Kakatiya Sandbox Inaugurated Through Launching of LEAD and Agastya

Posted on Monday, October 28, 2013 by LEAD




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 On October 23rd, students, faculty, and other members of the Nizamabad community gathered at Rukmini Chambers in Vinayaknagar to inaugurate the Deshpande Foundation’s Kakatiya Sandbox, where Agastya Foundation and LEAD were simultaneously launched as the Deshpande Foundation’s first programs in Nizamabad.  Phanindra Sama (Founder and CEO, redbus.in), Raju Reddy (Founder and CEO, Sierra Atlantic), Shrikanth Bolla (Founder, Ashadeep and MIT Student), and Naveen Jha (CEO, Deshpande Foundation) appeared as Guests of Honor to excite the Nizamabad community and to motivate the LEAD students to excel in their future initiatives.


Prior to the ceremony, guests were invited to interact with the LEADers and learn about various projects by browsing through projects displayed.



The Kakatiya Sandbox Inauguration was packed with excitement and inspiration.  The program began with welcome to the guests by Santosh Ittanagi (Program Associate, LEAD, Nizamabad).  The Guests of Honor then inaugurated LEAD Kakatiya Sandbox by the blooming of the LEAD flower, a different method from the usual lighting of the lamp that is done is most ceremonies.  Mr. Ajay Suman Shukla then addressed the crowd about the Kakatiya Sandbox, the LEAD Program, and the objectives of these programs for the Nizamabad region.  




Next, the Guests of Honor were given the floor to address the audience.  Raju Reddy inspired the students to take advantage of the vast platform provided by the LEAD Program.  Phanindra Sama spoke about the challenges he faced during the initial stage of founding his company and how he overcame those problems, and also promised to stay actively involved with the LEAD Program in the future.  Srikanth Bolla’s story was especially moving, as he shared the about he built success for himself in spite of the fact that he was blind and misunderstood by society, and therefore had to fight hard for his education and to become an entrepreneur.  Naveen Jha held an interactive Q&A session with the audience.  Finally, Mr. G. V. Rangrao, Director of Nishitha Degree College, expressed his admiration for the LEAD Program and presented the program with a large donation for the program.









The success of this event demonstrates the immense potential that exists for Deshpande Foundation’s impact to carry over and build up the Kakatiya Sandbox.  


About the Kakatiya Sandbox
Inspired by the Deshpande Foundation’s Hubli Sandbox, Kakatiya Sandbox is aiming to empower the districts of Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Medak in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Applying a ‘bottom up’ approach to building scalable solutions, the Kakatiya Sandbox works to create an effective ecosystem where resources are put to use through entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability. The Sandbox will engage with not-for-profits, academics, non-governmental organizations, and entrepreneurs to launch effective and scalable models of development. They will empower the urban and rural youth with the leadership and skill development necessary to manage their own social enterprises and become the change their community needs. Through the implementation of these programs, effective, scalable, and relevant solutions will develop from within the communities of these three districts.

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