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Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a regular feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles. Share these quotes with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Entrepreneurship is hard enough, but extending the fruits of enterprise to underserved communities is another dimension altogether. From ideation to implementation, the changemakers in this compilation have memorable words for us all. See also our earlier annual quotes compilations from 2021 and 2020.

We have divided this compilation of 30 quotes into five categories: The big picture, Social entrepreneurship, Sectoral impacts, Inclusion and empowerment, and The road ahead.

YourStory thanks all social entrepreneurs and NGO teams for their tireless and inspiring work towards creating a better world. We wish all founders and readers a Happy Holiday Season and Happy New Year ahead in 2023!

The big picture

Five core values form the mindset of a socially conscious organisation: acting with care, being truthful, honest, using discretion, and not operating out of greed. – Priya Nair Rajeev and Simy Joy, ‘Being an Impact Champion’

India’s road to economic prosperity requires equitable development through an entrepreneurship-driven model. – Jacob Poulose, Social Alpha

The challenges and possibilities of our country demand that we work together as one, cutting across all divides of wealth, region, religion, caste, and more. – Azim Premji, Azim Premji Foundation

World Bank data shows that the Indian female labour force participation rate is the 11th worst in the world, standing at just 19% in 2021. – Harshvardhan Lunia, Lendingkart

Gender equality isn’t just a fundamental human right – it’s a cornerstone of a thriving, contemporary economy that promotes sustainable and inclusive growth. – Robin Bhowmik, Manipal Global Education Services

Cities will become smarter when there is equitable sharing of resources, inclusion of informal sector populations, and social cohesion. – Rajendra Joshi, Saath

Social entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is more than starting companies; it’s empowerment. – Lisa-Marie Fassl, Female Founders

If entrepreneurship is a difficult life, social entrepreneurship can be more difficult. – Neelam Gupta, AROH Foundation

Startups should jump into diversity and inclusion further by implementing universal design concepts into their product design. – Tanaya Sarma, Speaking Herbs

For [social change] to happen, the core business has to change, new business models need to be created, which can help gain profit as well as create value to the society. – Rishi Agarwal, Asia FSG

Fortunately, we are blessed with a robust startup ecosystem driven by innovators who are focused on solving real problems and creating real impact. – Pallav Kumar Singh, SphitiCap

Social impact is all about running it not for monetary gain but for the satisfaction you get when you do a good deed. – Monish Darda, Icertis

Companies have a responsibility to give back to their communities and social impact initiatives are just one way to help. – Admas Kanyagia, DigitalOcean

Sectoral impacts

The vernacular market presents one of the biggest opportunities for any edtech company. It is a large, need-based impact market. – Karanvir Singh, Pariksha

To boost education to underprivileged students, we must emphasise on skill development programmes and we must teach new-age skills to help them face the real world. – Akhil Shahani, Ask.Careers

While government funding is available for research and development of Assistive Tech solutions and private capital is forthcoming for scaling up, the gulf in between sees many startups struggling to survive. – Pragyan Sagarika Pani, Social Alpha

We need more companies that can be instrumental in driving the inclusion of LGBTQ+ health covers as part of Group Health Insurance policies. – Kriti Rastogi, Plum

Eyeglasses yield an incredible return on social investment, unlocking more than $43 in income earning potential at the household level for every $1 of philanthropy. – Ella Gudwin, VisionSpring

Considering the diverse Indian community, where ill-health is the manifestation of many social and economic issues, an integrated approach proves to be very effective for the upliftment of the deprived, and the society, as a whole. – Anant Pandhare, Dr Hedgewar Hospital

Inclusion and empowerment

Increased social mobility of women is a sign of a vibrant community and a strong nation. – Rajan Samuel, Habitat for Humanity India

Women’s economic empowerment is central to poverty reduction and shared prosperity. – Megha Phansalkar, Tisser Artisan Trust

In India, familial acceptance of transgender people is minimal. Even if there is emotional support, that doesn’t translate to financial support. – Mann Chavan, TALMS (Trans: Alms) Charity Foundation

There are still tall challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals, in smaller cities, where acceptance is not easy because of a lack of awareness and some misconceptions. – Manish Chopra, Amazon India

In India, unlike in western countries, families are a huge part of our coming-out journeys. LGBTIA+ persons cannot possibly be their full selves without some form of open and proud support. – Varun Abraham, Qucciberry

India needs a place where women and LGBTQIA+ community can talk openly about their sex lives, their desires, traumas, and health issues, which needs to be solved. – Aishwarya Dua, Sassiest

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are three to four times as likely to experience serious mental illness. – Anshul Kamath, Evolve

Right now, the LGBT+ inclusion conversation is still very limited to the organised sector, largely foreign-based MNCs and then some Indian companies. – Ramkrishna Sinha, Pride Circle

It’s hard for queer teens to break the social conditioning as the lives of teens in some parts of the country are already decided by their elders or the society, which doesn’t give them the right to be themselves. – Yagya Chopra

In the last few years, many small LGBTQIA+ collectives have come up in small cities across the country. Younger people are taking the lead now. – Sadam Hanjabam, Ya_All

The road ahead

Reformers will play a role in creating level playing fields and bringing the world back to peace and equilibrium. – TN Hari, ‘Winning Middle India’

India needs a wider, truer definition of social leadership that juxtaposes impact alongside markets. The imminent global transition to an impact economy offers a solution. – Amit Bhatia, Aspire Impact

CSR can definitely contribute its bit to India’s social and environmental challenges, but cannot effectively solve the problems which are way too large, systemic and structural. – Meena Raghunathan, ‘Doing Good’

The desire to give permeates the social fabric of our country, and philanthropy has been on the upswing in India, especially among our young population. – Siddharth Ladsariya, Young Volunteers Organisation

Economic independence and a mindset of learning creates social consciousness and empathetic individuals. – Monisha Banerjee, Anudip Foundation

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).