V4I initiatives are focused at bringing together a solution ecosystem: Ranjoy Dey, CEO

Ranjoy Dey, CEO & Co-Founder, Volunteer4India, is an expert on utilizing data and relationships to address the complex and evolving marketing world with special interests in new trends and societal marketing. In an interaction with Devdiscourse, he shares the achievements and strategy of his organisation. Read More:

Ranjoy Dey has about 19 years experience in integrated marketing. He is considered one of the early adopters of digital marketing tactics in India as he first started using the technology in 2004 when he was heading sales & marketing departments in leading global e-learning companies.  For 10 years, he had been leading digital marketing team in agencies like Havas Media, Digitas India, and Ignitee Digital. In 2016, Ranjoy co-founded Volunteer4India - an online volunteering platform for the youth and the millennials to enroll for social causes that have a deep impact in society. 

In an interaction with Devdiscourse for its initiative Devdiscourse Connect, he shares the achievements and aspirations of his organization.  

 

What are the main areas of operation of your organisation?

Volunteer4India works towards building outreach, affinity and advocacy around social good; using an ecosystem of volunteers, social organisations and communication partners. We are a for profit social organisation and build initiatives around social causes involving brands and corporates in them by creating purposeful marketing opportunities. 

How, according to you, your organisation is contributing to achieving any one or more SDGs?

Each of our initiatives are focussed at bringing together a solution ecosystem towards a social cause. We are currently working on 'waste management' (#WhereIsMyPlasticGoing is about plastic waste in specific and waste in general), urban women issues (#LooTalks is aimed at providing them a platform to voice their concerns by extending safe spaces), road safety (#TheKeyChainOfLife is our design- thinking intervention on ensuring faster critical care in road accidents)  and we are also working on ensuring equal opportunities to the disabled community (#EverydayAbility is aimed at making people aware about the life of the disabled community through inclusivity and sports) and are going to start an initiative around rubber waste management and recycling aimed at addressing sustainable usage of rubber (tyres largely) and creating a positive impact in addressing air pollution (as tyre burning of the lead causes of air pollution.

So far, what are the main achievements of your organization in line to the SDG 2030?

Each of our initiatives are getting good participation from people.

#WhereIsMyPlasticGoing has been able to mobilise students, colleges, RWAs, corporates, professional associations, schools and city administrations to acknowledge and work towards addressing the plastic issue. We're going to the cities and doing primary researches to understand the current state of plastic waste management and the interventions needed. These researches are done in partnership with key college (s) in the city to ensure that the reports are unbiased.

We did our first research in Gurugram, with MDI Gurgaon and have presented the key finding to Municipal Corporation of Gurugram. We're now official partners with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram for all their initiatives and programs that they have on managing the plastic waste in the city. We're doing cleanliness drives with them and are working with them to put together a complete ecosystem of plastic waste management, from awareness, to mobilisation, to collection leading eventually to recycling or repurposing. Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) has also partnered with us to ensure that all their member agencies and independent consultants become plastic responsible. We've been able to mobilise around a 100 colleges on the issue and are reaching out to 10 colleges this year to deeply engage with them on addressing the plastic waste management issue in their respective city, starting with the research.

What are the recent initiatives your organization has made in line to the SDGs?

All our initiatives are in line with the SDGs.

#WhereIsMyPlasticGoing is in line with the SDG 11, 14 & 15. #LooTalks is in line with SDG 5 & 10, #TheKeyChainOfLife is in line with SDG 3 & 11 and #EverydayAbility is in line with SDG 9 & 10. Our soon to be launched initiative on addressing tyre repurposing/recycling and air pollution will be in line with SDG 10, 12 & 13

What is your strategy for further expansion?  

We're focussed at mobilising larger communities around causes through our initiatives generating deeper engagements. The aim is to create association possibilities for brands by building better and more viable solutions that can be replicated across geographies. This will give more reasons to brands and corporations to associate with us and derive purposeful marketing and branding benefits.   

Where do you want to see your organization by the year 2030?

The year 2030 is a long way ahead. But, 2030 or 2050, we would want to be able to continue generating a tangible and measurable positive social impact, at an even far deeper level, through our initiatives. Preferably, around the globe - and on Mars and the moon (if we've built colonies there by then).

Thankyou!