EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “People investing in people” SWAYAM Mission Swayam will ensure that financial constraints never stop bright and motivated students from pursuing higher education. Social Problem and Market Opportunity International organizations such as UNESCO have led studies which have shown that of all individuals eligible to enter higher education, only 24% actually enroll. This is a worldwide issue, but it is felt acutely in developing countries such as India (where the percentage is as low as 10.5%) and China (7.5%). Often, lack of funding is at the root of the problem. For India to be able to catch up with the worldwide average of 24%, over 35 million more of its students would need access to funding. As for those students who are lucky enough to secure loans that allow them to pursue higher education, many of them fear that they will be crippled by high repayment amounts which might not be commensurate with their actual earnings. Swayam’s Solution and Social Return on Investment Swayam is a pioneer in peer-to-peer social investing. It offers ordinary people the opportunity to become Angel investors in the education of talented individuals, in exchange for a share of those beneficiaries’ future income. Under the terms of a Future Income Contract (FIC), the students, called Swayam Fellows, return a pre-specified percentage of their income over a certain number of years to Swayam, once they graduate and start earning. Swayam then channels these funds back to the Angels who funded those students’ education, as returns on their investment. Once promising young individuals are given the means to fund their education through Swayam, their quality of life will greatly improve. Studies have shown the most notable benefits to be higher lifetime income, increased personal and professional mobility, and enhanced quality of life for the beneficiary’s family. Furthermore, our FICs assure students that their repayment amounts will be commensurate with their financial means, whatever they are, thus providing peace of mind. Swayam Angels will relish the opportunity of having a meaningful impact on the lives of young and talented individuals while receiving financial returns on their investment. Social networking tools will be available on our website to allow Angels and Fellows to connect at a more personal level, and exchange academic and career-related advice. Financial Model Swayam will operate as a non-profit venture. We are looking to raise $500,000 in an initial round of funding within the first half of 2008; this capital will cover operating expenses as well as the fees necessary to design our online portal. Although Swayam’s business model is such that much of the revenue will be collected over many years after an investment is made, our financial projections show that we will be cash flow positive and profitable within five years. From the outset, we will include transaction fees for investors that will constitute 30% of our revenue by the time we are profitable. We are already working on a pilot project to prove our FIC concept: within the next two months, we will offer contracts to about five promising international students at Stanford. All of them will be graduate students who are just one or two quarters away from graduation, so that the funding required will be relatively modest, and they can start making repayments to their respective Angels early on. Executive Team Our team consists of two alumni and one PhD student from Stanford University: Ashni Mohnot received an M.A. in International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis, as well as a B.A. in Human Biology and English; Deepti Chatti graduated from the Environmental Engineering and Science program with a Masters degree; and finally, Thomas Seyller is a PhD student in Decision and Risk Analysis.