– Dipta Joshi

Friends Union for Energising Lives (FUEL), (estb. 2007) a national not-for-profit organization working in the Education, employment and entrepreneurship domains has been listed on the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Social Stock Exchange (30^th March). The listing marks an important milestone for FUEL which can now raise funds from investors and donors through a NSE regulated platform.

“The NSE Social Stock Exchange was launched to enable social sector organizations to raise funds from the public through the stock market mechanism and has a stringent listing and disclosure policy all listed companies have to adhere to. I believe, getting listed on a platform like the NSE is a huge boost for any philanthropic organisation as it promotes accountability and transparency. Having FUEL’s work recorded and tracked publicly will assure our individual and corporate donors and build a higher level of trust in us,” says Dr. Ketan Deshpande, Founder, FUEL.

A PhD in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from Symbiosis International University, Dr. Deshpande has been instrumental in creating 78+ corporate partnerships and mobilizing Rs 250 crore in social investments. Having founded FUEL as a means to provide career guidance to class 12 students, FUEL has become a leading voice in making education accessible, mobilizing resources through CSR and empowering youth.

“There is a huge gap between what students need to be taught and what they are being taught currently through the Indian education system. There is no dearth of opportunity but the problem arises because industries are asking for ‘skills’ from those they hire, while our students can only offer ‘degrees’. FUEL is working to bridge that gap,” adds Dr. Deshpande.

Over 1 million youth have benefitted from FUEL’s social programs initiated across 17+ states in India. FUEL has supported over 2 lakh youth in employable future tech skills like digital marketing, artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), blockchain, 3D Printing and BSFI.

In 2023, it launched the FUEL Business School (FBS) in Pune and has currently been given the mandate to launch the FUEL SkillTech & Entrepreneurship University (Pune). The university will promote 5 disciplines under the School of Management, School of Science, School of Future skills, School of Technology and School of Commerce and Humanities. Raising funds through CSR, the integrated institution will combine academics, future skills, industry collaboration and social responsibility to create employment-linked pathways.

Prior to the listing, FUEL launched the ‘10 People, 1 Degree’ campaign – a unique community-driven funding model promoting co-ownership amongst donors to sponsor a one girls’ education.

Dr. Deshpande believes the listing will also lead to FUEL scaling up and expanding its offerings. “We managed to get educational scholarships for 40 girls who are first-generation learners in our recent campaign – ‘10 People, 1 Degree’. With the listing, we want to take that number to 400 underserved youth across India next year,” says he.

Also Read: FUEL Listed on NSE Social Stock Exchange to Expand Education and Skills Programmes