Our Story
Unlike many countries (e.g., USA, China, Bangladesh, etc.), mass entrepreneurship (ME) is an underleveraged job creator in India. GAME – The Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship founded by Ravi Venkatesan, Madan Padaki and Mekin Maheshwari, was officially launched in August 2018, to unlock ME’s potential and as a convening body that brings alignment within the ecosystem and mobilises action to address systemic challenges.
Why Mass Entrepreneurship
The 'Missing Middle'
Self-Employed
Government schemes, MFIs, and livelihood programs have helped create 75 million individual entrepreneurs (set to double in 20 years)
Experts regard the majority of these entrepreneurs to be underemployed, effectively forming the ‘hidden unemployed’
Mass
Entrepreneurs
who hire or improve the incomes of 5 plus people, use local inputs or solve local problems
11% ME in India compared to a global average of 30–40%
Fast Growth Start-Ups
40%
Increase in the number of active incubators and accelerators in 2016 with impetus from government and corporates
30
New academic incubators established under ‘Start-up India Stand-up India’ initiative in 2016
350
Start-ups founded by young students in 2016
650
Total number of start-ups funded in 2016 by dedicated institutions
$40 Billion
Secretariat and Advisors
The team that’s making it possible
Ravi Venkatesan
FounderRavi Venkatesan is the founder of the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME).
Madan Padaki
Co-FounderMadan is the co-founder of (GAME). He is an entrepreneur & angel investor working at the intersection of youth transformation, creating entrepreneurs, driving rural growth & empowering social changemakers.
Mekin Maheshwari
Co-FounderMekin is a co-founder of GAME. He is extremely passionate about discovering & unleashing human potential and entrepreneurship.
Srinivas Rao Mahankali
CEOSrinivas joins as the leader to take GAME forward in its mission to catalyze 10 million Mass Entrepreneurs by 2030.
Sandhya Thukaram
Vice PresidentAt GAME, Sandhya is responsible for Ecosystem Engagement, Fundraising and the pathway to make Mass Entrepreneurship aspirational.
Padmasudha Chandrasekhar
Vice PresidentAs part of GAME, Padmasudha leads Technology and Tools. She has more than 30 years of professional experience at the leadership level in various industries such as FMCG, EPC and IT.
Kanchana KV
Vice PresidentKanchana KV leads Ecosystem Engagement at GAME primarily fostering strategic alliances that aid in both local and national interventions in Mass Entrepreneurship.
Santanu Chari
Vice PresidentSantanu Chari leads Partnerships at GAME and drives the operational initiatives of the pillar ‘Nurture Entrepreneurial Mindsets Early Amongst Youth’.
Priyadeep Sinha
Vice PresidentAt GAME, PD is focused on the taskforces and projects in driving mass entrepreneurship in the states
Ashwin Chandrasekhar
Vice PresidentAshwin is responsible for driving strategy, conceptual thinking and ideation, and research at GAME
Kinjal Sampat
Vice PresidentAt GAME Kinjal leads the functions of research, and also program monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
Archita Mal
ManagerAt GAME, Archita is responsible for seamlessly aligning all programs of the organization for social impact, through various marketing and communication activities
Leena Soni
ManagerLeena works as a Manager at GAME driving mass entrepreneurship movement across the country.
Gurudutt Ashwath
Vice PresidentGurudutt is responsible for setting up the Finance and Compliance infrastructure for GAME
Deepthi B.
ManagerAs part of GAME, Deepthi is working as manager for Partnerships & the Bangalore Task Force, which focuses on supporting women entrepreneurs in Urban Bangalore.
Harshita Agarwal
ManagerHarshita is a Manager for Strategy at GAME, working towards enabling a thriving ecosystem for entrepreneurship in India through the levers of financial linkages and inclusion, and ease of doing business.
Ramesh Dharmaji
CGM SIDBI (Retd.) AdvisorWith 38 years of experience in IDBI/SIDBI, Ramesh Dharmaji has worked extensively in the promotion, development, and financing of MSMEs across various geographies and clusters.
Sudhendu Bali
ConsultantSudhendu is a Consultant for the GAME’s bold experiment with the Govt. of Punjab to Punjab revitalize entrepreneurship in the State to regain its pre-eminent reputation as the most entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country.
KL Mukesh
AdvisorAs advisor to GAME, KL Mukesh provides the guidance and mentorship in developing the ecosystem to scale mass entrepreneurship.
Sandeep Banerjee
AdvisorSandeep is an entrepreneur and an angel investor nurturing younger ventures and helping them scale.
Advisory Board
Anjuly Chib Duggal
Advisory Board Member
Bhairavi Jani
Advisory Board Member
Gyanendra Badgaiyan
Advisory Board Member
Debasish Mitter
Advisory Board Member
Kuldeep Dantewdia
Advisory Board Member
Deepali Khanna
Advisory Board Member
Murli Ramachandran
Advisory Board Member
PG Raghuraman
Advisory Board Member
Anjani Bansal
Advisory Board Member
Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran
Advisory Board Member
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Be a part of the mass entrepreneurship movement
Organizational Culture & Values
| Be Entrepreneurial | Diversity & Inclusion | Constant Learning | Agility & Change | Transparency & Trust |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live their Dreams & Aspirations | Mix of Gender & Experience in Hiring | Task Forces to be cross functional | Build Time bound programs | Share Plans , Objectives and Results with Teams |
| Address,Challenges,& Develop Risk Taking Ability | Spread operations across the Country and Sectors | Collaborate with Institutions & Universities | Tweak , Remodel and revise Strategies on the Go. | Drive all Task Forces in tandem and holistically. |
| Spend Frugally | 50% of ME should be women | Build Pilots, Test , Replicate.. Playbooks | Core Team is Lean and Speed to Action | Create,environment of feedback and coaching |
| Encourage Creativity,and Innovation | Target nano and small entrepreneurs | Events, Workshops , Conferences and Seminars | Set Milestone checks to test results and change directions | ONE GAME.. Several players .. |
The Library
