‘An organization can either be a baby or a dwarf,’ claimed Manish Sabharwal, co-founder of TeamLease – a baby will grow with the right energy and inputs, whereas a dwarf will always stay the same size. How to ensure your social enterprise is a ‘baby’ was the overall theme of the opening session ‘Lessons Learnt, Fingers Burnt’ of the Khemka Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, held on the 8–9 December at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Scale remained the prominent topic of the two-day conference, which attracted thought leaders from social enterprises, government, business and the NGO world. This ‘big tent’ of ideas created a platform for sharing best practice, cracking commonly faced problems and fostering collaboration among those with a passion for tackling India’s old social problems with new, market-based solutions.