• The focus of this  year’s Shine Program is “access to health and nutrition” through technology led innovations and financial solutions for low-income communities.

• Applications are now open for social entrepreneurs across India, with the winner working closely with Swiss Re to translate the solution to a scalable business model.

Bengaluru 09 May 2023 – Swiss Re Global Business Solutions India (Swiss Re GBS India) and the Swiss Re Foundation have launched their sixth Shine Program to support the next-generation of social innovators in India.

The focus of this year’s program is “access to health and nutrition”.

Social entrepreneurs with financially viable solutions that address this social challenge are encouraged to apply. The program supports the Swiss Re Foundation’s aim to make basic healthcare accessible to at least more than 1 million people by 2024.

ALSO READ: Job Hai announces collaboration with YuWaah UNICEF to bridge the employment gap for young people in India

“India’s healthcare sector is seeing a major transformation as we emerge from the pandemic, triggered by focused government programs and rapid large-scale digitalisation and innovation, making quality healthcare more readily accessible to underserved communities” said Amit Kalra Head of Swiss Re GBS India. “Since 2018, the Shine Program has provided social innovators with an ecosystem of Swiss Re business experts and leadership coaches to guide and support them throughout the critical growth phase, helping them to translate solutions into scalable business models. I encourage aspiring social entrepreneurs to take up this opportunity to create a sustainable impact in the areas of healthcare and nutrition”, Kalra adds.

Shortlisted contenders will be interviewed by Swiss Re experts

In Phase 1, the winner will receive the Shine Social Innovator Award, which includes an initial grant of INR 500, 000. In phase 2, the winner will team up with Swiss Re employees for an accredited Action Learning Program. The team will define problem areas for the business, engage with target communities, design and test solution prototypes and develop a viable business plan. Additionally, they will have the chance to pitch the plan to a panel of experts to earn an additional grant of INR 1,500,000

“The Shine Program is a wholesome experience for the entrepreneur and the team to develop a laser focus on the business model and its customers and an empathy-driven leadership approach. It is liberating to see how we could use simple tools for personal development and build a holistic model keeping a fine balance between people – planet – profit”, Tejas Sidnal, Founder of CarbonCraft and Shine Entrepreneur 2022 – 2023.

Applications are now open for social innovators across the country until 28 May 2023.

For more details on dates and for the link to enter, (please) visit: Swiss Re Foundation.

Read our impact story from the 2021-22 Shine Program entrepreneur, Hydrogreens Agri Solutions : From grass to glass, a greener value chain for milk (swissrefoundation.org).

About Swiss Re

The Swiss Re Group is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. It anticipates and manages risk – from natural catastrophes to climate change, from ageing populations to cyber crime. The aim of the Swiss Re Group is to enable society to thrive and progress, creating new opportunities and solutions for its clients. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1863, the Swiss Re Group operates through a network of around 80 offices globally.

Swiss Re Foundation

The Swiss Re Foundation reflects Swiss Re’s social and humanitarian values. With our external partners and Swiss Re employees, we help strengthen resilience in targeted low-income communities and in communities near Swiss Re locations. To help build resilient societies, we offer our partners tailored grant financing, access to expertise, research, and capacity-building as well as collaborative networks to create measurable, lasting impacts at scale.

About Swiss Re Global Business Solutions (GBS) India

Swiss Re Global Business Solutions India is an analytical and innovation hub of Swiss Re and comprises 1800+ employees. It plays a key role in accelerating the company’s competitiveness across markets through R&D-focused initiatives, innovation and analytics, which is especially relevant in today’s dynamic business environment with technology-spurred disruptions. Established in 2001, Swiss Re GBS India has traversed a remarkable journey of growth, acquiring deep capabilities to become a Centre of Excellence and Bangalore is Swiss Re’s third-largest office location today.

Cautionary note on forward-looking statements

Certain statements and illustrations contained herein are forward-looking. These statements (including as to plans, objectives, targets, and trends) and illustrations provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical fact or current fact.

Forward-looking statements typically are identified by words or phrases such as “anticipate”, “target”, “aim”, “assume”, “believe”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “foresee”, “intend” and similar expressions, or by future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “would” and “could”. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause Swiss Re’s (the “Group”) actual results of operations, financial condition, solvency ratios, capital or liquidity positions or prospects to be materially different from any future results of operations, financial condition, solvency ratios, capital or liquidity positions or prospects expressed or implied by such statements or cause the Group to not achieve its published targets. Such factors include, among others:

• macro-economic events or developments including increased volatility of, and/or disruption in, global capital, credit, foreign exchange and other markets and their impact on the respective prices, interest and exchange rates and other benchmarks of such markets, and historically high inflation rates;

• the frequency, severity and development of, and losses associated with, insured claim events, particularly natural catastrophes, man-made disasters, pandemics, including the coronavirus (“COVID-19”), social inflation litigation, acts of terrorism or acts of war, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, and any associated governmental and other measures such as sanctions, expropriations and seizures of assets as well as the economic consequences of the foregoing;

• the Group’s ability to comply with standards related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”), sustainability and corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) matters and to fully achieve goals, targets, or ambitions related to such matters;

• the Group’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives;

• legal actions or regulatory investigations or actions, including in respect of industry requirements or business conduct rules of general applicability, the intensity and frequency of which may also increase as a result of social inflation;

• central bank intervention in the financial markets, trade wars or other protectionist measures relating to international trade arrangements, adverse geopolitical events, domestic political upheavals or other developments that adversely impact global economic conditions;

• mortality, morbidity and longevity experience;

• the cyclicality of the reinsurance sector;

• the Group’s ability to maintain sufficient liquidity and access to capital markets, including sufficient liquidity to cover potential recapture of reinsurance agreements, early calls of debt or debt-like arrangements and collateral calls due to actual or perceived deterioration of the Group’s financial strength or otherwise;

• the Group’s inability to realise amounts on sales of securities on the Group’s balance sheet equivalent to their values recorded for accounting purposes;

• the Group’s inability to generate sufficient investment income from its investment portfolio, including as a result of fluctuations in the equity and fixed income markets, the composition of the investment portfolio or otherwise;

• changes in legislation and regulation or the interpretations thereof by regulators and courts, affecting the Group or its ceding companies, including as a result of comprehensive reform or shifts away from multilateral approaches to regulation of global operations;

• matters negatively affecting the reputation of the Group, its board of directors or its management;

• the lowering, loss or giving up of one of the financial strength or other ratings of one or more companies in the Group, and developments adversely affecting its ability to achieve improved ratings;

• uncertainties in estimating reserves, including differences between actual claims experience and underwriting and reserving assumptions;

• policy renewal and lapse rates;

• the outcome of tax audits, the ability to realise tax loss carryforwards and the ability to realise deferred tax assets (including by reason of the mix of earnings in a jurisdiction or deemed change of control), which could negatively impact future earnings, and the overall impact of changes in tax regimes on the Group’s business model;

• changes in accounting estimates or assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues or expenses, including contingent assets and liabilities as well as changes in accounting standards, practices or policies;

• strengthening or weakening of foreign currencies;

• reforms of, or other potential changes to, benchmark reference rates;

• failure of the Group’s hedging arrangements to be effective;

• significant investments, acquisitions or dispositions, and any delays, unforeseen liabilities or other costs, lower-than-expected benefits, impairments, ratings action or other issues experienced in connection with any such transactions;

• extraordinary events affecting the Group’s clients and other counterparties, such as bankruptcies, liquidations and other credit-related events;

• changing levels of competition;

• the effects of business disruption due to terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, natural catastrophes, public health emergencies, hostilities or other events;

• limitations on the ability of the Group’s subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions; and

• operational factors, including the efficacy of risk management and other internal procedures in anticipating and managing the foregoing risks.

These factors are not exhaustive. The Group operates in a continually changing environment and new risks emerge continually. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Swiss Re undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This communication is not intended to be a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and does not constitute an offer for the sale of, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in any jurisdiction, including the United States. Any such offer will only be made by means of a prospectus or offering memorandum, and in compliance with applicable securities laws.

This year educate yourself and develop your career with EasyShiksha