Swadhaar FinServe Pvt. Ltd. – Leadership Team

Swadhaar’s leaders bring with them a wide range of experience in the finance, IT, legal and development fields.

Veena Mankar, Managing Director
Mrs. Veena Mankar, one of the two founders of Swadhaar, has over 30 years of experience in development and commercial banking, having started her career with the erstwhile finance institution, ICICI Ltd. (now ICICI Bank Ltd.). She has served as an independent consultant to a number of international banks and was the India country representative of WestLB Group, a European commercial bank. In addition, Mrs. Mankar was the founding Managing Director of a Non-Banking Finance Company offering factoring, which established itself as India’s largest independent factoring company in just three years under her leadership. Mrs. Mankar continues to be a consultant to the Malta-based FIMBank and serves as a Director on the boards of three of FIMBank’s factoring joint ventures, respectively based in India, Dubai and Egypt.

Mrs. Mankar earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Rajaram Kamath, Chief Executive Officer (Seconded by ACCION International)
Mr. Rajaram Kamath has 20 plus years of experience in the areas of sales, distribution and business development. He has had significant exposure in building organizations from start-up mode to dominant player/market leader. He has lead business center operations covering all functions of sales and sales support including training & development, business development, reward and recognition, channel management and customer service in FMCG, Telecom and Life Insurance. Mr. Kamath joined Swadhaar as Chief Executive Officer in November 2011

Mr. Kamath graduated with a Bachelors degree in Commerce (distinction) from University of Mysore. He has attended various workshops and knowledge enhancement courses, such as, Leadership skills course for Top Management – ISB Hyderabad, Young Managers Fast Track Development Program at IIMB, Personal Effectiveness Lab – XLRI, QIPM: (Quality Improvement Process Management).

Abhishek Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer (Seconded by ACCION International)
Mr. Abhishek Agrawal joined ACCION International (ACCION) in July 2009 and was seconded to Swadhaar in September 2010. Before joining ACCION, Mr. Agrawal worked for nearly 5 years with FINCA International, a global network of microfinance institutions (MFIs). He assumed the role of Chief Finance Officer in various FINCA-affiliated MFIs, including in Afghanistan, Congo and Jordan. Prior to working with FINCA, Mr. Agrawal acted as advisor of the Institute of Chartered Accountants India (ICAI), where he worked in Urban Reforms & Development for the Government of India. Prior to joining the Swadhaar team, he was seconded by ACCION to YES Sampann (the direct microfinance division of Yes Bank) as Head of Finance.

Mr. Agrawal is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from Rai International University.

Soju Annie George, Deputy COO
Ms. Soju Annie George has a number of years of experience in the fields of microfinance and development and manages the branch network at Swadhaar as Deputy COO. She has been working with the company since 2006 and has played a vital role in the institution’s development, serving in a number of capacities over the years. Prior to joining Swadhaar, Ms. George was a Manager and Consultant on the microfinance team of the Social Initiatives Group, a grant-making group within ICICI Bank. As part of her work at ICICI, Ms. George developed an occupation-based cluster model for delivery of financial services to the urban poor, which she pilot-tested among Mumbai’s street hawkers.

Ms. George holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Agriculture, Thiruvananthapuram and a post-graduate diploma in Rural Management from IRMA.

Anjali Seth, Legal Advisor
Ms. Anjali Seth has served as legal counsel to a number of companies and banks, including ANZ Grindlays Bank Limited, the International Finance Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank, where she was Head of the Legal Department in India. Ms. Seth has extensive experience drafting legal documentation for banks and serving as a liaison to the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Finance and other statutory and regulatory authorities. Since 2006, Ms. Seth has worked as a freelance legal consultant and is the Legal Advisor at Swadhaar.

Ms. Seth holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from R.G. Girls’ Degree College, Meerut and an LLB from Campus Law Centre, New Delhi.

Atanu Bhaumik, Chief Manager – Information Technology
Mr. Atanu Bhaumik is an IT management professional with over 15years of experience at senior management levels in IT Infra & ITES companies. He has been a mentor and a motivator in various projects relating to IT infrastructure, design and planning, technical leadership, and ERP implementation. His major focus areas are project management and infrastructure setup and management. At TOPSGRUP he planned IT strategy, lead and managed IT Operations for 10years and, under his leadership, transitioned the company to a full equipped IT Infra setup. Mr. Bhaumik joined Swadhaar as Chief Manager of Information Technology in November 2011.

Mr. Bhaumik has graduated in Commerce with a specialization in Math from Mumbai University

Urmee Mehta Mankar, Chief Manager – Strategy
Ms. Urmee Mehta Mankar has professional experience in the fields of development and urban planning. Through an internship at the United Nations Habitat team in Nairobi, Kenya, Ms. Mankar researched best practices in housing finance for the poor, and has worked on several research projects on International Development. She also worked with several architectural firms, before joining the promoters of Swadhaar FinAccess in 2004. Ms. Mankar was involved with the Company’s pre-inception research, business plan, and fund-raising. She transferred to Swadhaar FinServe in 2008 to prepare for the launch of operations. Ms. Mankar is the Chief Manager of Strategy at Swadhaar.

Ms. Mankar holds a degree in architecture from the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad and a master’s degree in Urban Planning (with a focus on International Development) from the University of Michigan.

Venkateshwara Prabhu .A, Chief Manager – Human ResourcesMr.
Venkateshwara Prabhu has 10 plus years of experience in the areas of sales, business development and human resources. He has contributed significantly through various programs of leadership, recruitment, employee engagement and retention in his previous roles. These programs have set the benchmark for further development of other initiatives. He has lead business operations of sales and sales support and achieved rewards for over accomplishing the area and regional targets in the field of Insurance, Sales, Recruitment, etc. His areas of expertise include the development of comprehensive HR strategic planning for retention /recruitment, budget analysis and performance management. Mr. Prabhu joined Swadhaar as Chief Manager of Human Resources in December 2011.

Mr. Prabhu holds a MMM degree from Mumbai University, EPHRM from IMM Calcutta and B.E. degree in Industrial Production from Mangalore University. He also has cleared the Lead Auditor course for ISO 9001, 2000, AMFI and IRDA.

Arun Sharma, Chief Internal Auditor
Mr. Arun Sharma has over eight years of experience in auditing operations, risk assessment and advisory, and client-relationship management. In 2004, Mr. Sharma joined the Internal Audit team at GTL Ltd., Mumbai, where his responsibilities included overseeing the company’s risk management, control and governance systems, supporting its anti-fraud programs, and conducting internal audits. During his time at GTL, Mr. Sharma served as Senior Manager of both the Risk Management and Treasury Audit teams before becoming Senior Manager, International Operations Audit. In this position, Mr. Sharma gained experience in conducting various management and operational audits for GTL’s Europe and USA operations. In November 2010, Mr. Sharma joined Swadhaar as Chief Internal Auditor.

Mr. Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from KR Degree College, Agra University. He also holds a degree in general management and a diploma in financial management from the Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai.

Reena Sen, Financial Consultant (Acting Deputy Chief Financial Officer)
Ms. Reena Sen has over thirteen years of professional experience in the fields of accounting, audit, taxation and finance. During her employment at an independent chartered accountancy practice, Ms. Sen’s projects included conducting statutory audit of State Bank of India branches. As a Taxation Manager at M/s M. L. Bhuwania & Co., she was responsible for finalising the accounts of major corporate clients and publishing articles on issues relating to income tax law. In addition, Ms. Sen has worked as an Audit Officer with an USAID project for three years, where she audited organisational operations and associated non-governmental organisations. Ms. Sen became Swadhaar’s Financial Consultant in 2008.

Ms. Sen is a chartered accountant. In addition to that, she holds two degrees from Raipur University, Chhattisgarh, including a bachelor’s of commerce and a bachelor’s of laws.

Swadhaar’s leaders bring with them a wide range of experience in the finance, IT, legal and development fields. Reena Sen, Financial Consultant (Acting Deputy Chief Financial Officer)
Reena Sen has a great deal of professional experience in the fields of accounting and taxation. During her employment at an independent chartered accountancy practice, Ms. Sen’s projects included conducting a statutory audit of State Bank of India branches. As a Taxation Manager at M/s M. L. Bhuwania & Co., she was responsible for finalising the accounts of major corporate clients and publishing articles on issues relating to income tax law. In addition, Ms. Sen has worked as an Audit Officer at the Avert Society, where she audited organisational operations and associated non-governmental organisations. Ms. Sen became Swadhaar’s Financial Consultant in 2008.

Ms. Sen is a chartered accountant. In addition, she holds two degrees from Raipur University, Chattisgarh, including a bachelor’s of commerce and a bachelor’s of laws.


	Swadhaar firmly believes that if an employee has the attitude and aptitude for a higher position, s/he should be given a chance to apply for that position. Personally, I am very encouraged by the trust and support from my Swadhaar family. Professionally, I am very excited to develop new skills and excel in my position.
	– Shweta Pereira, Consultant, ACCION International

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