No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi - Hansal Mehta asks Deval Sanghavi, What's Bad Philanthropy?

Hansal Mehta asks Deval Sanghavi, What's Bad Philanthropy?

09/28/21 • 42 min

This special episode is a conversation between Deval and Hansal Mehta that took place earlier this year at Dasra Philanthropy Week. Listen in as Hansal speaks to Deval about his perspectives on philanthropy, what he believes is real impact, and his lockdown beard.

Hansal Mehta is a well-known National Award winning filmmaker, director, and writer. Some of his well-known films are Shahid, City Lights, and more recently, the web series Scam 1992. Hansal is a longtime friend of the development sector. His wife Safeena Husain is a social worker and the founder of the non-profit, Educate Girls in Mumbai.

(14:27) "I think it's really important for us not to look at a metric of I'm giving 1% or 0.1% or 0.03%. It needs to be about what is the problem in front of me that we need to solve? And I think that's critical. And so for me, I guess it really starts with that. Which is, are we trying to really move people out of poverty and enable them to thrive? Or are we complacent when they survive? And I say this because many of the metrics that globally are looked at in terms of poverty are really mortality rates - is somebody living or dying? Literacy is defined by whether you could read or write your name, not whether or not you can read and write enough to gain an education, which leads to some sort of employment or that you can sign documents that you ensure are not cheating you, or that you can read even what's available to you with various government schemes and take action. And so I think the bar unfortunately is so low in terms of survival versus thriving societies."

The interview and the Q and A that followed have been edited. For the full version you can go to Dasra’s Youtube channel. For more information on NCE go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra.

Previous Episode

Your intent is to make impact , there is no machine that can actually test that says Vineet Rai

Deval Sanghavi speaks to Vineet Rai, the Founder and Chairman of Aavishkaar Group, a leading global impact investment platform. Although they have very different perspectives when it comes to development and social change, they share a long friendship that goes back to their early years in the development sector. Listen in as Vineet and Deval talk about the shared idealism that shapes their values, their history of travelling together across the country to learn and understand how issues play out on the ground, how capitalism and philanthropy each approach development, and what impact investing is all about.

(30:00) "Our passion or our argument was that if we can wean away a significant amount of $300 trillion from the “greed is good” narrative to a narrative that is “sustainable is resilient” - that you should be able to create a more equal world using this capital. Then you will be able to have a much greater outcome for the world as usual, maybe not as an investor for yourself."

Vineet Rai is the Chairman and Founder of the Aavishkaar Group, whose ecosystem includes Aavishkaar Capital, an impact fund manager focused on the global south; Arohan, one of India’s largest microfinance institutions for low income households; Ashv Finance, an NBFC that works with MSMEs; IntelleCap, a global impact advisory firm, and Sankalp, a networking platform for impact investors.

Next Episode

Unless idealism meets reality somewhere, it will always be two parallels running and never meeting, say Anu Aga and Meher Pudumjee

Deval Sanghavi speaks to Anu Aga and Meher Pudumjee, a mother and daughter philanthropic team who are deeply committed to equity and inclusion. While many families grapple with intergenerational philanthropy, Anu and Meher are examples of how different perspectives can come together to shape a long-lasting philanthropic engagement.

Anu Aga has been a trailblazing corporate leader when there were a few like her. She has led the energy and environment business Thermax Ltd. Anu is a social worker, and has been a Member of Parliament (in the Rajya Sabha) and is actively engaged with multiple nonprofit organizations in India including Teach for India. Her daughter Meher Pudumjee is the Chairperson of Thermax and is active in many initiatives from chairing Akanksha foundation and in leading efforts and providing greater dignity and equity to informal workers across India through the Social Compact.

For more information on NCE go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra