NEW DELHI, April 18, 2017—Grameen Foundation India, an innovator in the use of digital technology to advance financial inclusion, has named Prabhat Labh as its new CEO. He succeeds Chandni Ohri who helped to launch the company and has served as CEO since 2011. An international development expert with more than two decades of experience in leading programs and initiatives across Asia, Africa and North America. Prabhat brings with him an indepth knowledge of financial inclusion.
“This is a time of extraordinary transformation and opportunity in India. Prabhat’s expertise makes him the ideal person to expand Grameen Foundation India’s work to bring viable financial services to the country’s poorest regions,” said Steve Hollingworth, president and CEO of Grameen Foundation. “Our achievements in India would not have been possible without the leadership of Chandni Ohri and we are pleased that she will continue to play key role in Grameen Foundation’s global work.”
Grameen Foundation India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grameen Foundation, a global nonprofit dedicated to ending poverty and hunger.
"I feel honoured to be appointed as the CEO of Grameen Foundation India," said Prabhat Labh. “The team's work using technology to expand financial and health innovations is especially exciting and I look forward to accelerating our growth and impact for the betterment of poor and underserved communities in India."
Commenting on Prabhat’s appointment, Chandni Ohri said, “Driven by the core values of equity, empathy and integrity, throughout his career Prabhat has focused on understanding the complex lives of poor people and the challenges they face.” She further added, “We are excited to have him on board as he brings strong leadership skills, international exposure and a shared vision.”
Prabhat previously designed and led programs at The MasterCard Foundation that focused on access to savings services for low-income populations. Combining insights from the fields of sociology, behavioural economics and technology, he developed a coherent strategy that succeeded in extending access to savings services for millions of people across seventeen countries in Africa.
Earlier, Prabhat served as the Senior Technical Advisor for CARE USA’s Pan-Africa microfinance initiative ‘Access Africa,’ where he provided technical assistance to more than a dozen country programs in Asia and Africa. He has also served on the faculty of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, where he focused on the development of youth-led microenterprises and rural industries.
Grameen Foundation India aims to measurably improve the lives of India’s poor by increasing their incomes and enhancing their resilience. Its current projects include helping members of women's groups repay microfinance loans safely using mobile phones, developing mobile-based products specifically for the poor, and enabling poor families to use their bank accounts more actively. It has worked with the Government of India to provide mobile technology-enabled health services to women and infants and to train frontline healthcare workers across the country.
For any information, please contact-
Gopika Gulati | marcomm [at] grameenfoundation.in | 9650603387
Liselle Yorke | lyorke [at] grameenfoundation.org | 202-794-7327
About Grameen Foundation India
Established in 2010, Grameen Foundation India (GFI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Grameen Foundation. Grameen Foundation India’s mission is to enable the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger. We provide strategic and technical expertise to leading social enterprises, financial services providers and technology providers to extend financial services and information to underserved communities, especially women. Our focus is on developing technology-enabled solutions to drive access and usage of a range of financial services. Our institutional partners include commercial banks, mobile network operators, microfinance institutions, healthcare providers and others. Together, we create solutions that help poor people to generate income, build assets, strengthen their resilience and manage risk. For more information, please visit- www.grameenfoundation.in
About Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation is a global nonprofit whose mission is to enable the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger. Our programs combine expertise and services in three key areas: digital financial services for women; mobile agricultural solutions for smallholder farmers; and health financing and access for the poor. More at www.grameenfoundation.org. Follow us on Twitter: @GrameenFdn. Like us on Facebook.