Living Penn’s commitment to advance knowledge for good, Peter Wang Hjemdahl, W’18, and Svanika Balasubramanian, W’18, are empowering marginalized workers and reducing waste in Mumbai through their nonprofit, rePurpose.
With support from their 2018 President’s Engagement Prize, they are building a digital marketplace where kabadiwalas—streetside waste pickers who sort recyclables for resale to larger recycling operations—can connect to bargain for better wages.
The mission of rePurpose is to ameliorate the poverty kabadiwalas face and reduce the unrecycled waste that winds up in landfills. The marketplace aims to recycle 15 tons of waste on a daily basis and deliver $400,000 of additional income to 150 kabadiwalas by the end of its first year in operation.
The President’s Engagement Prizes are offered annually and recognize seniors who develop projects that aim to make a positive and lasting difference locally, nationally, or globally. With $100,000 for project-implementation expenses and stipends of $50,000 each from the prize, Hjemdhal and Balasubramanian have the resources to get their social enterprise off the ground.
“I’ve worked in consulting, I’ve worked on Wall Street, I’ve worked with start-up incubators, and ultimately, I think this is where I’m happiest,” says Balasubramanian. “We’re incredibly lucky to have this kind of opportunity to use our talents and skillsets in doing something that’s meaningful to us and that we care so much about.”
“As entrepreneurs, we talk about doing good, we talk about making an impact,” says Hjemdahl. “Now is the time to act.”
To learn more about Penn’s commitment to global impact, visit our Penn Global page. For information about opportunities to support global priorities, contact Tina Cowan at tcowan@upenn.edu.
