Pollinate Group, a social business founded by a group of young Australians, provides affordable, reliable, and clean energy products to disadvantaged communities in India and Nepal—reaching families living on less than US$3.20 a day. As a proud supporter, UTS Insearch entered a two-year agreement to support Pollinate Group’s Hive Manager Development Project which will help their female managers thrive.
Women are at the centre of Pollinate Group’s mission – to empower women as leaders of change to distribute products that improve health, save time and save money for the world’s most neglected communities.
With UTS Insearch’s support, Pollinate Group is helping their ‘Hive Managers’ (similar to Operations Managers) with quality learning and development opportunities so they can become confident leaders and role models for their teams.
These training sessions have already encouraged open dialogue among Hive Managers, helping them feel part of a team no matter where they’re working. With teams located across India, Nepal, Australia, and North America, tools and strategies to collaborate, problem solve, and build rapport (while working remotely) are critical.
Another goal for Pollinate Group is the rollout of the Suryamukhi Program across India, which uses a model from their Nepal operations to identify and train unskilled women to become entrepreneurs distributing products to their peers. Hive Managers now participate in weekly ‘Suryamukhi Squad’ meetings where they can troubleshoot, work through challenges, and share ownership of issues. This has provided enormous growth professionally and personally for participating managers.
Kate Dennis, Head of Corporate Communications for UTS Insearch said, “We’re proud to be a supporter of the Hive program, and Pollinate Group for several years. It’s inspiring to see the organisation’s development and growth and their commitment to helping women improve their skills, building sustainable jobs in very poor areas and delivering essential products that can change lives of those that need it most.”
“UTS Insearch’s incredible support has meant we can accelerate our impact in the communities we serve, by effectively upskilling our managers to lead development in communities which are deemed too risky, too transient and too hard to reach by government programs or non-profits.” Sujatha Ramani, CEO, Pollinate Group.
To keep the training momentum going, Pollinate Group is developing new materials that includes such topics as Effective Collaboration, Managing Teams, and How to be a Great Mentor to support their managers.
Find out more: https://pollinategroup.org