Meet our Board of Directors

Mr. Yatesh Yadev

Yatesh is a Founding Director at Manjari Foundation. He is a rural development professional with extensive experience of more than 27 years in India and abroad largely in Afghanistan and Kenya...

Mr. Sanjeev Kumar

Mr. Kumar is one of the Board of Directors of Manjari Foundation. An Agriculture graduate with a Master's in Livestock Production & Management from National Dairy Research Institute...

Mr. Sanjay Sharma

Mr. Sanjay Kumar is the Founder and Executive Director of Manjari Foundation, headquartered in Dholpur, Rajasthan. Sanjay comes with over two decades of intense engagement and experience rural development.

Advisory Board

Naveen Jha
Principal Advisor

Naveen is a mission-driven entrepreneur and a social innovation ecosystem evangelist. He brings experience in developing sustainable programmes and business models impacting low-income communities in emerging economies.

Shouvik Mitra

Shouvik Mitra is one of the advisory members of Manjari Foundation. He has over 21 years of professional experience in the field of rural development with domain expertise in pro-poor livelihood value chain development, social inclusion and social mobilisation as well as inclusive finance.

Mr. Yatesh Yadev

Board of Director, Manjari Foundation

Yatesh is a founding Director of Manjari Foundation, he is a rural development professional, having an extensive experience of more than 27 years in India and abroad largely in Afghanistan and Kenya on the strengthening livelihoods of the poor communities that includes community led microfinance (Self Help Groups), community institutions (Federations, Producers Organisation), agriculture and livestock based livelihoods, integrated natural resource management, and watershed development, rural enterprises among others. He has been a Pool of National Resource Persons of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), and in a pool of National Resource Persons for IPPE 2 (Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise), MG NAREGA, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), New Delhi. He has worked with teams comprised nationals and internationals, on the projects funded by the World Bank, UNDP, and Government, and other donors at various difficult locations hit with strife.

He holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttrakhand (1992) and Post Graduate Diploma (Project Management) and Master in Business Administration in Project Management (2016). Currently, he is working as Head of Financial Inclusion, Aga Khan Foundation Afghanistan (AKF (Afg)) (An International NGO) being based at Kabul since April 2018 and also leading a projects on Women Economic Empowerment of AKF (Afg) from the World Bank (funded by Japanese Social Development Fund-JSDF) and from Ministry of Women Affairs, Afghanistan (funded by the World Bank). Before moving to Afghanistan (second inning), he worked with Techno Serve since November 16, 2016 to March 2018. He led a pilot being based at Nairobi, Kenya for initial period to augment fodder availability and improve cattle rearing practices (using 5 % model for harvesting rainwater), for enhancing milk yield to improve Dairy Enterprise of Maasai Women Dairy in Kajiado county. After completion of a pilot in Kenya, he moved to India with Techno Serve and led Sustainable Guar Initiative in rain fed conditions in Bikaner Rajasthan (Arid region) till March, 2018.

 

He headed Centre for microFinance (CmF), Jaipur, a NGO works for community led micro finance & livelihoods; as Executive Director during 2013-15. Before CmF, He has worked for 3 and half years with AKF (Afg) as Advisor (Micro Finance and SHGs) during 2008 to mid of 2011, and about two years as an International Advisor (middle of 2011 to beginning of 2013), with Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Programme (AREDP) of Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation (MRRD), Government of Afghanistan; a World Bank Project. Before moving to Afghanistan. He has worked at various positions for 14 years in Rajasthan, during 1994 to 2007 with PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action), a premier NGO works on strengthening livelihoods in India.

He worked/visited various counties in his professional carrier includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, Tajikistan, UAE, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nepal and Uzbekistan.

He is also a Board member in Ibtada, Alwar, Rajasthan and associated with Ibtada since its inception.

He has worked with Aga khan Foundation Kabul and Government of Afghanistan to support the community-led microfinance program across Afghanistan. He was the key person who have formulated, design and streamline the community institutions and microfinance work in Afghanistan.

He has also worked as an Executive Director of Centre for Micro Finance based in Jaipur. His area of expertise is integrated natural resource management-based livelihood promotion and development of community led micro finance. Mr. Yadav has also actively work with many bilateral funding agencies that include Tata Trust, World Bank, Government of India, NABARD and many other well-known organizations.

Currently, Mr. Yadav is based in Kabul Afghanistan and supporting community led microfinance program with Aga khan Foundation.

Mr. Sanjay Sharma

Board of Director

Mr. Sanjay Kumar is the founder Executive Director of Manjari Foundation based at Dholpur Rajasthan for last two decades having intense engagement and experience rural development experience.

He started his career with Professional Assistance for Development Action (www.pradan.net) Dholpur and still continuing work across Rajasthan, Bundelkhand, central India and West Africa. He holds a B.Tech in Agricultural Engineering from Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana, Punjab, India and Masters in Sustainable International Development majored in Development Economics from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, Waltham, Boston, MA, USA.

He was awarded a prestigious International Ford Foundation Fellowship for the period of 2006-08 given his commitment to the cause of social justice, poverty eradication, and women empowerment. Over the years he has been instrumental in shaping favourable and socially inclusive policies at the state and centre level with a mission of poverty eradication and women empowerment.

He has been working committee member in various groups with rural development department, livestock and dairy departments, cooperative departments of the government of Rajasthan. Sanjay has professional experience and expertise in formulating, designing, implementing, monitoring and supervision of development projects, which include social mobilization, institution building, pro-poor livelihood value chain development, organizational development and advocacy and public policy formulation in rural development sector.

He has founded and mentoring several women institutions and women enterprises in order to improve the economic freedom to the women farmers across the hinterlands of Rajasthan and Bundelkhand. ( www.katori.co.in, www.upaya.co.in ). He also has vast experience of working with international development organization and oversees which included Cambodia, Kenya, Mali and Senegal.

Mr. Sanjeev Kumar

Board of Director

Mr. Kumar is one of the Board of Directors of Manjari Foundation. He is an Ashoka Fellow and finalist Social entrepreneur of The Year 2019.  Academically he is  an Agriculture graduate from BHU and done Masters in Livestock Production & Management from National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) , Karnal, Haryana.

He is the founder of "The Goat Trust” a leading organisation in the country supporting small ruminants farmers across India. He is mentoring an E- commerce for livestock named www.pashubajaar.com.

He has established International Institute of Goat Management (IIGMA) with a professional goal to establish a field university for less formally educated development workers in small livestock based livelihoods.He has over 24 years of experience on grass root development action work and guiding and mentoring professionals in the sector.

Shouvik Mitra

Development Practitioner

Consultant World Bank, FAO and various non-profits

Shouvik Mitra is one of the advisory member of Manjari Foundation. He has over 21 years of professional experience in the field of rural development with domain expertise in pro-poor livelihood value chain development, social inclusion and social mobilization as well as inclusive finance. Worked directly with bilateral organizations like World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), DFID, etc as consultant; international and national level NGOs – Freedom from Hunger and PRADAN as staff, and non-directly with foundations – Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Sir Ratan Tata Trust; cooperatives – Mother Dairy; corporate CSR wings – DSM Netherlands; various local NGOs and secondary support organizations - Centre for Micro Finance; academic institutions – Xavier’s Institute of Management (XIM), KIIT School of Rural Management (KSRM). Have extensive field experience in the poorer states of India like Rajasthan, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra as well as in developing countries like Nepal, Kenya and Pakistan. Awarded the prestigious Fulbright – Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship in 2009 (a mid-career professional development program, supported by the US Department of State) to study and work in USA.

He has Co-Founded “OUTLIERS Development Services Pvt Ltd”, a start-up company to provide techno managerial services to the development sector with focus on the developing countries as well as "Manjari Foundation " a non-profit development organisation to work on the issues and rural and urban poverty. Mentor a non-profit trust SDS and a for profit ag start up Ayanat Pvt Ltd Co in North East.

Naveen Jha

Principal Advisor

Naveen is a mission-driven entrepreneur and a Social innovation ecosystem evangelist.  He brings the experience of developing sustainable programs and business models impacting low-income communities in emerging economies. Naveen is former CEO of the Deshpande Foundation, founded and led the Deshpande Education Trust, one of India’s biggest skill education providers for youth, Sandbox Startups, an entrepreneurship incubation ecosystem, and founded Leaders Accelerating Development, a leadership development program and co-founder and past president of the Hubli chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE). Naveen is an established authority in the areas of social innovation, catalyzing leadership, and entrepreneurship. He has nurtured and advised over 100 startups. His work has impacted over a million people. Naveen is Harvard University’s ALI fellow 2022, British Chevening Fellow 2019, and International Ford Fellow 2005

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