U n' I with Rashmi Shetty - Season 2 - Mukesh Sharma

Our guest today is Mukesh - the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Menterra. Through the Menterra Social Impact Fund, he invests in social enterprises that are harnessing the power of technology to impact India, by improving the quality of farming, healthcare, and education.

Mukesh has 20+ years of experience in start-up investing, impact investing, private equity, investment banking and finance domains. Mukesh is a Chartered Accountant and a CFA Charterholder. He has been a member of the capital sub-committee of the Impact Investors Council, India. He is also a member of the PoleStar Award Jury which is focused on celebrating excellence in journalism and social impact.

Earlier, he was the Chief Investment Officer at Villgro, India’s oldest and foremost social enterprise incubator. He has advised the board and management of several companies. He has served as the non-executive director on the board of Biosense Technologies, Omix Labs, Adiuvo Diagnostics and Concept Learning.

In his very first fund, Mukesh raised investments from a diverse set of marquee investors such as the Government of India, U.S.-based foundations, corporate investors, family offices and HNIs.

At Villgro, Mukesh was an integral part of the idea to scale the journey of several entrepreneurs. This experience convinced him that the passive investing model focused on only deal-making combined with the invest-divest movement is not an ideal approach to solving big social problems. He used these insights to build a holistic fund-incubator platform with a conveyor belt approach to provide patient funding combined with intense post-investment operating support.

Mukesh believes that non-linear outcomes are more likely to be achieved through big, game-changing ideas that leverage the latest science and technology. He is focused on using the power of technology to solve the most pressing developmental challenges. Mukesh has co-founded this platform. He has attracted a stellar network of advisors and the best impact-oriented talent. He is now working on scaling this model to generate market-level returns and sectoral impact.

Listen in as Mukesh shares his inspirational journey from a small town in Gujarat to the investor he is today.