A for-profit social enterprise established in 2009, B2R (Business-To-Rural) Technologies is one of the most-respected Impact Sourcing service providers in India; and the first Indian Impact Sourcing Service Provider to adopt the Global Impact Sourcing Standard(in March 2020). The philosophy of “conscience capitalism” drives it to operate with a uniquemodel where social objectives coexistwith commercial viability, making impact sourcing its sustainable raison d’être.

B2R chose as its area of work the remote, socially conservative Indian border state of Uttarakhand in the Himalayan foothills, where nearly 18% population lives in poverty and income levels werea dismal US$ 20 (INR 1500) a month, earned from seasonal low-yield farming and intermittent tourism. The harsh mountainous terrain covers 86% of the landscape and predictably, infrastructure and trained resources are negligible; yet B2R delivers high quality services in Data Labelling & Annotation, Publishing Support Services, Accounting and Financial Services, Legal Process Outsourcing, Web Research and Data Management, Human Resources Outsourcing, Helpline Support, Image Processing, translation & localization services to large national and international clients, many of whom have partnered with B2R for several years now.

With four micro-centres set up across scattered mountain villages, B2R has generated revenues of US$ 8.11 million (INR 57.10 Crore) over the last thirteen years, trained and employed over 900 un-employed local youth – at least half of which are village women – and disbursed wages of approximately US$ 3.8 million (INR 26.3 Crore) for over 950,000 person-days of rural employment.

B2R’s operations have brought professional, knowledge-based employment within walking distance of families who would have otherwise had to migrate to the cities in search of work. Their career paths have taken them to leadership positions in large organisations and enabled them to fulfil their life goals, something that was unthinkable a generation ago. Young women from the villages are able to negotiate a delay in their marriageable age from 16-18 to the mid-20s; and are in a position to assert their financial and social independence.

The economic thrust from additional spending by the employed youth’s families has resulted in better quality of life for the communities they live in, with trickle-down effects visible in every aspect of community living. Wholesome employee learning modules at B2R incorporate technical skills and improved physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of employees. Environmentally conscious initiatives in all of B2R’s operations makes the youth aware of their environmental heritage. These, coupled with community engagement programs, are designed to groom the youth to become responsible citizens and agents of change in their communities; role models for communities to engage in creating a sustainable, economically secure future in this distinctive geographical landscape.