Welcome to this alumni blog series celebrating International Women’s Day (Saturday 8 March 2025). This year’s theme Accelerate Action, emphasises the urgency of achieving gender equality by addressing systemic barriers and biases women face.

We are excited to feature TRIUM alum, Dr Kalpana Sankar, Managing Director of Belstar Microfinance, and co-founder and chairperson of Hand in Hand India.

Kalpana’s work at both institutions has allowed her to build a group of like-minded individuals who are committed to entrepreneurship and uplifting society. Together, the organisations have created over 10 million jobs for women entrepreneurs.

Read about Kalpana’s impactful career and how both of her businesses are driving positive change for women’s advancement.

Please tell us about yourselves and career journey to date

I am Dr. Kalpana Sankar, a nuclear physicist turned social entrepreneur. I’m the Managing Director of Belstar Microfinance, one of the top ten microfinance institutions in India. I’m also the co-founder and chairperson of Hand in Hand India, a not-for-profit organisation that works towards poverty alleviation, with an emphasis on women empowerment and job creation.

I’ve had the opportunity to take my work at Hand in Hand India to South Africa, Afghanistan, Brazil, Cambodia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka – proving that women, if provided with the right tools and support can break all barriers and succeed!

Before my stint as an entrepreneur, I was working with the Tamil Nadu Women’s Development Corporation as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and have served with organisations including UNDP, UNOPS and IFAD. I am the recipient of prestigious awards including:

• The Nari Shakti Puraskar from the President of India (India’s highest civilian award for women)
• Bal Kalyan Puraskar (for child welfare initiatives)
• The inaugural Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim al Khalifa Award for Women’s Empowerment from UN Women New York and Kingdom of Bahrain.

My journey is incomplete without the mention of my TRIUM EMBA, from which I graduated in 2012. I was awarded the program’s inaugural scholarship, and the learning across three eminent institutions have shaped my career!

I am the co-author of Childhood Regained and Microfinance for a Million Smiles. I have recently launched my biography, The Scientist Entrepreneur!

How is your company positively impacting women’s advancement?

Our model at both Hand in Hand and Belstar focuses on social, economic, and political empowerment. Single and economically disadvantaged women form nearly 40% of our clientele. Economic empowerment is through:

• Job creation
• Access to credit
• Skill training
• Financial and digital literacy
• Business development
• Access to market linkages

The outcomes of these initiatives are dignity, improved negotiation skills, confidence, mobility, and acceptance by family and community members. When it comes to political empowerment, nearly 1,500 of the women we work with have been elected as leaders of local authorities, enabling their voices to be amplified, particularly surrounding access to water, building roads and enhanced safety. Some of our clients have gone on to employ other women and have a turnover of more than 100,000 (INR). These are just a handful of examples of how truly, if we empower a woman, the trickle effect has a huge impact on the entire community!

I am proud that in the microfinance sector in India, Belstar’s percentage of female staff is the highest at 20%! We are Great Place to Work certified, and 100% of our clients are women entrepreneurs. We have got a global accreditation for impact and client protection by MFR (Gold Rating). Within the workplace, we are very conscious to promote women across different areas. We provide opportunities for advancing their skills through training and have flexible policies that bear in mind their unique family situations.

If you’re an LSE student or alumni with a business idea or interest in entrepreneurship, check out LSE Generate.

Volunteer and share your expertise with the department.

Find out more about International Women’s Day.