Ajaita shah biography sample

Born and raised in New York, Ajaita Shah returned to her roots and found her calling in unravelling the rural markets in India. She came to India with a career in microfinance and discovered that the rural areas were a colossally underserviced market.

“Products designed for 65% of India’s customers, the rural population either lacked in quality or were too expensive,” says Shah, who then conceptualised Frontier Markets (FM), a social venture based on the twin pillars of creating new markets serviced by rural women.

The enterprise’s mission is to empower and uplift the rural women through financial independence. Thus, establishing women-led distribution network and facilitating rural households’ participation in the economy through income-generation opportunities.

“Our networks of women entrepreneurs, Saral Jeevan Sahelis, are digitally savvy powered with smartphones and our Meri Saheli app helps build markets by connecting rural customers to solutions across sectors.