Aparajita Agrawal

Aparajita Agrawal is the India Director for the British Asian Trust since September 2016. In this role, Aparajita aims to have the Trust recognised as a leading stakeholder in the philanthropy and impact space. She believes that there is a huge potential for changing the discourse around philanthropic funding from one that is measured not on the scale and size of the programmes but around the achievements of critical outcomes and the ability to influence the way development is delivered in the region. The British Asian Trust is a leading international organisation linking the British Asian Diaspora to programmes supporting and empowering communities in South Asia. It was founded in 2007 by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, together with some of the most influential Asian business leaders and entrepreneurs in the UK. The two flagship initiatives that BAT is building currently for India – the Development Impact Bond in primary education and the Rural Livelihoods Fund for smallholder and marginal farmers in drought-prone regions – are both products that are bold and innovative in their approach, have the ability to catalyse large-scale partnerships and deliver impact. The Trust aims to combine the compassion of philanthropy with innovation and investments into future-ready themes that enable us to create tangible and scalable impact. Aparajita has extensive experience of over 16 years in planning, implementing and managing strategic initiatives, convening platforms and in building and scaling up business lines. She has successfully led several global engagements through rapid network building, fundraising, new geography expansion and multi-stakeholder management. From 2004 until 2016, she worked with Intellecap, a leading global development advisory firm, as the Director of Sankalp Forum. In this role, Aparajita built the Forum as the leading convener of dialogue and outcomes for inclusive development globally. Sankalp’s Global Summit in India and regional Summit in Africa and Southeast Asia are convening that see participation of over a thousand practitioners and leaders on market-led development, impact investing, social entrepreneurship and South-South collaboration. From 2004 until 2012, she led Intellecap’s Knowledge & Research practice. Prior to Intellecap, she worked at CARE India on initiatives around microfinance and livelihoods in the underserved states in India. Aparajita’s experience has been primarily in the development sector on initiatives that further financial inclusion, social entrepreneurship and impact investing. She is often a facilitator/ speaker on social entrepreneurship and impact investing at Indian and Global events. Her work has been featured through media coverage in CNBC Young Turks, Hindu Business Line, Financial Chronicle and Outlook Business. She holds a management degree from the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), India. She lives in Mumbai, India, with her husband and 6-year old son.