Board of Trustees

BRIJ MOHAN has rich experience of working in the government and banking sectors in India. He retired from the position of Executive Director, Small Industries Development Bank of India and has since been active in various positions in microfinance and livelihood support institutions. Brij is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of MicroSave India Foundation and provides strategic guidance and steers policy formulation at MicroSave, based on sectoral needs. A strong advocate of the credit plus approach to clients, he has been of late strongly advocating the integration of social objectives in the delivery of microfinance. He holds board level and advisory positions in several of the key microfinance institutions in India.

Dr. SANJEEV KAPOOR is the Secretary of the Board of Trustee of MicroSave India Foundation. He is a full-time academic at the Indian Institute of Management at Lucknow. Sanjeev has been a key member of the team which is credited with the development of the curriculum on microfinance being used in management institutions across India. He is a visiting and guest faculty at various management institutions such as the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar and has several books, monograph series and papers to his credit. A Doctorate in Agricultural Economics, he has a passion for microfinance and its role in rural development.

Dr. SAILENDRA NARAIN is presently Chairman of the Centre for SME Growth and Development Finance (CESMED), and a former Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). He has about 39 years of experience in banking , finance and Business Development Services (BDS) with specialisation in Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs), Micro-enterprises and Rural non-farm sector. At present, Dr. Narain renders international advisory services in Private Sector investments, policy planning for SMEs, development banking and micro-credit, institutional up gradation & restructuring, capacity building and training for banks, development financial institutions (DFIs), Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), Non-government Organisations (NGOs) and entrepreneurs in the private sector. Sailendra is a Trustee with the MicroSave India Foundation and brings decades of development banking experience to MicroSave.

SITARAM RAO has held Chief Executive and senior advisory positions with several finance and international marketing companies including the DCL Group (India), Muscat Finance Company (Sultanate of Oman), Laila Group (India), and Paradigm Infotech (USA). He has also served as a visiting faculty member at Management Development Institute (Delhi), Industrial Finance Corporation of India, Computer Maintenance Corporation, and the State Bank of India. He holds degrees in both Commerce and Law from Bombay University. He was the CEO of SKS, the largest and fastest growing MFI in India for the years 2004 and 2005 and continues on its Board till date. He is also on the Board of several microfinance and livelihood institutions and has been the recipient of the MIX GAAP Financial Transparency Award and the Excellence Award from the Grameen Foundation besides many other national and international recognitions. Sitaram is a Trustee on the Board of the MicroSave India Foundation and contributes significantly on the basis of his wide ranging experience in the sector.

Dr. SUDHA KOTHARI is a doctorate in Sociology and is the Managing Trustee of Chaitanya, an NGO that she founded in 1993 with its operational headquarters in Rajgurunagar, Pune District. She continues to manage the activities of Chaitanya in more than 200 villages as the Honorary Managing Trustee. She has extensive grassroot level experience and her vision has enabled Chaitnya to reach out to more than 20,000 rural women through 1400 SHGs (Self Help Groups) in more than 200 villages in three Talukas of Pune District. A keen researcher, Sudha has to her credit, various dissertations and research papers on the empowerment of women. A recipient of several awards and citations, she is on the Executive Committee of the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration, Pune and on the Governing Board of Friends of Women’s World Banking and Sa-Dhan. She is a member of the State Level Review Committee of SHG – Bank linkage programme and is a Trustee for the MicroSave India Foundation. Sudha brings a strong gender focus to the working of MicroSave.