Supporting mission driven, social impact organizations to build and scale livelihood solutions so that every Indian lives a life with dignity out of poverty.
OVERVIEW
Enabling the most excluded households to thrive through the Economic Inclusion Program
Despite strong overall economic progress, India continues to have high-density pockets of extreme exclusion. Women in these households are especially vulnerable due to limited resources, social barriers, and lack of access to essential services and livelihood opportunities.
The Economic Inclusion Program (EIP) works in partnership with central ministries and state governments to identify and support these marginalised households through a structured graduation approach, enabling them to build sustainable livelihoods and move out of extreme poverty.
Empowering social entrepreneurs tackling India’s toughest livelihood challenges
The/Nudge supports mission-driven social entrepreneurs working on some of India’s most complex livelihood challenges.
Through its incubator, accelerator and grand challenges, The/Nudge has supported 240 social enterprises, catalysing early-stage organisations and accelerating those ready to grow and scale. Selected organisations receive innovation grants, dedicated mentorship, sector connections, and structured bootcamps to build, refine, and expand high-impact solutions.
160K+
Households Reached
240
Social Enterprises Supported
14
States in India
Hear from our supporters
Jaideep Khanna
Founder, Ananta-OM Management
“The/Nudge is very creative in finding scalable solutions for those in need. The Incubator and Accelerator programs have positively impacted lifelong opportunities for millions.”
Manoj Singh
University Trustee, Carnegie Mellon University
“The Nudge has been a very active and successful change agent propelling folks in rural India, especially women, into an orbit of self-sustaining entrepreneurial initiatives with prudent guidance and a sense of partnership.”
Rahul and Poonam Saxena
Adjunct Prof Business and Economics, Kean University
“Scale and depth of their ambition and operations, supported by rigorous analytics and structured processes, to empower women hit the right spot with us.”
Shailesh Rao
Founder & General Partner, Arc180
“India can become a role model for the world for inclusive prosperity. The work that The/Nudge does is a key catalyst for just that.”
Dipti Borkar
Vice President & GM, Microsoft
“The audacity of the goal of ‘poverty-free India’ and the execution rigor of The/Nudge was unlike any other non-profit I had seen before.”
Nitin Yogi
Principal Engineer, Nvidia
“A rare movement that turns compassion into action, building lasting pathways out of poverty founded on dignity and self-reliance.”
Deepak Raj
Founder, Raj Associates
“I’m so impressed by the way The/Nudge team combines skill and collaboration with compassion to have an outsized impact on India’s underprivileged communities.”
Mandakini Puri
Private Investor
“An organization that has heart and mind in equal measure – inspirational in its mission of a poverty free India. The/Nudge leadership demonstrates vision and executes with rigor and transparency.”
Maneesh Dhir
Ex-MD, Apple India
“I relate to The/Nudge as a Silicon Valley person — they focus on hiring great talent, operate with rigor, and move at a pace that is uncommon in the nonprofit space in India.”
Dev Joneja & Terri Musson
Chief Risk Officer, ExodusPoint Capital Management | Senior Director, Synechron
“The bold mission of eliminating extreme poverty in all of India, coupled with expertise in execution, convinced Terri and me to join The/Nudge in its fight.”
Caesar Sengupta
ex- Co-founder & CEO Arta Finance, ex-Google VP
“What sets The/Nudge apart is the extent of innovation they drive in their program design, and how they bring government, impact practitioners, and industry together to deliver at scale.”
Rajiv Kamilla
Partner, Goldman Sachs
“The/Nudge is one of the few institutions in India combining scale with deep on-the-ground insight to move families out of poverty with dignity. It has already proven to be a thoughtful, execution-focused partner that knows how to turn philanthropic capital into measurable, long-term change.”
Saumya Sharma & Rahul Nath
Director, Rubrik | Chief Product Officer, Accel
“I am a strong proponent of public-private partnerships. The/Nudge is a great example of that — with an exceptional focus on scale that I have not seen in other nonprofits.”
Mamta Bhandari
Investor & Philanthropist
“The partnership approach that The/Nudge has taken with central and state governments in India has allowed them to scale impact to the level needed to truly address the challenges at hand.”
Shruthi Hari & Hari Manappattil
MD, Google Algorithmic Trader | RBC Capital Markets
“The/Nudge’s focus on scalability and willingness to support a risk-based portfolio approach for poverty eradication sets it apart. We would encourage new supporters to engage with the founders to learn the level of transparency and impact measurement the firm has developed and refined.”
Ramji Raghavan
Founder & CEO Pragya Systems
“The/Nudge’s approach to solving a large problem is like a super successful startup. Create a simple recipe that is repeatable and sustainable, partner with others (government) to scale, seed other innovative ideas via social entrepreneurship to maximize impact.”
Harleen Juneja & Jagjit Chawla
Partner, Goldman Sachs
“The/Nudge is one of the few institutions in India combining scale with deep on-the-ground insight to move families out of poverty with dignity. It has already proven to be a thoughtful, execution-focused partner that knows how to turn philanthropic capital into measurable, long-term change.”
Poonam & Kiranjit Sidhu
Product Manager, Google | Senior Director, Waymo
“We love how The/Nudge multiplies the impact of our contribution by leveraging and strengthening existing government channels.”
Sampada Telang & Satyajeet Salgar
Director, Platform & Devices, Google | Director of Product & UX, Google AI
“The/Nudge is tackling some of the most pressing problems facing India and its grassroots impact at scale is truly incredible. We are honored to support this work and be part of the community.”
