Pollinate Group
Model & Strategy
Pollinate Group is a global charity advancing connected social businesses in India and Nepal. They provide families living in underserved communities—such as city slums and remote villages—access to quality household products such as solar lights so that they can save time, money, and live healthier and safer lives.
To reach these customers, they build local distribution networks focused on women, who are empowered through business training to become change agents in their community. These women use their new knowledge and increased confidence to sell and service products to their peers.
Pollinate Group also delivers a fellowship program, which targets students and professionals from around the world and equips them with practical experiences to become the next generation of social and environmental leaders.
Alexie is the winner of the Advance Australia Social Impact Award (2018) and EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2017). In October 2019, Alexie stepped down as CEO of Pollinate Group.
In January 2020, Pollinate Group announced the appointment of Sujatha Ramani as its new CEO. Ramani has more than 28 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience across sales, marketing, global program management, and engineering. Sujatha holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science.
Impact
Since 2012, Pollinate Group has sold more than 160,000 products, impacting more than 662,000 people. Customers have saved more than US$16.7M and displaced 65,173 tonnes of CO2. Their customer service focus—including after-sales support— is a key differentiator and business model advantage to help break the cycle of poverty.
They have empowered more than 650 people across India and Nepal as entrepreneurs who gain income, skills, and respect through their sales businesses.
