Ms. Praseeda Kunam
Ms. Praseeda Kunam is the founder and CEO of Arriba Inclusive Finance Pvt. Ltd. She has over 25 years of experience across the financial and social inclusion space in India, with her work in microfinance, financial literacy, and advising small and micro enterprises. She is also the Founder/CEO of Samhita Community Development Services, a not-for-profit Section-25 (now Section 8) company founded in 2007, providing financial and social services to women of poor households in 36 districts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. She holds an MBA and Masters in Information Management from Washington University, St. Louis, along with a BA in Economics from St. Ann’s College, Hyderabad.
Ms. Lakshmi Viswanathan
Ms. Lakshmi Viswanathan is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in strategy, international development and impact investing, having worked in Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America, and India. Currently, Ms. Lakshmi Viswanathan is an investment specialist at the UNCDF BUILD Fund and supports DFIs and leading NGOs on strategic topics. Previously, Ms. Lakshmi Viswanathan was the MD and COO at Yunus Social Business Funds gGmbH in Germany, overseeing the Fund’s portfolio across Latin America, East Africa, and India. Ms. Lakshmi Viswanathan was also for several years the Vice President (Strategy & Operational Excellence) at Sodexo SA, and a strategy consultant and an independent advisor at McKinsey. She holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business, Michigan and a Bachelors in English Literature from Osmania University.
Mr. Luca Torre
Mr. Luca Torre is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Gawa Capital and has more than 15 years of experience in the design, launch and management of impact investment funds that target financial inclusion and sustainable agriculture in emerging markets. He pioneered the use of blended finance mechanisms, such as the Huruma Fund, a €120 million fund that leverages public and private capital to transform financial institutions that serve farmers in Africa and Latin America. He also serves as a board member/observer in several portfolio companies, providing strategic guidance and governance oversight. Prior to Gawa, Luca worked at Credit Suisse Investment Banking in New York advising many microfinance institutions in accessing capital markets, including the Banco Compartamos IPO.
Ms. Vishakha Rajesh Maheshwari
After leading IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company, an INR 27,000 crore in assets under management and INR 7,000 crore gross written premium company, as MD and CEO for close to a decade, Vishakha RM is now an executive coach. She is pursuing the 2025 Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow program at Harvard University from August 2024.
A chartered accountant and banking & financial services professional with over 37 years of experience, Vishakha has worked across Canara HSBC OBC Life, Ageas, Universal Sompo General, Birla Sun Life, and New India Assurance before joining IndiaFirst Life to lead it. Over her substantive career she has earned many prestigious awards including BW Disrupt CEO of the year, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in India (for three years), Forbes Top 30, CA Business Leader – Woman, Business Today Most Powerful Women, amongst others. She has been an active member of industry forums including being the co-chair of the CII National Committee for Insurance and Pensions for over 5 years and an executive member of Bloomberg’s Buyside Women Network. She has been conferred the prestigious Vanguard Market Development Award, 2024 by the International Insurance Society (IIS), taking her recognition into the international arena.