Our Team

Srinivas Ramanujam|

CEO

Srinivas is an IIM Calcutta Alumnus. He is known for his ability to wear multiple hats at work, with nearly two decades of experience, he has dabbled in sales, marketing, brand management and strategy across retail finance, consumer goods, automotive, farm equipment and agri-input sectors. At Villgro, he began his journey as an advisor to one of our incubatees- Flybird Innovations. Prior to this, at Mahindra & Mahindra, as an intrapreneur, he helped incubate business concepts across the auto and farm sectors. He is also the India Steering Committee Member at Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs.

Ananth Aravamudan|

Senior Advisor & Practice Lead, Energy

Ananth leads Villgro's Energy practice. His career spans over two decades of technology development, product R&D and most recently, deployments of technology-driven social impact programs. Ananth was one of the chief architects responsible for the creation of the SELCO Foundation which looks into the use of renewable energy and sustainable technologies in the fields of education, agriculture and livelihood generation. Ananth has an Engineering degree from Bangalore University and was a fellow with Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Jenaan Lilani Bhargava|

Head - Operations and Diversity & Inclusion

Jenaan looks after Villgro's operations and also leads the organization's Diversity & Inclusion efforts. She has over a decade of experience in strengthening small to medium sized NGOs, CSR advisory, and women's health. She holds an M.A. in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK. Jenaan is happiest when she is reading to her daughter, surrounded by stationery while drawing, or watching a game of cricket.

Shashi Bhushan|

Practice Lead, Healthcare

Shankha Lahiri|

Manager - Energy Practice

Shankha manages Villgro’s Energy investments and portfolio. Prior to this, he worked in the energy vertical of the Development Alternatives Group where he was responsible for project management and operations of the renewable energy projects. He has been involved in business development and market linkage for micro-enterprises operating in rural India. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from W.B.U.T and a Masters degree in Energy Management from I.I.S.W.B.M, Calcutta University.

Gowtham Sundara Raju|

Analyst - Renewable Energy Business

Gowtham works as an Analyst with Villgro’s Energy practice. Prior to this, he worked with the founding team of Teach For India, Bengaluru as the Alumni Impact and Fundraising Associate. He was also a Teach for India Fellow at an Affordable Private School in Hyderabad and has also been with Infosys as a Systems Engineer. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore.

Pratim Raha|

Senior Analyst - Energy

Pratim has almost six years of experience in the development sector in the energy access space. His key area of interest lies in the intersection of innovation energy & entrepreneurship. Prior to this, at SELCO Foundation, he was involved in R&D of decentralised renewable energy-based technology and business models for a variety of applications including livelihood. He is an Engineer and holds a Masters degree in Public Systems Management with Energy specialisation from Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata.

Mohammad Azhar|

Program Lead - INVENT

Azhar leads the Incubating Incubators and INVENT program at Villgro. He is a development professional with an experience of investments in more than 150 social businesses. He is an Advisor and part of the investment committee for INVENT incubators, RKVY Raftaar, and AIC incubators. Previously he worked with the Government of India & UK Government in multiple development projects focussing on MFIs & Banks. He has also incubated and invested in 500+ women micro-entrepreneurs. He has an MBA degree in Rural Management from Amity Business School, Noida

Anubha Sharma|

Senior Analyst - Gender Inclusion

Anubha supports social entrepreneurs at Villgro in building gender-inclusive business strategies across their value chains. She is a development professional with prior experience in micro enterprises at Kudumbashree – National Resource Organization and has worked with 12 states across India to promote entrepreneurship amongst women’s community networks in rural areas. She also serves as a board member of Vitamin Angels, India. She holds a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and is an alumnus of Initiatives of change (IofC), Switzerland. She is an avid dancer, likes to paint and tries her hand at poetry in her free time.

Heera Jayachandran|

Head - Technology Platforms

Heera heads the Technology program at Villgro, she manages the IT portfolio, internal systems, products, websites and also enables process management. She has over a decade of experience in the IT industry having worked with Cognizant Technology Solutions and subsequently moving into the consulting space, working with start-ups helping them to manage their tech program, enabling them to focus on their core business areas effectively. Heera has a Masters degree in Computer Applications from Madras University.

Tanuja Kate|

Manager - Monitoring & Evaluation

At Villgro, Tanuja ensures incubatee success by monitoring and evaluating the impact of Villgro and its portfolio companies, as well as managing the Technical Assistance & Mentoring programmes. She has previously worked as a consultant data analyst in the UK, and prior to that worked on behavioural research with several social and legal research NGOs in Mumbai. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Mumbai University and an MSc in Social Cognition from University College London.

Swetha Tipparaju|

Senior Associate - Program Partnerships

Swetha previously worked as a Gandhi Fellow in Sujangarh, Churu in the ‘School Leadership Development Program’. She has also worked with KPMG as a Risk Analyst. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from SCMS, Pune.

Shaikh Tariq Mobin|

Manager - Accelerator Programs

Tariq looks after the YES Scale Accelerator Program at Villgro. He started his career as an Analyst at Tracxn, where he helped investors understand the Healthcare and Education ecosystem in India. He also co-founded Prodios, a cloud-based monitoring, and evaluation system for CSRs. He holds a Masters degree in Mechatronics and Automation Engineering and a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Rourkela.

Shyam Vembar|

Senior Advisor and Practice Lead, Agriculture

An MBA from IIM Calcutta and a B.Tech from NIT Trichy, Shyam is an independent Strategy and Management Consultant focussed on the FMCG and Agribusiness Sectors. Allied with his consulting practice, he is also an Executive Coach specialising at the C-level and Function / Business Head levels. Prior to starting his independent consulting practice, he was a globally experienced business leader with diverse commercial operations and strategic management roles across industries, geographies and countries. He has held global leadership roles in Business / Commercial Operations, Strategy and Marketing cutting across the Consumer Goods and Agri Sectors in companies such as Unilever, Monsanto and the Mahindra Group. Experienced in Mergers and Acquisitions. He is an alumnus of Executive/ Leadership Development Programs at Harvard, Yale, Cornell and IMD and is a member of MENSA, the International High IQ Society

Maithili Rege|

Manager - Agribusiness Incubation & Investment

Maithili manages the Villgro Agribusiness portfolio and investments. She has 6 years of experience in the FMCG, heavy industry and social sectors. She has worked with Hindustan Unilever and the Essar group. Following her passion for the social impact space, she joined Saahas Zero Waste, a socio-environmental start-up. She holds a BA in Economics (Hons) from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Mehal Poddar|

Analyst - Agribusiness Practice

Mehal works with the Agribusiness team as an Analyst at Villgro. Prior to this, she was associated with various philanthropic organizations like The Aasman Foundation and ‘Help us Help them’. Mehal holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from St Xavier’s College, Kolkata.

Anusha Kamath|

Manager - Health Incubation & Investment

Anusha manages the Health investments and portfolio at Villgro. She is a startup enthusiast with experience in Operations, Finance and Marketing. Previously she worked with Mumbai Angels Network where she handled their Growth Capital Investments; as a Program Manager with Cultiv8 she managed their Accelerator and Incubator cohorts. She dabbled with entrepreneurship for some time working on Financial Advisory. Anusha holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science Engineering and Post Graduate in Business Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Seraphina Selvanayakom|

Analyst - Health Practice

Prior to this, she interned with non-profits such as The Banyan and the IC Centre for Governance. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Christ University, Bangalore and a Masters in Social Work from Madras School of Social Work.

Malavika Ravi |

Senior Associate - Partnerships

Malavika has previously worked in organisations within governance, economic development and gender, where her work involved grantmaking, impact evaluation, campaign management and data analysis. She has a Masters degree in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, and a Bachelors in International Relations from Symbiosis International University.

Akshata Surej|

Associate - Marketing

She has previously worked with the India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians, Ministry of External Affairs, and the UN Women, where her work involved communications and programme management. She has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Philosophy from the University of Delhi. In her free time, Akshata enjoys listening to music as she takes on dessert experiments!

Prashanth Jhalla|

Manager - Finance

Prashanth has 6 years of experience in the NGO sector. He previously worked with Sense International India as a Manager - Finance and TB Alert India as Finance & Administration Officer. In his free time he enjoys watching cricket and playing chess.

Malathy S

Senior Executive - Accounts

Malathy manages the accounts and admin related responsibilities at Villgro. She has two years of experience in Accounts and Finance (CBIGS Group Of Companies) and one year in Scout Business Service (ICICI Bank LTD). She holds an M.B.A degree in Finance from Madras University

V Vigneshwaran

Senior Executive - Administration

Vignesh’s work involves managing the office’s requirements, logistics and implementing administrative tasks. He has more than 6 years of experience in HR & Admin. He holds an MBA from the University of Madras.

Murugan. M

Senior Executive - Accounts & Administration

Murugan’s work involves managing the office’s requirements, logistics and implementing administrative tasks.

Rohit Lalwani|

Consultant

Rohit is a parallel entrepreneur, marketing professional, and academician. He launches a passion project every year and mentors’ start-ups with his entrepreneurial experience. His interests include reading and travelling.

Balakumar Rajaram|

Senior Manager - Program Partnerships

A graduate with a Masters in Theoretical Computer Science from Anna University, Bala switched his career path pretty early from being a Software Engineer to becoming a Social Impact professional. Before joining Villgro, Bala worked on forging high-value philanthropic partnerships for nonprofits such as Make a Difference, Amnesty International, The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. He is passionate about volunteering and continues to teach English to children at a shelter home in Bangalore during weekends. He loves reading non-fiction, travelling, baking, and participating in CrossFit challenges.

Anjali Menon|

Consultant - Agribusiness Practice

Anjali has over 6 years of experience spanning corporate and social impact. Prior to Villgro, she has worked extensively with nonprofits on both livelihoods and healthcare. She is passionate about gender equity.