Our Team

Ananth Aravamudan|

Sector Lead, Climate Action

Ananth leads Villgro's Climate Action 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.

Srinivas Ramanujam|

CEO

Srinivas has over two decades of experience in brand management and strategy spanning across various sectors. At Villgro, he began his journey as an advisor to one of our incubatees - Flybird Innovations. Prior to this, at Mahindra & Mahindra, he helped incubate business concepts across the auto and farm sectors. He serves as an Executive Steering Committee Member at Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. Additionally, he volunteers as a Committee member for Startup Showcase at Startup India and as a Technical Expert for BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council). An IIM Calcutta Alumnus, he is passionate about social entrepreneurship and for-profit models that are innovative, scalable, and financially self-sustaining.

Aakriti Mendiratta|

Consultant - Analyst, Agribusiness

Akshata Surej|

Manager - Ecosystem Development

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!

Ananth Aravamudan|

Sector Lead, Climate Action

Ananth leads Villgro's Climate Action 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.

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.

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.

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.

Devansh Peshin|

Senior Associate - Program Partnerships

Gowtham Sundara Raju|

Analyst - Climate Action

Gowtham works as an Analyst with Villgro’s Climate Action 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.

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.

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.

Kalyani Krishna|

Analyst, Diversity & Inclusion

An environmental engineer by qualification, Kalyani's passion for impactful work started with the TeachforIndia Fellowship. Post the fellowship, she briefly worked in the education space, before shifting gears to the startup & incubation ecosystem. She has 6 years of experience in content development & program management. She has closely worked with tech & social innovators of IITMs Rural Technology Business Incubator for 2.5 years before moving to work at TANSIM(StartupTN) (Tamilnadu's State nodal agency for entrepreneurship). During her free time, Kalyani loves to read-particularly fictional & mythology, brush up on dance lessons and learn to master mandala art.

Kavya Agarwal|

Consultant

Kavya manages Startup programs at Villgro. She was among the first hires at Entrepreneur First, a global VC firm where she helped onboard and run the first founders cohort successfully. Previously, Kavya had been an entrepreneur herself, with an IoT based agri-tech startup, Smurf Space. She is a researcher turned entrepreneur, a PhD dropout and had high impact research stints at Yale School of Forestry, NCBS-TIFR and St. John's Medical College. Kavya studied sciences at Miranda House College, University of Delhi.

Krati Airan|

Consultant, Analyst - Climate Action

Krithika Ramesh

Consultant - Analyst, Agribusiness

Krithika works as a Consultant - Analyst with the Agribusiness Team. Her interest in working with Agri startups brings her to Villgro. Prior to this, she worked with EY GDS as an Assurance Associate and was involved in various processes of conducting Financial Statement audits. She holds a Bachelors's degree in Commerce from Ethiraj College.

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.

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

Mohammad Azhar|

Lead – Government Initiatives

Azhar leads the Government Initiatives & Incubating Incubators program at Villgro. He is a development professional with experience in investing in 137 social startups and 486 micro-rural businesses. He is an Advisor and part of the Executive Committee in some of the Indian-based incubators. Previously he has worked with the Government of India & the UK Government in multiple development projects focussing on entrepreneurship & financial inclusion.

Murugan. M

Senior Executive - Accounts & Administration

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

Parul Rana|

Senior Associate, Monitoring & Evaluation

Parul comes from a social innovation and economics background. She holds a Masters in Sustainable Development Practices from TERI University, Delhi and Masters in Public Policy and Human Development from Maastricht University (UNU- MERIT), The Netherlands. Prior to joining Villgro, Parul worked as a Senior Associate- Research in Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions where she was contributing towards 'measuring the impact of government interventions targeted towards vulnerable communities across North India'. Over the years she has worked extensively across 10 states to create livelihood opportunities for vulnerable communities on the ground.

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.

Pratim Raha|

Senior Analyst - Climate Action

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.

Rohang Mishal|

Associate - Ecosystem Development

Samyukta Prabhu|

Analyst - Healthcare

Shashikanth Subramanya|

Manager - Partnerships, Climate Action

Shashikanth has ten years of experience in the impact and business development sector. His key area of interest lies in the intersection of entrepreneurship and rural livelihood generation. Prior to this, at S3IDF, he was involved in managing the Agri portfolio, incubating Farmer Producer Companies from various agro-climatic zones of Karnataka. He is an Industrial Engineer and an avid birder. He is also a part of the hobby birding group in Bangalore called “Hakki Pukka Bird Conservation Network” which conducts Bird Festivals in rural government schools.

Shailesh Kumar|

Analyst, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)

Sowmiya Santhanam|

Accounts Executive - Finance

Srinivas Ramanujam|

CEO

Srinivas has over two decades of experience in brand management and strategy spanning across various sectors. At Villgro, he began his journey as an advisor to one of our incubatees - Flybird Innovations. Prior to this, at Mahindra & Mahindra, he helped incubate business concepts across the auto and farm sectors. He serves as an Executive Steering Committee Member at Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. Additionally, he volunteers as a Committee member for Startup Showcase at Startup India and as a Technical Expert for BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council). An IIM Calcutta Alumnus, he is passionate about social entrepreneurship and for-profit models that are innovative, scalable, and financially self-sustaining.

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.

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.