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.
Suresh Gundappa
Chief Executive OfficerSuresh Gundappa is CEO of GAME. Suresh is passionate about Mind and Meditation. He is the founder of Breathwork India, a mental well-being services organization.
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.
Sajan PK
Vice PresidentSajan leads Communications at GAME. Sajan is an outcome-focused Communications professional with over two decades of practice and learning across media, academia and Fortune 100 technology companies.
Gurudutt Ashwath
Vice PresidentGurudutt is responsible for setting up the Finance and Compliance infrastructure for GAME
Shiv Dewan
Vice PresidentOSU is unfortunately a victim of what we at GAME call Ease of Doing Business and at GAME he finds his three passions coming to life - students finding their passions, start-ups & social justice!
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
Sweekruthi Kaveripatnam
ManagerI am Sweekruthi Kaveripatnam, an education enthusiast. I have spent most of my adult years learning, exploring and trying to decipher the vast arena of education in our country.
Shristi
ManagerAs part of GAME, Shristi manages Access to Finance & Ease of Doing Business which focuses on improving access to cheap, on-time, formal finance and easing the regulatory burden for MSMEs in India.
Anushka Thachil
ManagerAt GAME, Anushka is working as Manager for the Women Entrepreneurship workstream.
Sanjana Govindan
Vice President GAMESanjana leads Women Entrepreneurship at Game, driving ideation, innovation, and implementation of interventions that create and unlock pathways for women entrepreneurs to grow, thrive, and flourish.
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.
Ambuj Kumar
AdvisorAmbuj is an Advisor at GAME with primary focus 'Access to Finance' where the goal is to bring diverse stakeholders together to stitch a viable and scalable lending solution for the MSME ecosystem.
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.
Advisory Board
Anjuly Chib Duggal
Advisory Board Member
Bhairavi Jani
Advisory Board Member
Gyanendra Badgaiyan
Advisory Board Member
Debasish Mitter
Advisory Board Member
Deepali Khanna
Advisory Board Member
Anjani Bansal
Advisory Board Member
Murli Ramachandran
Advisory Board Member
PG Raghuraman
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
