Ambuja Foundation won the Indian Chamber of Commerce Social Impact Award 2023. The foundation has been awarded for its work in skills and women empowerment category in Sankrail, West Bengal and Bhatapara, Chattisgarh. The ICC Social Impact Awards is an initiative of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in which the Chamber engages with Corporate entities, NGOs and implementing agencies to recognize them for exemplary work done in the field of social investment, CSR and sustainability on a PAN India basis.

"I used to despair about my life. I’m not like everyone else, and what are the chances in life for a disabled guy like me? I soon started drinking and even began selling liquor like everyone else in my village. The only respectable thing I did was shoe polishing, which did not earn me enough money.

“Shamsher was our first child and you won’t believe how I was dancing with joy at his birth. But we could sense something was not right while he was growing up. Finally, my wife and I accepted that Shamsher was different.

“I love working for myself. Every day I open my shop and stand with pride, looking at my sign board and the business I’ve created – It’s hard to believe it’s mine! See, I was a high school dropout – as an only son I felt a huge pressure to help my parents in some way.

“Aquaculture has been in my family for generations. My father grew fish, my grandfather grew fish, my great grandfather did the same. Like many other families in this area, we have a large pond right next to our house, but fish were always seen as a ‘side’ thing.

“I grew up watching my mother stitch clothes and scrub floors till her hands were red raw, just so we could survive. I wanted to pursue higher studies but there was just no money for that. So I took a course in Smartphone Repair and a fire was lit in my belly.

In Chirawa, Rajasthan, most of the women are bound to their homes, with families bestowing the responsibility for earning an income on the men of the house. But 19-year-old Monu decided to buck the trend by pursuing a career in Food & Beverage.

Born hearing and speech impaired, Nrishingha Malik faced a major hurdle when he graduated from his Sewing Machine Technician course at SEDI – how to appear for an interview to get a job? Something most take for granted, became a major blockage for the young man from Sankrail West Bengal, and he decided to turn his attention to kick-starting his own business instead.

SKF India and Ambuja Foundation announced the set-up of a dedicated YES skill training centre in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad Gujarat. The initiative is an expansion of SKF’s YES (Youth Empowerment at SKF) program, which focuses on training, skill development and employability of youth across Gandhinagar (Ahmedabad, Gujarat), Sankrail (Kolkata West Bengal) and Pali (Jodhpur Rajasthan).

With an objective to support India’s young generation in obtaining job-relevant skills and livelihoods, Ambuja Foundation has imparted skill training to over 88,000 youth with a placement rate of 76% from rural and semi urban areas across 10 States of India, via its SEDI (Skill and Entrepreneurship Development Institutes).

Vikram Chouhan, Principal at SEDI Udaipur, has a problem on his hands. Hotels across the state have been calling him to fill 500 new jobs in the hospitality sector, and he simply doesn’t have enough trainees to fill the jobs!

Ambuja Foundation’s Skilling Centres (SEDI) across India, have welcomed various high-level dignitaries and guests over the last month. Whilst guests appreciated Ambuja Foundation’s skill training models, the visits created an opportunity for trainees to interact with, and grasp insights, from such eminent individuals.