Join us for a talk given by Mr. Vijay Mahajan, one of India’s most well regarded and pivotal figures engaged in livelihood betterment for low-income households in India and six other developing countries.
About Vijay Mahajan
Vijay Mahajan turned 18 in 1972, the year India celebrated its 25th Independence Day. Troubled by India’s poverty, and inspired by a number of pioneers from whom he learnt over the decade, Vijay began work in rural development in 1981. He founded PRADAN, a livelihood promotion NGO, in 1983 and led it till the end of 1990.
Driven by the need to scale up and make the work sustainable, Vijay decided to tackle the worlds of policy and capital. In 1996, he set up Basix, which has since then supported the livelihoods of over two million poor households, deploying over USD 700 million in loans, USD 50 million in equity and USD 20 million in grants. Basix offers micro-credit, micro-insurance, branchless banking, agricultural extension, livestock development, vocational training, renewable energy and climate change adaptation services to low-income households and micro-enterprises; and institutional development services to groups of women and agricultural producers. It also offers advisory services to government, corporate and community development agencies in India and over 20 developing countries.
Vijay has served on a number of Government of India forums such as the Planning Commission Working Groups, the Rangarajan Committee on Financial Inclusion, theRaghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (2005-10). He was elected to the Board of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor at the World Bank from 2006 to 2013, and chaired it in the final three years. He has mentored over a dozen social entrepreneurs and has served on the boards of various sectoral management institutions and major NGOs including Gram Vikas,ASSEFA, RGVN, PRIA, SPWD and DSC. In 2013, he established the African Livelihoods Partnership.