Manoj Kumar

A Robert McNamara Fellow of the World Bank, Manoj Kumar shifted his career from banking to the social sector when he took over as the founding CEO of Naandi Foundation in Hyderabad in 2000. Serving at the helm of Naandi, Manoj strived to create a sustainable model of outsourcing government programmes demonstrating successful large scale implementation with efficiency and measurable outcomes. One of the largest portfolios of Naandi Foundation is its work with smallholder farmers, replicating the now well-known ‘Araku Way’ in India. The Naandi Foundation is currently implementing a large-scale agroforestry project with the help of the Livelihoods Carbon Fund in the Araku Valley- planting trees, coffee and mango crops over 6,000 hectares with the local Adivasi farmers. Manoj is a Fellow and Moderator of the Aspen Institute, Colorado and on the Advisory Boards of Swiss headquartered Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Livelihoods Carbon Fund. He holds various positions to influence the philanthropy activities of companies globally including: Anand Mahindra, Danone, Firmenich, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Austin, USA, to name a few. The Financial Times named Manoj Kumar as one of the 25 Indians to watch out for in the future in 2013.