Our Journey
We started with a belief that every human being deserves a dignified life out of poverty
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2015
A new beginning
With a fresh start and a little nudge, Atul leaves his flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace.
Action research from Day 1
The first months were spent on field research in the slums of Bangalore, and our learnings revealed youth had given up hope on better lives, as had generations before them - something needed to be done to empower them to lift themselves.
A failed experiment - a lesson for the future
We launched our first pilot teaching English and life skills to the female domestic workers in Bellandur slums. It didn’t work, but it wasn’t a failure either. Our pilot program taught us that the distractions of life could get in the way of deep impact.
Gurukul is born
Our next venture - Gurukul, was a residential program to train underprivileged youth for service sector jobs. Ayesha became the first student at Gurukul. With a family of ten, she had more than enough responsibilities but still trusted us with 90 days of her life.
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2016
Nudging talent into the sector
We began skilling underprivileged youth, and while our first 46 graduates emerged, we realised the problem was larger than we imagined - top talent and capital weren’t targeting India’s greatest needs.
N/Core is launched
We set out to rally talent and capital behind India’s greatest needs. It led to the launch of N/Core Alpha, a 2-week startup boot camp to support promising entrepreneurs.
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2017
It’s (not all) about the money
We gradually understood that the progress we sought needed collaboration and capital. Our first incubator cohort was launched with 10 of India’s most promising nonprofit startups, including Navgurukul, Mitti cafe, and Khushi Baby.
A chance meeting becomes an enduring partnership
Atul ran into Venkat Krishnan, the founder of GiveIndia, at a conference. After a long conversation, GiveIndia became a sister organisation of The/Nudge and Atul, its CEO.
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2018
The/Nudge goes rural
While Gurukul continued to churn out graduates, many returned to their villages despite receiving a job. This led us to wonder if there was another way to create true impact in their lives.
Back to the field
Two nudgesters, John and Dhruti, scouted solutions, discovering BRAC’s ultra-poverty graduation model. We started adapting it for India.
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2019
Building the ecosystem, not just our work
We started mobilising households in Lohardaga in Jharkhand for the graduation approach. Asha Didi became the first participant in this emerging program. Within months, 400 others enrolled, and the program expanded across 3 districts, sharpening the prototype.
Moving beyond our work
We launched the Centre for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship with six verticals to build the ecosystem for skilling.
Future Perfect
Later in 2019, we launched Future Perfect to teach English speaking and life skills to college students in tier 2 & 3 cities. Little did we know what it would become.
A stronger focus on ecosystem building
Ideas for The/Nudge Prize, the Indian Administrative Fellowship (IAF), and the Forum were devised and developed.
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2020
Responding to the pandemic
We launched the Asha Kiran, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to provide entitlements to migrant workers affected by COVID-19 and aid their recovery.
A heartbreak close to home
The lockdown directly impacted our residential program, and we had to stop operations in all our Gurukuls.
#charcha2020
Halfway through 2020, the distress in the development sector was palpable. We launched charcha - 16 events, 26 partners, 180 sessions, 560 speakers, and 20,000 attendees convened for India’s development.
Future Perfect goes online
Adapting swiftly to the circumstances, Future Perfect pivoted to an online model to skill youth, expanding its reach.
EUP gains support
Furthermore, our End Ultra Poverty program gains government support for national scale-up to millions.
N/Core
N/Core hit a milestone of ₹10 crore of funding to support India’s emerging social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The/Nudge turns five
Our five-year journey underscored that empowering communities to lift themselves was the only way to transform India at scale sustainably.
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2021
The/Nudge Institute is born
The/Nudge Foundation became The/Nudge Institute to mirror our intent to take an institutional approach to create large-scale transformations in the livelihoods domain.
N/Core becomes CSI
N/Core ’s mandate changed from bringing talent into the sector to building a thriving livelihood ecosystem. Hence, the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) was created to reflect this switch.
Asha Kiran builds rural livelihoods
Meanwhile, Asha Kiran pivoted to a livelihoods program, working to build sustainable livelihoods for rural women through backyard goatery and poultry.
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2022
A year of milestones - hitting a century
We celebrated incubating 100+ nonprofits while our skilling programs benefited thousands more.
EUP starts to propagate
As our first cohort of EUP graduates from the program, 7 other governments approached us to support the implementation of the graduation approach in their states. The wheels are turning. As we reflect on each milestone achieved, our conviction grows - this is just the beginning. For the road ahead remains long.
2015
A new beginning
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
2016
Nudging talent into the sector
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
2017
It’s (not all) about the money
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
2018
The/Nudge goes rural
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
2019
Building the ecosystem
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
2020
Responding to the pandemic
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
2021
The/Nudge Institute is born
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
2022
Nudging talent into the sector
A fresh start Armed with curiosity and passion, Atul leaves a flourishing career at Inmobi to work on poverty alleviation. Inmobi – 0. Nonprofit sector with a little nudge from Inmobi Atul stayed in an advisory role for a year at Inmobi and The/Nudge’s origin is rooted deeply in their office. An empty floor became The/Nudge’s first workplace, and our first website and logo were the result of many all-nighters by volunteers from Inmobi. Inside story – Many names were considered for The/Nudge when we started, such as Gulaal. However, Atul was inspired by the idea that a nudge can be far more powerful than a push in effecting behavioral change, and thus, we began to be known as The/Nudge.
The first Nudgester Saurabh Adeeb calls Atul to search for a job in Bangalore, but is convinced to volunteer at The/Nudge instead. We’ve all been there. Action research from day-1 The/Nudge’s first months were spent in the slums in Bangalore.
Our work in numbers
Want to join the movement?
We would not be here without our people & partners
Vineet Bagri
Because the problem of poverty is multifaceted, there is no single way to solve for it. I’m excited to be a part of The/Nudge journey as they figure out how to leverage technology, product and government to scale solutions that can put a stop to poverty in India. It makes me very happy to see the impact of the program and how The/Nudge has managed to make didi’s independent and self-reliant.
Srikanth Karra
At Mphasis, we take a studied approach towards creating long-term, sustainable impact.
We believe that the strengths that The/Nudge has built-in poverty alleviation and resilient livelihoods over the last few years, augmented through larger government-market- civil society partnerships, can indeed move the needle towards a poverty-free nation, sooner than expected.
