Ola launches #RoadToGold, a nationwide crowdfunding campaign to enable India’s Gold medal dream at world sporting events
~ Partners with JSW Sports’ High Performance Training Centre to identify and support promising sporting talent from India’s heartland
~ Ola customers have the option to donate INR 1 per ride towards the crowdfund to train and coach shortlisted talent to represent India at world sporting events
~ Gains support from superstar Akshay Kumar, the star cast of upcoming movie ‘Gold’, and sporting legends Sourav Ganguly, Abhinav Bindra and Mahesh Bhupathi
Bengaluru, August 6th, 2018: Ola, India’s leading and one of the world’s largest ride-sharing platforms, today launched a nationwide crowdfunding campaign to develop grassroots sporting talent – #RoadToGold. The campaign aims to support India’s collective dream to increase the chances of winning Gold medals at major global sporting events. To kick start this campaign, Ola has enabled its customers to contribute a sum of INR 1, per ride across the 110+ cities it operates in.
The collected funds will be used to identify promising talent from India’s heartlands, and mould them into champion athletes through state-of-the-art infrastructure, professional training from international coaches, complemented by extensive sports science facilities and a structured academic program. These future sporting stars will also benefit from support and guidance from Indian sporting legends such as Sourav Ganguly, Mahesh Bhupathi, Abhinav Bindra and Yogeshwar Dutt, amongst others.
Ola has partnered with JSW Sports’ Institute in Bellary, Karnataka to play an active role in the training and coaching of young athletes at the facility. Ola and JSW Sports share a common vision to identify and nurture the latent sporting talent in grassroots India. By combining the widespread reach of Ola’s platform and JSW Sports’ expertise in developing sporting talent over the years, #RoadToGold is poised to catapult India’s medal-winning performances and increase the nation’s image as a champion performer. The campaign will also be bolstered by an awareness drive spearheaded by superstar Akshay Kumar, and the cast of the movie ‘Gold’.
Speaking on this initiative, Pallav Singh, Senior Vice President, Ola said “We are proud to introduce #RoadToGold, a nationwide initiative towards supporting exceptional sporting talent in the country. The right encouragement complements sports professionals’ immense talent to win accolades at a global stage and together with a small contribution of INR 1, we can strengthen India’s chances of winning Gold medals globally.” He further added “We are glad to partner with JSW Sports and Excel entertainment who have been staunch supporters of sports in India through infrastructure and entertainment. Together, we share the dream to identify high calibre talent and turn them into medal winning performers.”
Commenting on this initiative Mustafa Ghouse, CEO, JSW Sports, said “At JSW Sports, we have supported talented Indian sportspersons over the past few years and have seen the kind of impact that proper training and facilities can have on performances. Through our institute, we are attempting to take this initiative even wider by providing young talent across India access to world class infrastructure and sports science to help them realise their potential. We are proud to partner with a company like Ola to foster sporting talent and spearhead a generation of exceptional sportspersons.”
Speaking on this occasion Ritesh Sidhwani, Producer, Excel Entertainment said “The initiative to enable India’s gold medal dream worked seamlessly with our film’s message of Free India’s first Olympic Gold. It’s great to see all of us coming together to sow the seed for India’s glorious future in sports.”
| Here’s how customers can start contributing: Step 1: Once a ride is booked, customers will be able to see an option to contribute INR 1 on the ride booking screen Step 2: Upon clicking ‘see how,’ customers will be able to see detailed information about JSW Sports and how their contributions will be used Step 3: The button at the bottom of the screen that says ‘Donate INR 1 on every ride’ enables the contributions Step 4: Once accepted, customers will see their contribution towards the foundation in the ride details screen for every ride. Customers can choose to opt in and out at any point of time Step 5: Alternatively, customers can activate contributions from the ‘Donations’ section, under Profiles in the global menu |
This initiative is in continuation to the company’s commitment to be a socially responsible brand. The ‘My Ride. My Cause’ initiative taken up recently along with Tata Trusts to improve cancer care in the country saw great response from people across cities. Customers will be able to track the total amount of contributions made at any time and can also claim tax exemption with an 80G certificate for the contributions made (available from January 2019).
About Ola:
Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola is one of the world’s largest ride-sharing companies. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver-partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent, and quick service fulfilment. Ola is focused on leveraging the best of technology and building innovative solutions ground-up, that are relevant at global scale. Notably, in 2016, Ola Play the world’s first connected car platform for ride-sharing was launched, transforming commuting experiences and setting the tone for global innovation in this space. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 110+ cities, can connect with over 1,000,000 driver-partners across cabs, auto-rickshaws, and taxis. Driven by a hyperlocal approach, Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people.
About JSW Sports:
JSW Sports is the sports arm of the JSW Group, a $13 billion conglomerate with presence across India, USA, South America & Africa. Established in 2012, JSW Sports aims to play a leading role in ushering a culture for sports in India by maximizing sporting potential of Indian sports and sportspersons. The group owns JSW Bengaluru FC, India’s most successful football club in recent memory, Haryana Steelers in the Pro Kabaddi League and recently ventured into the hugely popular Indian Premier League through a 50 percent stake in the Delhi franchise “DD”. JSW Sports also supports the training of close to 40 Indian Olympic talents and is spearheading the creation of India’s first High Performance Olympic Training Centre in Vijayanagar, Karnataka.