South and Southeast Asia Regional Innovation Hub

Sasmita has a decade of experience in policy research, impact investing and ESG evaluation of companies. Sasmita is experienced in project management, research and engagement with ministries, donors, civil society and the private sector in India. In her previous assignments, she has managed consulting projects for donors and social enterprises, and led ESG research for global investors. Sasmita is based in New Delhi, India.

Kunto Binawan has more than 20 years of professional experience in the private sector as well as development works, with extensive experience in the field of finance and business development, with specialization on corporate finance, microfinance, conservation finance, agribusiness development and sustainable business development.  He holds a Master in Public Administration from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore and Master in Management from Prasetiya Mulya Business School, Jakarta, Indonesia. Kunto is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Tran Thi Tuyet works a business advisor for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives with more than 20 years of experience. She is a certified senior trainer and consultant to support businesses to become economically (Competency-based Economies through Formation of Entrepreneurs – CEFE), environmentally and socially beneficial (profitable social management- PSM, Good Housekeeping – GHK, Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR). Tuyet also held monitoring and evaluation, program management, advocacy and networking role in poverty reduction, agrobusiness, smart agriculture development projects. Tuyet holds a Master’s in Public Management and an Economics Master’s degree from University Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium and National Economics University, Vietnam. Tuyet is based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Mr. Bijay Thapa is included in expert review panel for the approval of Environmental
Assessment reports at Ministry of Forest and Environment and Department of
Electricity Development in Nepal. He is also engaged with EnergizeNepal Program,
a joint program of Kathmandu University, NTNU, SINTEF and Hydro Lab with the
objective of capacity building and commercialization of research products through
academic research in the field of hydropower and renewable energy. He has more
than 10 years of experience in Environmental Assessments, Project management,
climate change and renewable energy and has worked for INGOs, public and
private entities and projects funded by ADB, World Bank, Government etc. He holds
a master’s degree in civil engineering (Environment) from National Institute of
Technology (NIT) – Kurukshetra, and PhD in Environmental Engineering from
Kathmandu University. He is serving as joint secretary at Nepal Engineers’
Association, Bagmati Province and past vice-president of Nepal Environment Society, through which he had advocated for environment safeguard and OHS
(occupational health and safety).

Ashwani works at Tetra Tech as India’s Country Coordinator for the WE4F program. Ashwani has 10+ years of experience in Programme/Project Management, Operations, Monitoring, Livelihood (Farm & Non-farm), Rural Development, WASH, Donor Management, Grant Management, Clean Energy, Sustainable agriculture, Capacity Building, Program Implementation, Enterprise Development, Budget Forecasting, Stakeholder Engagement General Administration and so on.

Prior to Tetra Tech, Ashwani worked as Head of Operation at Renew Oceans where he was responsible for end to end operations in India. He has previously worked with Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (a TATA TRUST Initiative) as Operations lead-North East hub for Sustain+ programme where he established the programme and formed partnership with various grassroot NGOs as well as government departments. He also worked with organisations-Rise Against Hunger, Wipro Technologies, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (an AKDN Organization) and Smaarftech Technologies in various capacities.   

Ashwani holds Master of Arts (Social Work in Rural Development) from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Master of Business Administration (Marketing & Finance) from Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga. Ashwani is based in New Delhi, India.

Raj is an impact investing professional with experience working with organizations such as Yunus Social Business Fund, IndusInd Bank, Agri3 Fund, among others. He brings expertise in investing, credit underwriting, fundraising, and designing blended finance products to mobilize capital for social enterprises. His focus sectors include agribusiness/agritech, WASH, and waste management.