Zerodha co-founders (and brothers) Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath — besides being among the richest entrepreneurs in the country — are among India’s top 10 philanthropists in personal capacity. Their donations jumped 308 per cent to reach Rs 100 crore in FY22, making them the ninth-largest individual givers in India, according to the EdelGive Hurun Philanthropy List 2022.
“Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha with a 308 per cent year-on-year increase in philanthropic donations lead the list of individuals who have increased their contributions (in percentage terms) to social causes. The brothers have pledged a quarter of their wealth to philanthropy and have plans to give back Rs 750 crore over the next three years,” Hurun India stated in its report.
Additionally, Nikhil Kamath, 36, also happens to be the youngest philanthropist in the list. The Kamath Brothers’ primary cause for donation is disaster relief; other causes they support include environment and sustainability. Overall donations towards ‘Environment and Sustainability’ increased by 46 per cent to Rs 193 crore in FY22, Hurun India stated.
Both brothers are passionate about climate change and how it affects livelihoods. They have also committed $100 million towards the Rainmatter Foundation, which works at the grassroots level with individuals and organizations that are building solutions for climate change.
Other start-up entrepreneurs in the EdelGive Hurun Philanthropy List 2022 included Flipkart co-founder and former CEO Binny Bansal. His donations went up 174 per cent in FY22, and his primary cause was education. Overall, he ranked as India’s 25th biggest philanthropist.
Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said, “The cohort of senior and young tech entrepreneurs holds the potential to play a crucial role in meeting the country’s social sector fund requirement. For instance, Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, and Binny Bansal increased their donations by more than 100 per cent compared to last year. Many such acts from founders of start-ups could kick the Indian philanthropy curve into a higher orbit.”
“I am very stoked to see the rise in personal philanthropy in India. Cumulative personal donations grew by 50 per cent to Rs 3,097 crore, and this constitutes 55 percent of donations in the list,” he added.
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