Mahila Saksham Foundation

Starting With The Why

One of the biggest opportunities for social growth in India came in 2014 when the Government passed a milestone judgment: 2 percent of companies’ profits every year must be spent on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The bill applies to companies with an average net profit of at least 50 million rupees (approximately GBP 500K) over three years. This made India the first country to legally bind corporates into giving. This marked the birth of multiple ecosystems for change – or did it? The answer to that is difficult to find, and herein lies the problem.

While many large companies across the country are dutifully following the mandate, they feel that the buck stops there – once the funds are allocated, their job is done. But to truly drive systemic change, these funds need to be monitored and the capabilities for the NGOs receiving the funds assessed to ensure that they will be able to use these funds to roll out initiatives at scale.

Power In Parity

48 % of the Indian population are women. By getting just 68 million more women in the workforce, India can add 0.7 trillion USD to its annual GDP by 2025. There is power in parity. Gender inequality in India is high in all areas - work, legal protection, political voice, and physical safety. Achieving gender parity in India has the highest economic potential, and is worth, systematically, solving for.

With Mahila Saksham, we intend to do just that. The bridge between attenuating circumstances and a life of pride and healthy self-worths fundamentally financial independence. It is this generational equality of financial independence that the Mahila Saksham Foundation works toward.

What We Do

Training, Mentorship & Access

The Mahila Training Center will provide women from disadvantaged backgrounds (ages 18 - 40) employable vocational skills. We aim to create a Safe-space and ecosystem that connects women with the right employment opportunities and access to a network of expert mentors for issues that they may face both in the professional as well as the domestic sphere.

Transparency & Accountability

With Zero-Load CSR grants, the funds will be allocated transparently. Moreover, we hold ourselves accountable, in ensuring that our impact is intentional, quantified, and meaningful.

Trusted Individuals' Network

Develop a collaborative network of like-minded Nonprofits working towards the niche area of women empowerment and fostering relationships with investors that believe in its’ potential.

Board of Advisors

Mahesh Ranade

MBA, former corporate CXO (Reliance, Airtel), Professor, Speaker, Writer. Passionate about, and dedicated to, education. Currently, CEO at Yuva Parivartan NGO

Medha Uniyal

Graduate from Xaviers, Currently, serving as Program Director - Vocational Skills, Pratham Education Foundation and Pratham Skilling.

Joyce Connolly

CEO of Snehalaya UK, a UK-registered charity to support the work of Snehalaya, Ahmednagar, India. Former Honorary Director at Snehalaya and an expert in the Indian Non-profit ecosystem.

Meet the Team

Aishwarya Ganji

Founder & CEO

A firm believer in education as a driver of social and economic change, Aishwarya has worked towards this cause with pioneering NGOs such as Pratham Education Foundation, Ann Foundation Inc. and AIESEC. A graduate from Dhirubhai Ambani International School, and holds a Masters Degree in Literature. With Mahila Saksham, she intends to eradicate opacity in the way CSR in India functions, while also creating awareness, and intentional action towards Financial Independence for all Indian women.

Nalin Gangani

Chief Strategy Consultant

Nalin heads the strategy arm at Mahila Saksham with a laser-sharp focus ideating, modeling and aligning the vision and mission of the organization, with a purview to create impact at scale. His experience within a strategy role with a Big 4 further allows him to assist the foundation to set the right governance and processes for scale.

Shilpa Dayanand

Gender Sensitivity Counsellor

Shilpa Dayanand is a feminist, author, mother and superwoman. Her most recent published novel, Prateeksha has won her the "Woman of Prestige" Award by Akshroday Sahitya Mandal, Maharashtra’s literary awards, among other accolades. Shilpa is also associated with Parijat Mumbai, an NGO that works towards Education and Skill Development. At Mahila Saksham, it is this experience she brings forth to deal with issues of gender sensitivity and ones in the domestic sphere.

Jaganbabu

General Secretary

Jaganbabu is our General Secretary and the Chief of Staff for all Operations. He has over 20 years of work experience, having worked with India's current ruling party and successfully setting up his own NGO, The Maharashtra Telugu Manch, the largest Telugu Network in Maharastra. It is through him that the ethos of learning the value of 'giving back', and the fulfilment that comes with it is imbibed within us all.

Vaishnavi Srivastava

Fundraising & Partnerships Lead

Hailing from a real estate background and having worked with marquee companies such as Lodha and now, JLL; Vaishnavi is responsible for fostering key donor relations and partnerships with likeminded, retail and HNI individuals.

Arundhati Ramdas

CSR Compliance Lead

Arundhati focuses on accounts, with a specialized focus on CSR taxes and compliances. A native of Mumbai, she's fluent in Hindi, Marathi, and Telugu. She holds a B.Comm. and an LLB.

Prateek Srivastava

Project Management Lead

Prateek is our star project management lead and responsible for expansions of projects beyond urban areas, in Tier-II cities as well as rural parts of North India.

Financial inclusion & employment