Building institutions,
transforming India
The Convergence Foundation (TCF) aims to grow India’s economy to $10 trillion by 2035. Set up by philanthropist—and formerly one of India’s leading
private equity investors—Ashish Dhawan, TCF builds institutions and supports bold leaders tackling India’s complex problems ranging from unemployment
to air pollution, from poor education outcomes to low participation of women in the labour force. Our portfolio organizations are in for the long haul and
adopt a systemic reform approach to address at scale the challenges that impede India’s economic progress.
Convergence
We want India to become a
$10 trillion inclusive and
sustainable economy by 2035.
We Focus On
Growth
Opportunity
Why Economic Growth?
TCF is one of the only foundations in the social impact space in India that
dedicatedly works towards accelerating the country’s economic growth. Other Asian countries have demonstrated that boosting a country’s economy leads to rapid poverty reduction, and we believe India’s time has arrived.
However, inclusive and sustainable economic growth needs deliberate action:
favourable policies, use of technology, and human capital development.
Our Investment Philosophy
We support exceptional entrepreneurs to build impactful
organizations and aim to house India’s top impact talent via a flexible
sourcing and incubation model.
Co-Create the
Organization
We co-created CEGIS
with Karthik Muralidharan,
a leading economist.
Seed the Initiative and
Recruit the Founding Team
We identified a key area,
scoped the initial strategy,
and hired the leadership team.
Back an Existing Early
Stage Organization
After a year of being setup by Desh Sekhri
and Nandan Kamath, TCF is now supporting SSA.
Portfolio Organizations: Stages of Growth
Phase 1
Seed
Provide early-stage
funding and hands-on
support to scope out an
area, idea, or hypothesis
and hire a core team
Phase 2
Build
Test the
proof-of-concept and
provide organization-
building support
Phase 3
Scale
Enable organizations to
scale and expand to
multiple geographies;
support with advisory
board and champions
Phase 4
Institutionalize
Ensure organizations run independently,
have built strong
capabilities in-house,
and are financially
sustainable
Portfolio Organizations: Stages of Growth
Phase 1
Seed
Provide early-stage funding and hands-on support to scope out an area, idea, or hypothesis and hire a core team
Phase 2
Build
Test the proof-of-concept and provide organization building support
Phase 3
Scale
Enable organizations to scale and expand to multiple geographies; support with advisory board and champions
Phase 4
Institutionalize
Organizations run independently, have built strong capabilities in-house, and are financially sustainable8 Pillars of Support
We Provide Portfolio Organizations
Networks and Ecosystem
Engagement
Talent Acquisition and
Organization Development
Organization
Strategy
Governance and Building
Advisory Boards
Development and
Sustainability
Finance, Compliance,
and Risk
Strategic Communications and
Brand Strategy
Shared Office Space for
Early-Stage Organizations
TCF’s
Journey
-
2022
-
2021
-
2019
-
2012
Our Values
Challenge
the Status Quo
Be Radically
Honest
Celebrate Shared
Successes
Persevere and Commit
for the Long Term
Be Obsessed with
Outcomes
Work with
Empathy and
Compassion
Apply the
Archimedes
Lever
Our People
At TCF, we have a committed leadership across our portfolio organizations that are chasing their ‘North Star’ to propel India’s economy.
