Grameen Foundation India

for Social Impact

Who We Are

Dedicated to eliminating poverty through innovation, empowerment, and sustainable impact.

About Us

About Us

Empowering Communities, Transforming Lives

Grameen Foundation India is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to enable the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger. We believe that all people should have the opportunity to realize their full potential.

By combining digital technology with local networks, we empower communities to build resilience against economic and environmental shocks. Our human-centered approach ensures that solutions are tailored to the unique needs of the people we serve, focusing on financial inclusion, agriculture, and health.

Our Story

Inspired by the Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997 to help replicate the Grameen Bank microfinance model around the world. Over the years, we recognized that financial access alone wasn't enough to break the cycle of poverty.

Grameen Foundation India was established to bring this global expertise to the unique challenges of the Indian subcontinent. We evolved our approach to integrate digital solutions, leveraging mobile technology to deliver actionable information to marginalized communities.

Today, our story is written by the millions of resilient women, farmers, and entrepreneurs who use our tools to increase their income, improve their health, and secure a better future for their families.

Our Mission

To enable the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger. We believe that all people should have the opportunity to realize their full potential and build a resilient, sustainable future.

Our Vision

A world free from poverty and hunger, where communities are self-sustaining and empowered. We envision a future driven by digital innovation, inclusive growth, and collective action, leaving no one behind.

Our Core Values

The fundamental beliefs that drive everything we do and how we operate as an organization.

Empathy

We design solutions based on a deep understanding of the people we serve, respecting their context and culture.

Innovation

We leverage technology and creative thinking to solve complex, systemic problems efficiently.

Inclusion

We focus on the most marginalized, particularly women, ensuring no one is left behind in the digital economy.

Impact

We are data-driven and rigorously measure our outcomes to ensure we deliver real, lasting change.

Expertise 1 Expertise 2

What We Do Best

Our Expertise

Digital Technology Solutions

We develop and deploy human-centered digital tools that connect rural communities to essential services, markets, and information.

Capacity Building

We train local intermediaries—such as community health workers and farmer producer organizations—to become catalysts for change.

Ecosystem Strengthening

We advise banks, governments, and agribusinesses on how to effectively serve base-of-the-pyramid markets securely and profitably.

Governing Body

Girija Srinivasan

Girija Srinivasan

Board Member

Suresh Krishna KodihalliBoard MemberSuresh Krishna is the Co-founder, MD & CEO of Navaka Social Business, BengaluruSuresh has over 2 decades of experience working with poor and low-income populations. Suresh, was at the helm of affairs at CreditAccess Grameen (erst. Grameen Koota) since its inception in 1999 as Managing Director till July 2015 and non-executive director till July 2017. CreditAccess Grameen is India’s largest NBFC-MFI with a portfolio size of more than $1.2 billion. He has played an active role in building the microfinance sector in India, and co-founded several MFI associations. He is also the Managing Trustee of Navya Disha Trust, an NGO working in the area of WASH and financial literacy. He has also served as Director in a USA based company called Mifos.org which built an open-source MIS system for MFIs and an MFI in Indonesia called BinaArtha. He currently serves as an independent director in companies like Mifos.org, Sanghamitra Rural Financial Services, Centrum Microfinance, SMILE Microfinance and Waste Ventures P. Ltd. He is passionate about social businesses, micro housing, financial literacy and livelihoods for the poor among others.
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Suresh Krishna

Suresh Krishna

Board of Directors

Suresh Krishna KodihalliBoard MemberSuresh Krishna is the Co-founder, MD & CEO of Navaka Social Business, BengaluruSuresh has over 2 decades of experience working with poor and low-income populations. Suresh, was at the helm of affairs at CreditAccess Grameen (erst. Grameen Koota) since its inception in 1999 as Managing Director till July 2015 and non-executive director till July 2017. CreditAccess Grameen is India’s largest NBFC-MFI with a portfolio size of more than $1.2 billion. He has played an active role in building the microfinance sector in India, and co-founded several MFI associations. He is also the Managing Trustee of Navya Disha Trust, an NGO working in the area of WASH and financial literacy. He has also served as Director in a USA based company called Mifos.org which built an open-source MIS system for MFIs and an MFI in Indonesia called BinaArtha. He currently serves as an independent director in companies like Mifos.org, Sanghamitra Rural Financial Services, Centrum Microfinance, SMILE Microfinance and Waste Ventures P. Ltd. He is passionate about social businesses, micro housing, financial literacy and livelihoods for the poor among others.
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Leadership

Shatarupa Kashyap

Shatarupa Kashyap

Director Agriculture

Suresh Krishna KodihalliBoard MemberSuresh Krishna is the Co-founder, MD & CEO of Navaka Social Business, BengaluruSuresh has over 2 decades of experience working with poor and low-income populations. Suresh, was at the helm of affairs at CreditAccess Grameen (erst. Grameen Koota) since its inception in 1999 as Managing Director till July 2015 and non-executive director till July 2017. CreditAccess Grameen is India’s largest NBFC-MFI with a portfolio size of more than $1.2 billion. He has played an active role in building the microfinance sector in India, and co-founded several MFI associations. He is also the Managing Trustee of Navya Disha Trust, an NGO working in the area of WASH and financial literacy. He has also served as Director in a USA based company called Mifos.org which built an open-source MIS system for MFIs and an MFI in Indonesia called BinaArtha. He currently serves as an independent director in companies like Mifos.org, Sanghamitra Rural Financial Services, Centrum Microfinance, SMILE Microfinance and Waste Ventures P. Ltd. He is passionate about social businesses, micro housing, financial literacy and livelihoods for the poor among others.
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Bharati joshi

Bharati joshi

CEO

Bharati Joshi CEO, GFI & GFSI Bharati is a seasoned development sector leader with over 27 years of experience. Prior to joining Grameen, she worked as the CEO and Managing Director at Indian Grameen Services, A Basix Group Company. Her prior experiences include working at CARE India as a Program Director and other leading social impact organizations. Bharati has engaged in the sector of Livelihoods for most part of her work-life, besides human and institutional capacity enhancement. She is passionate about learning, designing and implementing high quality programs. Bharati has engaged on the themes of natural resource-based livelihoods, institutional development, enterprise and entrepreneurship development, socioeconomic empowerment of women and adolescent girls, climate change resilience, employability, and life-skills development. Bharati has had the opportunity to work on various initiatives across fourteen States of India. Apart from co-creating innovative programs and strategies, Bharati brings deep experience of mobilizing teams, improving organizational systems and governance, and triggering new ways of thinking and action that stretch and realize human potential. Bharati holds three postgraduate degrees. She has an MSc in Extension for Natural Resource Based Livelihoods from the University of Reading, UK (with a Commonwealth Fellowship), a Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal) and MSc in Plant Molecular Biology (from Delhi University). In her spare time, Bharati loves to sketch, paint, learn new skills; she blogs at www.bharatijoshi.live.
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Arindam Dasgupta

Arindam Dasgupta

Operational Manager

Bharati Joshi CEO, GFI & GFSI Bharati is a seasoned development sector leader with over 27 years of experience. Prior to joining Grameen, she worked as the CEO and Managing Director at Indian Grameen Services, A Basix Group Company. Her prior experiences include working at CARE India as a Program Director and other leading social impact organizations. Bharati has engaged in the sector of Livelihoods for most part of her work-life, besides human and institutional capacity enhancement. She is passionate about learning, designing and implementing high quality programs. Bharati has engaged on the themes of natural resource-based livelihoods, institutional development, enterprise and entrepreneurship development, socioeconomic empowerment of women and adolescent girls, climate change resilience, employability, and life-skills development. Bharati has had the opportunity to work on various initiatives across fourteen States of India. Apart from co-creating innovative programs and strategies, Bharati brings deep experience of mobilizing teams, improving organizational systems and governance, and triggering new ways of thinking and action that stretch and realize human potential. Bharati holds three postgraduate degrees. She has an MSc in Extension for Natural Resource Based Livelihoods from the University of Reading, UK (with a Commonwealth Fellowship), a Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal) and MSc in Plant Molecular Biology (from Delhi University). In her spare time, Bharati loves to sketch, paint, learn new skills; she blogs at www.bharatijoshi.live.
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The Team

Pratiksha Sahani

Pratiksha Sahani

Legal and Compliance

Suresh Krishna KodihalliBoard MemberSuresh Krishna is the Co-founder, MD & CEO of Navaka Social Business, BengaluruSuresh has over 2 decades of experience working with poor and low-income populations. Suresh, was at the helm of affairs at CreditAccess Grameen (erst. Grameen Koota) since its inception in 1999 as Managing Director till July 2015 and non-executive director till July 2017. CreditAccess Grameen is India’s largest NBFC-MFI with a portfolio size of more than $1.2 billion. He has played an active role in building the microfinance sector in India, and co-founded several MFI associations. He is also the Managing Trustee of Navya Disha Trust, an NGO working in the area of WASH and financial literacy. He has also served as Director in a USA based company called Mifos.org which built an open-source MIS system for MFIs and an MFI in Indonesia called BinaArtha. He currently serves as an independent director in companies like Mifos.org, Sanghamitra Rural Financial Services, Centrum Microfinance, SMILE Microfinance and Waste Ventures P. Ltd. He is passionate about social businesses, micro housing, financial literacy and livelihoods for the poor among others.
Read More