Experiencing India Fellow Professional

A Professional Fellow shares his experience

Sriram: Finance and Management Consultant for a rural development NGO in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra

Background:

I was working for four years in Corporate Banking at ICICI Bank and prior to start studying for my MBA at Indian School of Business in Hyderabad in April 2007, I had a couple of months available. I spent 2 months working with an NGO in rural Maharashtra.

Project:

The NGO works across a number of different rural development issues such as watershed management and women empowerment. I advised the organization from an organizational development perspective, supporting them with a review of their accounting systems, process and setting organizational strategies to maximize their operations. For example, a women's cooperative, supported by the NGO, were unable to sustain themselves. I developed and supported the implementation of a strategy which enable the cooperative from increasing their turnover from Rs1, 50,000 to Rs10, 00,000.

“I wanted to work with a rural NGO because I believe that for India to progress, development is required in both the urban and rural areas. By linking these two sectors, via professionals bringing their skills and expertise to the NGO sector, is one way of bridging the divide.”