This Entrepreneur Wants to Fight for Clean Air with His 'Green Fund' This is not the first time when Paytm's founder has taken up an initiative to save environment
By Komal Nathani •
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Paytm's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has not been away from the news headlines since the time demonetization hit India.
From the controversial news pieces on him to all the good news about the company's revenues and its growth stature, Sharma has been a consistent part of media reports in the last two years.
This time again, he has won the headline show with his massive launch for green solutions.
To reduce the rising pollution levels, Paytm CEO Sharma has partnered with academia, R&D labs, mentors, professionals and venture funds across the country. He has also partnered with venture capitalist Shailesh Vickram Singh to launch a green fund, said the press release in the launch of the event.
The "Green Fund' is the fundamental contribution for the betterment of environment. The objective of the fund is to undertake investments in start-ups, companies and individuals working for the agenda of pollution reduction aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The aim of this initiative by Sharma is to drive an investment worth INR 150 million in various sectors by next year. Sharma's plan is to gather the complete business community that will include everyone from start-ups to investors to the established businesses of India in a bid to save environment.
This is not the first time when Paytm's founder has taken up an initiative to save environment .
The king of Indian digital banking has time and again being credited for his contributions and keen interest to save environment.
Sharma has been honoured as UN Environment Patron of Clean Air from India for the commitment to save environment worldwide in December 2017.
Also, in an interaction with HR Media in 2016, Sharma many times reiterated his interest and concern for environment and clean air. He has also said that he is open to invest hopping amount of INR 10 crore in startups which are working for environment sustainability.
This Fund has also formed an incubator called "GoMassive" which is working closely with leading educational and research institutions such as NRDC, IIT Delhi & IIM Lucknow and Sustainable India Finance Facility (SIFF), according to the press release. GoMassive is running boot camps and conducting hackathons across Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai & Bangalore to groom young startup teams to foster a spirit of green energy-led entrepreneurship.
The big goals for the green fund have been set by the founder and CEO of PayTm. And we definitely can't wait to see how the Sharma would revolutionize the entire business community with his keen initiatives for environment in the coming years.
