Microsoft, Accenture Collaborate To Help Social Impact Start-UpsThrough the initiative, the two companies will provide hands-on support and technologies for social enterprises to scale and build business models that can benefit a larger group of people across the world.

Tech giant Microsoft and Accenture have come together in a collaboration to help entrepreneurs and start-ups that are focused on social impact and sustainability. Through the initiative, the two companies will provide hands-on support and technologies for social enterprises to scale and build business models that can benefit a larger group of people across the world.

The "collaboration is part of their shared vision to amplify the societal impact of emerging technology with the long-term goal of reaching a million lives globally," the companies said in a statement.

Through the programme, Microsoft Research India and Accenture Labs will help start-ups test and validate proof-of-concepts, conduct design thinking sessions to re-envision their impact as well as provide support in using Microsoft technologies.

佛cus On Social Impact

"Startups in the social impact and sustainability space are among the world's most inspiring organizations," said Jean-Philippe Courtois, executive vice president and president for Microsoft's global sales, marketing and operations, adding that the passion for meaningful innovation and positive change must be supported.

The programme will have a particular focus on the areas of agriculture, education and healthcare and initially engage with start-ups in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. It would also make use of Microsoft's Center for Societal Impact through Cloud and Artificial Intelligence.

"By providing social impact entrepreneurs with direct access to the combined power of Accenture and Microsoft's technology expertise, we can help significantly improve access, equality, inclusion, education, health, sustainability, and the environment," said Paul Daugherty, chief technology officer at Accenture.

Microsoft's involvement in this initiative is part of the company's Global Social Entrepreneurship programme while the involvement of Accenture is part of its Tech4Good programme. The latter is focused on applying emerging technologies to help solve complex social challenges and the former gives start-ups access to technology in Microsoft AI, cloud, go-to-market services among others.

"Microsoft's collaboration with Accenture offers us an opportunity to empower these start-ups so they can use technology to make an even greater impact in addressing many of the world's most pressing challenges," said Courtois.