Field evidence and impact assessment for NGOs on the Social Stock Exchange
TL;DR Impactfield helps mid-sized NGOs meet the impact-reporting rules of India's Social Stock Exchange. Field staff log each beneficiary contact with time, location and consent, a back-check desk verifies a sample and qualified assessors sign the annual impact report. The NGO pays one assessment fee, and funders get evidence they can actually audit.
India's Social Stock Exchange lets NGOs raise money from the public through zero-coupon, zero-principal instruments. Hardly anyone uses it. By May 2026, 90 social enterprises had registered on NSE's platform, but fewer than 20 had ever completed a raise, for about ₹44 crore in total[1]. Analysts blame assessor, listing and audit costs, which hit small NGOs hardest[1].
The reporting load is real. A registered enterprise must file an annual impact report, and for listed projects it must be assessed by a qualified assessment organisation and cover at least 67% of the previous year's programme spending[2]. Most NGOs keep beneficiary data in registers and spreadsheets and keep their accounts on different bases, which makes impact hard to compare[3].
What it does, in regulatory terms: social impact assessment under SEBI's Social Stock Exchange rules, plus data-collection software. Impactfield gives no investment advice and does not sell or list the instruments. Its reports are signed by Social Impact Assessors who hold the required registration and NISM certification[4].
The NGO's field staff use a simple phone app for every service delivered - a training session, a health camp, a scholarship paid. Each record carries a time stamp, location, photo where it makes sense and the beneficiary's consent. A small back-check desk calls a random sample each month to confirm the service happened. By year end the evidence is already organised the way the annual impact report needs it, so the assessors spend days on judgement instead of weeks chasing paper. Funders and subscribers can see the sample checks behind each headline number.
The original idea pitched blockchain for impact transparency. A ledger only proves a record wasn't changed after entry. In impact reporting the weak point is whether the entry was true in the first place, and that needs field checks, not a chain.
The NGO pays the assessment fee, which SEBI's rules already make it spend on listed projects[2]. I couldn't find a public fee range for social impact assessments in India, so the price is yours to test, probably as a fixed annual fee with the app included. Corporate CSR teams funding the NGO are a likely co-payer, because they want the same evidence for their own reporting.
Three rule changes land together. SEBI redefined assessment organisations in September 2025[4]. An NGO registered on the exchange for two years without a listed project loses its registration[2], so the 2024 registrants are up against that clock now. IMPRI reports that companies may route up to 10% of CSR spending into these instruments since May 2026[1], though I'd check the notification yourself.
The narrow market is small, and I won't pretend otherwise - 90 registered enterprises and about ₹44 crore raised through early 2026[1]. The first listing, in December 2023, raised ₹1.8 crore[1]. Getting in is cheaper now, with the minimum issue at ₹50 lakh and the minimum subscription at ₹1,000[1], against ₹1 crore and ₹2 lakh in the 2022 design[4]. Any NGO that wants to list is a buyer.
Large impact consultancies run CSR and impact measurement work in India at a scale built for big funders[5]. Global impact-data software vendors sell their tools, priced on quotation[6]. Chartered accountancy firms with registered assessors can sign reports too. I found no Indian service that combines field evidence capture with an assessor sign-off priced for NGOs raising under ₹2 crore.
| Difficulty | Moderate (42/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹45–85 L |
| Time to launch | 5–8 months |
The app is ordinary. The hard bits are getting field staff to log every contact without slowing down their work, and hiring enough qualified assessors before revenue shows up. Independence needs care as well, because you're paid by the NGO you assess, so your sampling method has to be published and defensible.
Yes, the assessment side needs qualified people before you sign a single report.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
AI shouldn't sign off on impact. The registered assessor makes the call, and the software only organises the evidence.
Want to work out the AI layer for Impactfield? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
This suits a founder from social audit, evaluation or NGO finance who already has, or can hire, registered assessors. If you're expecting a venture-scale software business anytime soon then you'll be disappointed. Prove first that five NGOs planning a listing will pay a fixed fee, and that back-checks confirm at least 90% of logged services.
The free Impactfield validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the SEBI assessor and disclosure checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for NGO leaders and funders, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Impactfield or something close to it? The make-or-break work is pricing an independent assessment that small NGOs can afford, and I can help you pressure-test those numbers. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.