Minakshi Birajdar

President – Integrated Agricultural Rural Development Organization

Aurangabad District, Maharashtra – India

Minakshi’s role is to gather and share information about government schemes to women. She works with self-help groups and the local government on economic and social empowerment and access to information. As President, she conducts staff reviews, and monitors and designs new training programs. Her community suffers from a high number of farmer suicides, leaving widows behind with no financial support or respect from the community. Minakshi wants to connect these widows to bank accounts, government schemes and loans for them to build or develop small enterprises.

Rise Up Cohort: CIP India – 2018