Women’s Day 2021
Monday, 8th March
The Lalit, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi

On the occasion of International Women's Day, SATYA MicroCapital Ltd. organized Vijayalakshmi Das
Entrepreneurship Awards which felicitated women entrepreneurs nestled at the grassroots level. The
awards recognized women whose significant efforts have worked towards fulfilling the Government's
vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. The awards were constituted and executed as a homage to the Mother of
the Indian Microfinance Industry, Late Vijayalakshmi Das at The Lalit, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. The
celebration was attended by virtual attendees of more than 2000 people along with a physical presence of200+ guests.
Underlining the essence of Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards, Vivek Tiwari, MD, CIO & CEO,SATYA MicroCapital Ltd. said, "It is a matter of extreme pride and privilege to honour women who aretrailblazing the microfinance space. Acknowledging and celebrating their achievements on account ofInternational Women's Day will motivate women entrepreneurs to reach greater heights with flying
colours. It will also encourage aspiring women entrepreneurs to improve their standards of businesspractices to attain a high level of entrepreneurship. With no second thought in heart, no other occasion
except the Birth Anniversary of Madam Vijayalakshmi Das could be considered apt for this noble initiative.
Extending our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners, SATYA laud their enthusiasm and devotion torunning their business ventures.''
The evening witnessed panel discussions which featured leaders and eminent personalities:

Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi - Member of Parliament – New Delhi
Meenakshi Lekhi is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) She is member ofparliament from New Delhi. Meenakshi Lekhi known as the Dynamic and versatile face of BJP, as she isthe national spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party and a Supreme Court of India lawyer. Lekhi writes'Forthwrite', a fortnightly column in The Week magazine.
“Once you empower a woman, the whole family gets empowered, and the whole society gets changed."
She also expressed her token of gratitude for Satya MicroCapital Ltd. for this initiative and cited Late
Vijayalakshmi Das as the apt choice for attributing these awards”

The ceremony had Deepa Malik, an Indian Athlete who is the first Indian woman to win a medal in
Paralympic Games and Summer Paralympics, and Delhi based Politician and MP, Meenakshi Lekhi, as Chief
guest. On the ceremony and the initiative, Malik, added,"It is indeed heartening to be a part of such a prestigious gathering, where we have women
entrepreneurs from rural hinterlands being recognized for their poignant accomplishments. I
congratulate all the winners as well as SATYA MicroCapital Ltd. for conceptualizing and seamlesslyorganizing this event which will definitely elevate the woman entrepreneurial spirit."

Dr. Deepa Malik - Padma Shri Khel Ratna Arjuna Awardee
President - Paralympic Committee of India

Mrs. Shovana Narayan – Indian Kathak Dancer
Padma Shri Awardee
Shovana Narayan is a famous and recognized Indian Kathak dancer. She had dual career, in parallel, as a
Kathak artist and a career officer with Indian Audit and Accounts Service. She performs in India and aroundthe world, and has been awarded the Padma Shri.

“It was a great initiative took by SATYA MicroCapital Ltd for paying tribute to the Mother of MicrofinanceIndustry – Late Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Das. It was her who realized the fact that if we give them the assistanceof Microfinancing then these Women would be able to identify the Entrepreneurship skill within them & go
forward in making their dreams come true, in setting up small industries thus making themselves and theirfamilies Self-reliant, Self-sufficient, Confident & contributing towards India’s development in various waysthat helps in fulfilling the Mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

Ms. Rita Bahuguna Joshi – Member of Lok Sabha

Rita Bahuguna Joshi (born 22 July 1949) is an Indian politician and was cabinet minister in the Governmentof Uttar Pradesh. She was the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee from 2007 to 2012. She
is the daughter of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, a former Chief Minister of the Indian state of Uttar
Pradesh. She joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 20 October 2016. She is elected to the Lok Sabha, lower
house of the Parliament of India from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Indian general election as amember of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“I appreciate all the Banks and Microfinance Institutions for the support they are rendering to Women,
encouraging them to establish their own businesses to become successful Entrepreneurs. As we are in
the 21st Century I believe it’s the time for Women to grow and I trust that going forward they willdefinitely succeed and make the Nation proud.”

Winners of Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards.
The Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards recognize many women microfinance leaders andentrepreneurs across various business categories. Each of these prestigious awards is tailored to identify
and acknowledge the outstanding leadership and achievements demonstrated by women entrepreneurs
across the Indian microfinance sector Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards were bagged by,
Pavithra Yagati Sundareshan as the Leader of the year, Lalita Devi Shing, Geeta Haresh Solanki and Vaishali
Patil in the medium category, Dr Neelima Tippavalhala, Sompi Saha and Amanpreet in the small enterprise
category and Sridevi TR, Yangmila Zimik, and Kaalima Khatun in the micro-enterprise category.

Ms. Pavithra Yagati Sundareshan
Leader of the year
Vindhya e-infomedia-Karnataka

Created employment of 1492 people including disabled people, women, transgenders people from therural and disadvantaged sections of the society with annual turnover of INR 35 00 00 000 (Thirty Five Crore
Only)
Social Intervention:• Employment Generation for people with disabilities, women (specially widow and divorcee of rural
areas), transgenders disadvantaged sections of society• Organized job fairs in tier 2 3 cities by partnering with NGOs SDCs and provided employment to5000 people in past 14 yearsMs. Geeta Haresh
Entrepreneur of the year –Medium
Unipads -Gujarat
With a desire to contribute to the field of rural women empowerment, she found Unipads India Pvt Ltd toensure menstrual hygiene of rural women Unipads aims at providing an affordable environment friendly
solution to Menstrual Hygiene Management to the less privileged in rural India. Unipads was established
not only to provide menstrual hygiene solutions to marginalized women but also use this adversity as anopportunity to provide employment to women in rural areas We have 90 women employees in our
manufacturing unit and distribution channels We conduct training to nurture our women workers andKalyani’s not only for professional skills but also other skills to help them in their personal lives We
have 60 women in our management team carrying out various important.
responsibilities
Social Intervention:• Education: Imparting right knowledge regarding MHM, personal health hygiene among theunderviliged rural and semi urban population.
• Affordable menstrual product Providing affordable solutions for MHM A woman ends up spending
minimum Rs 500 to Rs 700 per year behind quality disposable pads Whereas Unipads cost 349 per
kit which last for a whole year
• Environment friendly product: Reusable cloth pads are made of up textile material which isenvironment friendly compared to disposable pads having plastic content which may take hundredsof years to decompose

Ms. Lalita Debi Shing
Entrepreneur of the year –Medium
Jay Hanuman Paper Plate –OdishaStarted working as a domestic help, she was hardly managing her family expenses She requested her
employers to allow her to work in their paper plate manufacturing unit to earn an additional income
Thereafter, she gained some experience of the business and established a small paper plate manufacturing
unit with a manual machineWith proper training from an NGO and credit support from an organization, she purchased an automatic
paper plate manufacturing machine with multiple dyes and started making wide range of paper products
from waste papers like buffy plates, cups etc
Social Intervention:•

Women Empowerment provided employment to many tribal women and insists them to giveeducation to their children Besides this, she has appointed and trained around 30 widows, school
dropout girls and tribal woman in her unit from the rural tribal belt of Rayagada district•

Health Hygiene She also takes the leadership for cleaning the community with the help of womenSHGs

Ms. Vaishali Vasant Patil
Entrepreneur of the year –Medium
GruhUdyog –Maharashtra
She established a Gruh Udyog selling home made products Today, she has employed 15 women and sells
near about 40 food items like papad pickles,noodles, chakli, chivda to name a few Her kind and friendly
nature attracts customers fromnearby cities also She is also a well known motivational speaker who has motivated several other women
to start their own business in many women empowerment programs
Social Intervention•••

Women Empowerment provided employment to many needy women Also encouraged many
women to become entrepreneur
Health With the help of some local hospitals and NGOs, she had conducted HB test and healthcheckups for teenagers and women upto 45 years Through monthly meetings and door to door
campaigning, she is creating awareness on women hygiene
She is also involved in many social works like supporting poor at the time of lockdown due to COVID
19 pandemic

Dr. Neelima Tippavajhala
Entrepreneur of the year –Small
Cocotang -Andhra Pradesh
Dr Neelima Tippavajhala, a BYST supported entrepreneur, is the owner of Cocotang Cocotang is world’s
first exclusive brand for tender coconut milkshakes and mocktails which are dairy free and preservative
free drinks
She has won Junior Chamber International Business Excellence Awards 2018 and bagged a place in Telugu
Book Records (a national record for worldwide Telugu community) Nevertheless, the journey has not
ended here, She stated that “We as a citizen feel responsible for the society and always strive to contributeour part wherever we can do something.
With this note, Dr Neemila’s key focus area is right to education where she has done remarkable job suchas:Distributing school kits to the children from vulnerable family
Scholarship Programme
Environmentally friendly businessMs. Sompi Saha
Entrepreneur of the year – Small
Needle - West Bengal
In 2017, Sompi started using the experience gathered over the years to build her new full Handmade
Design Fabric Art Studio & registered the new venture NEEDLE. She shifted to Shanti Niketan in Birbhum,
West Bengal where she could be physically close to the rural area where she could find and develop her
women workforce. Further, once trained, these women are then able to train others within their own
village group and stand to gain by way of financial incentive. They are now also trained in book-keeping
and banking for themselves. As part of her creative journey, she has conducted Workshops for other orgs.
like HOPE Kolkata Foundation, Banglanatok Dot Com Kolkata, Trishul NGO Mumbai and trained students
from the Dept. of Art and Design, University of New South Wales, Australia. Her wish is to ultimately beable to adopt the feminine workforce of a full village, so that they can be totally financially independentand become a part of an exclusive International Design House [NEEDLE] which will not only gain themempowerment but also give them a sense of identity linked directly with their own handiwork.

Ms. Amanpreet Kaur
Entrepreneur of the year – Small
Preet Cosmetic Beauty Parlour – Punjab
Amanpreet lives in a small village named Namol in the district of Sangrur with her husband, Jagjeet Singh.
She was struggling to open a cosmetics shop for a very long time and had put in a lot of efforts to start her
business but had not been successful. She came to know about SATYA MicroCapital Ltd. and how different& client-oriented the company's process was from other MFIs. Amanpreet initiated the discussions withother women in her village and formed a group and together, they applied for the Joint Liability Group
Loans, known as Limited Liability Group (LLG) Loan amongst SATYA clients. All the women in Amanpreet's
group have successfully started their different businesses and are now earning good profits as well. Mostof them have either set-up their new business or expanded their enterprises. Some of them have evengone in for a second-cycle bigger loan of up to INR. 46,000. Talking about one of the major and uniquebenefits, Amanpreet says, "I had never heard of any finance company offering respite from paying loan
instalments during the festival times. This was indeed an absolutely new concept offered by SATYA and has
benefitted a lot of women in my village. We don't feel overly burdened and happily celebrate our festivals
without any tension of repayments at those particular times.” Her business has flourished and recently she
has upgraded herself for an Individual Micro Loan (IML), a bigger loan with monthly repayment cycle forfurther business expansion. Through SATYA’s financial literacy programme, she came to know aboutcashless transactions and its advantages. By the time she has started following this basic principle ofdepositing all their earnings into the bank account, she is able to earn now between INR. 1,500 - 2,000 perday, amounting to over INR 150 K per quarter, and able to save money for her future needs.

Ms. Sridevi TR
Entrepreneur of the year – Micro
Eco Mom Natural & Herbal – Tamil Nadu
Eco Mom Natural & Herbal Traders is a quality driven organization offering a wide range of natural honeyproducts, desi ghee, turmeric, amla honey and cinnamon honey etc. With an initiative to provide goodquality, unadulterated products without any presence of middlemen, Mrs. Sridevi started this business
when she became across the tribal community who makes this honey without disturbing the natural
habitat of bees. This served as a blessing in disguise for her as she had lost her job as well, but she had aheart to move forward with this business idea. She started Ecomom Natural and Herbal Traders along withthe support of her family. She procures the honey straight from the tribal community & transports toChennai. With the help of her family in the packaging of the products, Sridevi sells it to domestic
households and commercial hotspots like supermarkets in the city. She has been a source of great
motivation for others around her to start their businesses as well including her husband, her friends &acquaintances in various fields related to financial services and designing / online services. Social
Intervention: Some of her social initiatives include providing her products free of cost to cancer patients &manufacturing masks (during Covid-19 crisis). For sustainability and contribution to environment, She uses
only glass bottles for the packaging of her products She also plans to setup a factory by 2021 mid February.

Ms. Yangmila Zimik
Entrepreneur of the year – Micro (1St Runner Up)
Shirin products – Manipur
Ms. Yangmila Zimik is a 45 years old hard working single mother. As Ms. Yangmila Zimik did not got enoughopportunities to study due to financial crunches of her family, she always wanted to provide better
education to her children. However, her income from selling vegetables door to door for many years was
not sufficient to meet the needs of her family. In the year 2012, she joined Socio Economic Action Trust(SEAT) as a member. She also started participating in various capacity building training imparted by SEAT &joined livelihood skills training on food processing organized by SEAT supported by FWWB. With newly
imparted skills, she decided to opt for food processing business and took up her first loan from SEAT worth
INR 15,000. Her choice of business was also carefully made after assessing the local geography. Ukhrul
district is one of the top fruits and vegetables producing districts in Manipur. Initially she struggled to findthe market for her products, but she did not loose hope. She used to walk 10-15 km every day to sell her
products door to door and in retail shops. Slowly, customer started liking her products and the demand
increased gradually. After 2 years of hard work, her business picked up and a time came when she could nolonger meet the clients demand. Now, she has 6 staff working under her to fulfill the demand. Ms.
Yangmila Zimik sincerely expresses her heartfelt gratitude to SEAT & FWWB for extending their helping
hand and reaching out to many poor women like her by not only providing financial support but also
providing them technical skills on various income generation activities. In future, Ms. Yangmila Zimik plans
to subscribe to e-commerce platforms and market her products through the same to the larger customer
groups.

Ms. Kaalima Khatun
Entrepreneur of the year – Micro
Nihaayat bangles store – Bihar
Ms. Kalima Khatoon, lives in a very small village of Muzaffarpur, Bihar. She is a young 23 years old SATYA’s
client who is not only running her bangle factory business but has also emerged as an inspiring
entrepreneur for 200+ women. She is providing bangle making training to the ladies in her village andmotivating them to be an independent woman. When Kalima Khatoon get married, the bangle factory was
supplying the product in the nearest locality. She analyzed that the bangle factory needs a financial
support to expand the business and supply the product. Both herself and her husband planned to expand
their business and asked help from the friends and relative but that financial help from the friends andrelatives did not met the requirement of their business. One day Kalima heard about SATYA's group loan
from the village women. After enquiring, she got to know that SATYA also provides personal microenterprise loan and after applying, she finally got the loan of seventy thousand after all process. Now
Kalima Khatoon's Bangle factory is supplying the bangles in 4 districts and they are planning to expand
their supply chain in all districts of Bihar gradually. Ms. Kalima Khatoon is also providing bangle making
training to 200+ ladies in her village and inspiring them to be an independent woman. She also works forthe financial literacy of women in their village and help them to avail formal loan from financial institution
along with making them aware about digital literacy and digital banking.

Face of Women Inspiration
Dr. Kshama Fernandes - MD & CEO - Northern Arc Capital
Kshama is the CEO of Northern Arc Capital and its founding Chief Risk Officer.
Kshama has an MBA, a Ph.D. in Finance, and is a GARP certified Financial Risk
Manager. Prior to joining Northern Arc, she was the Head of the Finance
Department at the Goa Institute of Management“Empowerment gives you a sense of dignity. What all we are doing is to makeunderbanked & underserved empowered. I hope all of you will neverunderestimate the importance of work we are doing to change the world.”_____________________________________________________________________

Felicitation
Ms. Swati Das - Actress (Hindi Medium Fame)
Swati Das is a theatre and film actor. She debuted in the Bollywood with the movie
Duur (2013) and was noticed in Bombay Talkies (2013) and Hindi Medium (2017).
“I would like to congratulate all the winners. Also, I would also like to extend
salute & sense of empathy to all the winners for the tough paths and theexhaustion which came all your way. Thank You Tiwari Ji & SATYA MicoCapital Ltd.
for honouring my mother and for carrying forward her legacy.”_____________________________________________________________________

Panel Discussion – Women Empowerment via Microfinance
Dr. Kshama Fernandes - MD & CEO - Northern Arc Capital
Kshama is the CEO of Northern Arc Capital and its founding Chief Risk Officer.
Kshama has an MBA, a Ph.D. in Finance, and is a GARP certified Financial Risk
Manager. Prior to joining Northern Arc, she was the Head of the Finance
Department at the Goa Institute of Management.
“Financial independence is essential not a choice”_____________________________________________________________________

Ms. Praachi Gandhi - Sociologist, Founder & CEO, Aananda Foundation
She is a Sociologist, Ex-Lecturer and Soft-Skills trainer from the Delhi School of
Economics, Delhi University, India. She is also a ‘CERISE Certified SPI4 External
Auditor’ working in the field of Social Performance Management (SPM) andClient Protection Principles (CPP) in Microfinance Institutions (MFI) around theworld. At Gojo, Praachi heads social performance management using her field
experience to make sure that the partner MFIs of Gojo fulfil their social
responsibility.
“It is very important for all of us to look at the social cultural subtext very
seriously. I really appreciate SATYA’s human touch model by which we are notreally giving up communication with women. That juncture where we can be
educated lot to support our women folks to do better for themselves, that
could be an empowered country with empowered women. Microfinanceindustry being the bastion of changemaker will definitely empower women.”__________________________________________________________________Mr. Mukesh Mohan Gupta - President - Chamber of Indian MSME
A Chartered Accountant & Member of National Board for MSME, Ministry ofMicro, Small, Medium Enterprises. He currently holds Directorship at various
institutions like Dena Bank, Artson Engineering Limited (A Subsidiary of TATA
Projects Limited), Madras Fertilizers Limited, Hindustan Fertilizers Limited & JCT
Electronics Limited.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to SATYA. The way Vivek ji
has paved way for achieving success since its establishment in 2016 is worth all
the praise. There is no particular sector in today’s society where we can say
women cannot function. That’s the power of women empowerment.”__________________________________________________________________

Mr. Harsh Shrivastava - Ex CEO – Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN)
Harsh has 23 years’ experience in advising businesses and governments on policy.
Before joining as the CEO of MFIN, he was the head of corporate affairs andcommunication at Feedback Infra, which is India’s leading provider of
infrastructure services.
“It is evident enough that we all should consciously choose to facilitate platforms
for women empowerment & that is what exactly SATYA is doing. Our nation isconstituted by complex diversities in every aspect. Empowering them isequally complex & diversified process. Microfinance has broken down all thosecomplex barriers.”____________________________________________________________________

Mr. Rakesh Dubey- Director – Shubhlakshmi Finance Private Ltd.
He holds a master’s degree in business administration & a PG Diploma in Rural
Development Management. He has more than 20 years of experience and having
exposure of setting up microfinance institutions domestic as well as international.
Board Member of Sa-dhan and Treasurer of UPMA, he has earlier served as
President of MFIN as well.
“Women empowerment through microfinance was an incomprehensible concept
25 years back when we started. But today when we recall the journey, we feel wehave created financial literacy among women via money management. The largest
organized sector which is empowering women through money management ismicrofinance.”____________________________________________________________________

Panel Discussion – Empowering Woman, Empowering Nation
Dr. Kcalpana Bhushan – Winner of International Award & Leading Woman ClassicalDance Artist in India
She is Ph.D. in Sangeet Prabhakar, Sangeet Praveen and Nritya Visharad. Besides
in-depth studies in the folk dances, she has mastered the country’s leading classic
styles such as Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, and Mohiniattam. Dr.
Kcalpana, the highest graded artist for ICCR, TV & A.I.R, worked in films on small
screen & Runs Kcalpana Kala Kendra. Winner of International Award Leading
Woman Classical Dance Artist in India, Woman Achiever of India, Indian Woman
Entrepreneur for Social Cause. She has also been awarded with titles like Shringar
Mani, Nritya Mayuri, Nritya Praveena, Nritya Bharathi, Bhaav Nipunika.
“How can one empower the already powered? To get empowered all you need to
do is to fight with the world, society & families. Believe in Yourself and stand up
for yourself.”___________________________________________________________________

Ms. Maya Vishwakarma – PADWOMAN of India, Founder & President, Sukarma
Foundation
Maya Vishwakarma, also known as "The Padwoman of India," is the founder andchairperson of the Sukarma Foundation. Her master’s thesis/dissertation work at
the AIIMS, New Delhi, focused on Nuclear Medicine. Maya has worked on
developing leukemia vaccines and on bone-marrow gene therapy, and hervarious works and expertise have been featured in Time Magazine, The Economic
Times, and Al Jazeera America, among other news media outlets.
“It is very important to keep a track of values we instill onto kids since their childhood,because these values are forms the crux of their future. It is equally important to talkabout your problems & devise a solution with holistic approach. Availability, affordability

& awareness are main 3 key elements which can sum up the provision of solutions incontemporary world. We can empower women based on their developed skills, ability,
creativity, intent & worth. We need to change our mindset which directly comparesworking efficiency & limits of men & women.”___________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Suman Khanna Aggarwal - Gandhian Philosopher, Founder & President Shanti
Sahyog
An Associate Professor of Philosophy, Delhi University, India, from 1979 to 2013.
Suman Khanna Aggarwal obtained her doctoral degree on Gandhian thought in1978 and has since translated her theoretical knowledge into practical action by
founding the Gandhian NGO – Shanti Sahyog that works in 17 South Delhi slums(Kalkaji/ Govindpuri are) and Tughlakabad Village, New Delhi. She was awarded
with The Rotary Vocational Award, National IHRO Women Empowerment Award,
Delhi NGO’s in Healthcare, ZEE Business Leadership Award.
“Mahatama Gandhi said, “Judge a country, by the place it gives to its women.
Following that, he also used to say two things. First - Poverty is the worst form of
violence and second – an ounce of practice is much better than tons of theory.
Being empowered comes from self-actualization & this process of self-actualization
comes from within. Once this need of self-actualization is felt by oneself, no bodycan stop you either. From that stage, empowerment process goes on”_____________________________________________________________________

Ms. Aditi Chaturvedi Behl - Entrepreneur/Co-Founder iLEAD
She gained specialization in Human Resource Management after completing her
Post Graduation & working with Accenture Management Consulting for about 6
years. In 2019, she co-founded Saint Lutalica, a premium street wear clothing
brand which was featured as ‘Top 15 HomeGrown Tshirt Brands in India’ by Vogue
Magazine last year. Aditi co-founded ‘iLEAD’ in 2018, a nonprofit organizationcommitted to creating an inclusive community for building & mentoring future
women leaders of the country.
“Empowerment is a continuous process. As the time passes, we continue to evolve,
grow & get empowered. Nobody can teach you how to empower yourself, nobody
can mentor you, I believe the concept of getting empowered is very instinctive. It is
the responsibility of women to stand for each other and lend a hand of support
each other. If women are given the responsibility of a leader, I believe they will bephenomenal & there is no doubt in that”_____________________________________________________________________

Session: Microfinance Industry from the eye of our beloved Madam Viji
Mr. Rakesh Dubey- Director – Shubhlakshmi Finance Private Ltd.
He holds a master’s degree in business administration & a PG Diploma in Rural
Development Management. He has more than 20 years of experience and having
exposure of setting up microfinance institutions domestic as well as international.
Board Member of Sadhan and Treasurer of UPMA, he has earlier served as
President of MFIN as well.
“It was a shock for us to learn about the sudden demise of Viji Ma’am. We whohave worked with her so closely still feels as if we have lost someone whom webelong. Her guidance and her thoughts will always guide us. Behind all the
successful men in Indian Microfinance Industry there is a lady behind them & thatis Viji Madam. We are proud of Vivek Ji & SATYA MicroCapital for launching &organizing these Awards.”_____________________________________________________________________
Mr. Sudhir Sinha – Chief Executive Officer – UPMA
Sudhir is a science graduate from Lucknow University. He initiated his Banking
Career since 1972. During a span of 41 years, he is worked in various capacities
besides heading branches from Rural, Semi Urban to Metro, Small Medium Largeand ELBs. He has previously worked in the states of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
He retired from the Bank in February,2013 and joined UPMA in December,2013. He
has been heading the same since March 2017.
“Viji Madam’s personality was a great visioner. Whatever we have done till now &whatever we will be doing going forward she had envisioned it all. She will always
remain in our hearts till eternity, but the way SATYA has given tribute to her bydedicating & launching Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards is worth all therespect & applause.”_____________________________________________________________________

Mr. P. Satish - Executive Director – Sa-Dhan
He has 33 years of experience in the financial sector, with RBI, NABARD andmicrofinance sector, before joining Sa-Dhan as its Executive Director in March2015. Mr. P. Satish was earlier heading the Micro Credit Innovations Departmentof the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) as the Chief
General Manager.
“Our association with Viji Madam started via Nabard way back in early 90s. In past
two years before she left us for her heavenly abode, she was our coach. All her
views on microfinance which she consistently shared with us had one approach incommon, that is – If microfinance does not have focus on development &community orientation, it is no microfinance at all.
_____________________________________________________________________

Mr. Gaurav Gupta- MD- Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth Pvt. Ltd.
Chartered Accountant by qualification with 20 years of experience in banking,finance, and a clean-tech start-up entrepreneurial venture. Joined Ananya as COO
and has made significant contributions in the company's turnaround over the past
six years.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vivek Ji and entire team of SATYA
MicroCapital Ltd. for organizing these awards. This actually means a lot for us. Viji
Ma’am’s attitude of never giving up has not only inspired us but has also helped in
shaping who we are today. She was a woman of complete exceptional courage”.

Mr. Sanjay Gandhi- Founder and Chief Investment Officer - Gojo & Company Inc.
He has been working in the field of Micro Finance for 17 years (since 2003). He
conducted around 150 assessments and ratings of MFIs in around 25 countries in
Asia, Africa, and CIS. He provided support to MFIs on various aspects, which
helped in them becoming better MFIs. He is one of the Funders of Gojo&
Company and the Chief investment Officer.
“Viji Madam had an eye for detail. She always observed things in details & shared
her experience in detail. It is a great honour to be a part of this evening which isan absolute tribute to Mother of Indian Microfinance Industry. I thank Vivek &SATYA MicroCapital Ltd. From bottom of my heart.”

Mr. Saneesh Singh - MD & CEO - Dia Vikas Capital Pvt. Ltd.
Saneesh has 26 years of experience in the fields of development, banking, andfinance, financial inclusion, MSME lending and impact investments. He is currently
the Managing Director & CEO of Dia Vikas Capital Pvt. Ltd. Saneesh is a member of
Inclusive Finance India Group of Advisors and serves on MFI and Small FinanceBank boards. Saneesh holds a PGD in Information Management and Systems
Administration; a master’s degree in Social Work and is a British Chevening Scholarof Banking and Finance from The London School of Economics and Political Science.
“I met Viji Maam during the course of mid 90s when we were looking forward to
expansion & exposure of MFIs via SIDBI. Viji Maam had the vision of planting
seeds of microfinance & today we are seeing the fruits of seeds implanted byher.”_____________________________________________________________________

Ms. Vivek Tiwari - MD, CEO & CIO – SATYA MicroCapital Ltd.
Mr. Vivek Tiwari, holds a Post Graduate Degree in Rural Development &Management from the Institute of Engineering & Rural Technology, Allahabad.
Apart from acquiring prolific experience of nearly two decades in theMicrofinance and Development Sector; Mr. Tiwari is also a certified professionalof Concentration in Management Programme from Boulder MicrofinanceTraining, Italy. His proficiency outlines extreme focus on the innovative
deployment of technological framework for incubating responsible lending,financial inclusion & social entrepreneurship.
“When we laid the foundation of SATYA MicroCapital, we approached Madam Viji
to guide us from the Board. She was a guardian who helped in shaping SATYA
since day 1 of its establishment. Focussing on client centric approach, she wasvery careful about client protection, grievance redressal & sustainable businessmodel.”____________________________________________________________________

Independent Speaker – Dr. Rita Gangwani
Ms. Rita Gangwani – Motivational speaker, Author, Pageant Coach
A Multi-Gifted Motivational speaker, Author, Pageant coach, Etiquette consultant,
Actress, Author, Healer and entrepreneur and above all, a fellow human being who
understands exactly what is holding you back from true success and how you canovercome these inner ‘blocks. For her thinking she has made it to TOP 10 THINKERS
OF INDIA LIST And Has Received LORD BEDEN POWELL NATIONAL AWARD BY THE
PRESIDENT OF INDIA Twice In A Row, RAJIV GANDHI LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD, APAR VASHISHT SEWA SAMMAN, JEWEL OF INDIA, RASHTRIYASANSKAAR BHUSHAN,INDIAN ICON , TOP HUNDRED PERSONALITIES OF DELHI,
Women on Top award And Many National And International Decorations Year
After Year.
Her Authored book, The Beauty Pageants Greenroom endorsed with a foreword by
Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen is being appreciate worldwide. She Teaches atvarious slums and Motivate street children, Rehabilitates and reforms the prison
inmates of Tihar Jail , and is part of “ Gift a Tree Movement” started by former
President of India Dr.Abdul Kalam.
She writes for many Magazines, Newspapers and appears regularly on T.V and FM
as Motivational speaker. Recently she has ventured into the world of Bollywood
and has done three films.
“I have seldom heard, a woman has no home, but ironically the fact is without awoman there is a home is not a home. It is a woman only who transforms a houseinto home and that is the best part of being a woman.”

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Session on - Resilience and Adaptability
Ms. Samira Gupta- International Best-Selling Author & Motivational Speaker
She is the Founder, Chief Image Consultant & an Executive Presence Coach at
Auraa Image Management and Consulting. She has personally coached over 200
individuals and has trained over 50,000 mid & senior level corporate professionals.
Samira has studied hundreds of hours from the top mentors in areas like: Image
Consulting, Life Coaching, Relationship Coaching, Executive Coaching (MGSSCC)
etc.
“Adversity does not discriminate. Adaptability & resilience are two most important
key elements which help us in triumphing over adversities in life. Be prepared topull out all your limiting beliefs, old habits & patterns so that you can take newflights of success in your life.”_____________________________________________________________________