Board of Directors

Debarshi Dutta

Debarshi Dutta

Debarshi has over two decades of experience in the fintech and agritech sectors, working across various geographies. In his previous stint, he was the EVP and Global Head, E-commerce Platform at BPC Banking Technologies AG. Prior to that, Debarshi headed the government business portfolio for Mastercard in South Asia and managed strategic projects in Southeast Asia and Africa. He launched the Mastercard Farmer Network program in South Asia and led the Mastercard Transit Business in the region. Additionally, he launched the Mastercard Financial Inclusion (FI) initiative in India in partnership with multiple banks and institutions.

Earlier in his career, Debarshi was part of the founding team of Manipal Business Solutions and held a leadership position at FINO.

Ashutosh Singh

Ashutosh Singh

Ashutosh has a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM) with dual specialization – Rural Development & Rural Marketing with two decades of experience in conceptualising, executing and managing large projects covering Livelihoods (Farm, Non-farm and Off Farm), Vocational Programs, Rural Marketing and Research.

In the last two decades, he has impacted more than 10 lakh lives by working with various organisations in 21 States and 4 UTs. He has also trained 1.25 lakh youth across India, mainly in LWE-affected areas.

He has also served as the Director of BPC Technologies India (Safal Fasal) and as a General Manager at Pearson (India).

Kunjal Thackar

Kunjal Thackar

Kunjal Thackar is a seasoned CFO and senior finance leader with an impressive track record in the energy, infrastructure, and real estate sectors. With over 25 years of diverse financial leadership experience, he has made a significant impact in renowned companies such as Hiranandani Group, Western Concessions Limited, Pipeline Infrastructure Limited, Gujarat Gas Limited, BG, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.

Kunjal's expertise lies in developing tailored financial strategies, forging effective partnerships, and driving robust governance processes. He has played a pivotal role in implementing infrastructure projects, raising finance, and successfully completing large-scale M&A deals. His deep understanding of the industry and ability to navigate complex financial landscapes have earned him recognition as a trusted advisor to CEOs and senior management.

Investor Observers

Jinesh Shah

Jinesh Shah

Jinesh co-founded Omnivore with Mark Kahn in 2010. Previously, he was Vice President and CFO at Nexus Venture Partners, one of India’s leading venture capital funds. Earlier in his career, Jinesh worked in corporate finance roles for Datamatics (leading Treasury/M&A), Patni Computers (initiating the IPO process), and HCL Technologies (founding the BPO business).

He is a member of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Agriculture & Food Processing Committee, the core working group of the World Economic Forum related to agriculture, and the CII National Council on Agriculture 2023-24. Jinesh is a Chartered Accountant with a B.Com from R A Poddar College and an MMS (Finance) from JBIMS.

Archana Hingorani

Archana Hingorani

She was the CEO and ED of IL&FS Investment Managers and a founding member of IL&FS Private Equity. Over the past two decades, she pioneered Private Equity experience in India and Asia and managed over $3.8 billion. She led 14 large and small Private Equity funds across investment strategies in over 150 transactions.

Sohil Shah

Sohil Shah

Sohil has been leading investment activities at Gojo since 2019, leading Gojo's further expansion in India and Central Asia. At UNLEASH, Sohil will focus on investments.

He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a Masters in Finance and completed his under graduation from the University of Mumbai.

Before joining Gojo, Sohil was a part of the Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group, where he successfully led Intellecap Impact Investment Network, India’s first early-stage angel network focused on investing in social impact start-ups. Previously, he worked in Investment Banking roles with Bank of America, Fortune Financial Services (India) Ltd and Crucible Capital Group in New York.

Management Team

Debarshi Dutta

Debarshi Dutta

Debarshi has over two decades of experience in the fintech and agritech sectors, working across various geographies. In his previous stint, he was the EVP and Global Head, E-commerce Platform at BPC Banking Technologies AG. Prior to that, Debarshi headed the government business portfolio for Mastercard in South Asia and managed strategic projects in Southeast Asia and Africa. He launched the Mastercard Farmer Network program in South Asia and led the Mastercard Transit Business in the region. Additionally, he launched the Mastercard Financial Inclusion (FI) initiative in India in partnership with multiple banks and institutions.

Earlier in his career, Debarshi was part of the founding team of Manipal Business Solutions and held a leadership position at FINO.

Ashutosh Singh

Ashutosh Singh

Ashutosh has a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM) with dual specialization - Rural Development & Rural Marketing with two decades of experience in conceptualising, executing and managing large projects covering Livelihoods (Farm, Non-farm and Off Farm), Vocational Programs, Rural Marketing and Research.

In the last two decades, he has impacted more than 10 lakh lives by working with various organisations in 21 States and 4 UTs. He has also trained 1.25 lakh youth across India, mainly in LWE-affected areas.

He has also served as the Director of BPC Technologies India (Safal Fasal) and as a General Manager at Pearson (India).

>Milind Borgikar

Milind Borgikar

Milind is a tech aficionado. He has immense knowledge and skill in the technical field. He is highly experienced in AR, ML, AI and app development. As a manager at Vodafone, he worked on Next Best Action, Adaptive cognizance/ Machine learning, best fit offer delivery via different campaign platform integration. He also worked as a senior software engineer at International Business Machine (IBM) and software engineer at Tata consultancy services.

Kunjal Thackar

Kunjal Thackar

Kunjal Thackar is a seasoned CFO and senior finance leader with an impressive track record in the energy, infrastructure, and real estate sectors. With over 25 years of diverse financial leadership experience, he has made a significant impact in renowned companies such as Hiranandani Group, Western Concessions Limited, Pipeline Infrastructure Limited, Gujarat Gas Limited, BG, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.

Kunjal's expertise lies in developing tailored financial strategies, forging effective partnerships, and driving robust governance processes. He has played a pivotal role in implementing infrastructure projects, raising finance, and successfully completing large-scale M&A deals. His deep understanding of the industry and ability to navigate complex financial landscapes have earned him recognition as a trusted advisor to CEOs and senior management.

Rajesh Jain

Rajesh Jain

Rajesh brings over three decades of experience in the development sector, focusing on livelihoods, financial inclusion, and technology for social good.

He has diverse professional experience spanning not-for-profits, consulting firms, corporate foundations, institutes, and government roles. During his extensive career, he spent 15 years in government, gaining profound insights into social issues at both macro and micro levels in urban and rural communities. His expertise in leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Social Good offers a global perspective on technology potential for creating rapid, large-scale impacts and promoting development, further enhanced by his holistic 360-degree view of development models during his tenure at Swades Foundation. He also led the FPO movement in Rajasthan at ACCESS Development Services and was the state coordinator for SFAC.

Rajesh is a passionate advocate for social justice and economic empowerment, and he believes technology can play a powerful role in transforming the lives of the poor and marginalised.

Anand Mugad

Anand Mugad

Anand Mugad is an accomplished professional with 24 years of experience in corporate communication, marketing, and business development. He has worked with renowned global and domestic companies such as DBS Bank India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Nestle India Ltd. An expert in marketing and communication, Anand specializes in strategic messaging, media relations, reputation management, content marketing, and internal communications. As the Chief Marketing Officer at Ayekart, Anand leads the company's overall marketing strategy.

Before joining Ayekart, Anand was Vice President-Group Strategic Marketing and Communications at DBS Bank India. He played a pivotal role in enhancing the bank’s corporate reputation through effective communication strategies. At Axis Bank, he was instrumental in establishing the Corporate Communications Department, where he managed the PR function of the bank and its subsidiaries. Anand also gained extensive experience working with ICICI Bank and Nestle India Limited.

Pawan Shrivastava

Pawan Shrivastava

With over two decades of experience in sales, distribution, and channel development, Pawan has held leadership roles at some of India's most respected organizations, including UNEXT (Manipal Group), Paytm, Vodafone Idea Ltd, Idea Cellular Ltd, Tata Teleservices Ltd, Cadbury India Ltd, Pidilite Industries Ltd, and Marico Industries Ltd.

Next Generation Leaders

Anish Ahmed
Ankur Chaturvedi
Ashish Singh
Durgesh Gautam
Nitish Bharadwaj
Anju Bala
Kushal Shah
Mohini Burk
Nilanjana Adhikari