Sanjay Kumar

Mr. Sanjay Kumar, the founding Executive Director of Manjari Foundation, has dedicated over two decades of his life to rural development in Dholpur, Rajasthan. He began his career with Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) and has since worked across Rajasthan, Bundelkhand, central India, and West Africa.

After earning his BTech from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, he joined PRADAN in Rajasthan, devoting the initial 15 years of his professional life to grassroots work. In 2006, he was selected as a Ford Fellow, completing a Master's in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, USA.

In 2015, Sanjay founded Manjari Foundation to empower women's collectives, aiming to tackle poverty and social issues. He has served on various committees with the rural development department, livestock and dairy departments, and cooperative departments of the Government of Rajasthan.

Sanjay has professional expertise in formulating, designing, implementing, monitoring, and supervising development projects, including social mobilization, institution building, pro-poor livelihood value chain development, organizational development, advocacy, and public policy formulation in the rural development sector. He also has extensive experience working with international development organisations in Cambodia, Kenya, Mali, and Senegal and was honoured with the prestigious CSR Journal Excellence Award in 2023 in the Social Entrepreneur of the Year category. He was selected as an Ashoka Fellow in 2022, given his commitment, dedication, and innovative initiatives for unleashing women's entrepreneurship in the hinterlands of the country.

His interests include sustainable women's collectives, economic and social enterprises, ecosystem building for rural start-ups, inclusive women empowerment and social justice public policies, inclusivity and equity, natural resource management, water, self-reliant villages, and villages as better places to live.