Vineet Rai

Vineet Rai is the Founder of Aavishkaar Group and chairs its Board and Group Executive Council. Aavishkaar Group is an Impact Investment Platform impacting millions of people in Asia and Africa using an entrepreneurship based development approach.

Vineet believes in building impact ecosystems to deliver real Impact as enshrined in the vision of Aavishkaar Group “We exist to bridge the Opportunity gap for the Emerging 3 Billion”. Vineet believes that Impact Investing has the potential to change the world of finance irreversibly.

The Group’s ecosystems include Aavishkaar Capital – the Impact fund manager focused on Global South, Arohan – One of India’s largest & most digitally advanced microfinance institution (MFI) targeting low income households, Ashv Finance – a Fin Tech NBFC, offering unique cash flow based business loans to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and IntelleCap –building Impact Ecosystems globally.

Aavishkaar Group has 8000 employees, manages assets in excess of US $ 1.2 Billion while trying to serve needs of entrepreneurs from debt of US $ 150 (INR 10 thousands) to equity of US $ 15 Million (INR 100 Crore) while aligning the group to 13 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDG’s.

Vineet has received numerous awards including the 2021 Access-HSBC Inclusive Finance India Award for personal contribution to Financial Inclusion in India, TIE Hall of Fame 2018, the Impact Investor of the Year by News Corp for 2016, Porter Prize for Strategic Leadership in Social Space, 2016, CNBC TV 18 Award for being the Catalyst Fund for India 2016, G 20 – SME Innovation in Finance Award 2010 in Seoul South Korea, UNDP-IBLF –ICC World Business Award in 2005 and Lemelson Award for Social Venture Investing. In 2021 Vineet Rai and Swati Rai (Co-Founder) was awarded the Faces of Vibrant Bharat 2021 by Grant Thorton Bharat. He is an Ashoka Fellow and Honorary Member of XLRI Alumni Association.

In 2022, Vineet has been appointed on the G20 Start up 20 Engagement Group Task Force on Sustainability and Securities and Exchange Board of India has appointed him on Advisory Committee of the Social Stock Exchange. Vineet was invited by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his “Roundtable interaction with Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds”. In 2021. Vineet was also invited by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for consultations on doubling the income of the farmers in September 2017 as part of his champions of change program. Vineet has also served on the advisory committee of SEBI for the formation of Social Stock Exchange, as Commissioner at the Business Commission for Sustainable Development, as Senior Advisor to Blended Finance Working Group at OECD and as an Advisor to United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Board.

Vineet featured on the cover of Forbes India, January 2018 issue. Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever endorsed Aavishkaar Intellecap Group for its efforts in furthering inclusive development.

Driving on Indian roads is one of his passions and he tries to cover 50,000 KM every year.