in Hubli. The theme of the programme this year was ‘Scaling by Proving’.

The theme emphasises that the path to scalable development lies in careful planning and execution during the early proving stages. By following the method of ‘Failing Small, Failing Early, Failing Fast‘, organisations can quickly execute ideas, learn from their mistakes, make mid-course adjustments early into the enterprise, create networks and coalitions, and set processes that will help the organisation scale up quickly. The Development Dialogue 2015 showcased organisations that have succeeded in following this pattern of growth and development.

The event hosted over 300 delegates including not-for-profits, entrepreneurs, academics and other like-minded individuals. Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize winner 2014 and Child Rights Activist was part of the Keynote Panel at this year’s conference, and the Akshaya Patra team spent some time with him exchanging ideas.

The three lessons each speaker aimed to leave with the audience were:

• How has their particular organisation used experimentation to start and fail small, and then build up to its current level of success?
• What are the key lessons that others can learn from the speaker’s experience that could allow them to scale up faster and better?
• What are the key aspects of the supporting ecosystem that have helped the organisations scale up so well?

Madhu Pandit Dasa was accompanied on the panel by Narayana Murthy of Infosys and Jeffrey L Bradach of The Bridgespan Group, along with Moderator Kasturi Rangan of Harvard Business School, USA.

During the panel discussion Narayana Murthy pointed out the role competition in corporate entrepreneurship plays in sparking enthusiasm, and how such competition will help the sector achieve new heights. Madhu Pandit Dasa added to this point saying that currently Akshaya Patra has no competitor, but encouragement and the sharing of information will help others take up social entrepreneurship. “Being a non-profit set-up, we are ready to pass on our functioning model,” he said.

Development Dialogue is an International social entrepreneurship ecosystem conference which provides a platform for numerous social entrepreneurs to create ecosystems that nurture social innovation and entrepreneurship. The conference hosts participants from for-profit, not-for-profit, visionaries, impact investors and local communities to share proven concepts, innovations and revolutionary perspectives.

Source: Times of India