The name’s ‘Ajay Kapur’ and ‘Ambuja’ are synonymous with one another. Cutting his teeth in the cement business as the Executive Assistant to Narotam Sekhsaria, over a period of 19 years Ajay Kapur worked his way up to the position of MD & CEO – leading Ambuja Cements Ltd to become a major player in the Indian Cement market. Today he leads the cement business of the Adani Group, and Ambuja Foundation is fortunate to still have him as a Director – harnessing his extensive experience and business savvy to help grow our work.

Dr. Asmita Naik Africawala is the Lead - Program Research, at Ambuja Foundation. Here, she shares in detail how Ambuja Foundation is embracing technology to capture data in the field for internal research studies, with the aim of improving practice and approach in execution of programs.

India is considered to be a county with the highest number of youth in the world! *As of 2022, India had more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. This means that India has the largest number of millennials and gen Z on the planet today.

Given the multidimensionality of poverty, a combination of well thought-out interventions is required to address the many interconnected challenges related to development. Complex interventions are increasingly being implemented in the area of livelihood creation, rural development and community health as a means to jointly address the holistic development of the population involved.

27th June, 2023 marked the United Nations’ Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Day – celebrating the crucial role that MSME’s play in achieving the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. Ambuja Foundation is committed to enabling rural people – particularly women and young people – in establishing enterprises to provide much needed fuel for families and local economies.

With consistent efforts to uplift communities at Farakka, West Bengal since 2006, Ambuja Foundation commissioned an external Social Return on Investment Study to better understand the impact of its interventions. Conducted by the CII Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD), New Delhi, the study returned the finding that for every Re. 1 invested by Ambuja Foundation, a social return, valued at Rs. 9.91, was generated.

Spend just half an hour of your time with Padmini Sekhsaria – the vivacious and accomplished daughter of Ambuja Foundation Founder Narotam Sekhsaria, and Ambuja Foundation Board member – and you quickly realise that your view of the world is terribly small! With an extensive career in the development sector; a diverse background in business; a rich family heritage of philanthropy; and a global perspective – Padmini brings immense value to the table in guiding the trajectory of Ambuja Foundation. She is fast thinking and talking – so strap on your seatbelts and enjoy the ride, as we discuss her journey, all things Ambuja Foundation and her thoughts on the future of development, globally.

Over the last few years, much introspection was done on the issue of ‘Gender’ and Ambuja Foundation’s approach to it – at both a community and organisational level. Women empowerment has always been a core area for Ambuja Foundation. Till date, the need of the hour has been to take a ‘Women & Development’ approach – working directly and primarily with women and enabling them to gain access to information, opportunities and resources that till now, have eluded them.

Ambuja Foundation, in collaboration with LEAD at Krea University, organized a closed door half-day workshop on 17th February 2023 in Mumbai, bringing together corporates, entrepreneurs, government, CSR leaders, NGO professionals and research consultants to understand how nano and micro-enterprises, and livelihood opportunities, can be scaled up.

The name ‘Mr. Taparia’ often gets respectfully referred to around the corridors of Ambuja Foundation as the man responsible for its set up – the structure, systems, standard operating procedures and way of governance. Whilst these things, along with the myriad compliances that non-profits need to adhere to these days, are not ‘sexy’ in comparison to on-ground programs, they are in fact, the building blocks upon which Ambuja Foundation has built its reputation, expanded its footprint, and time and again, obtained on ground impacts.

“Aquaculture has been in my family for generations. My father grew fish, my grandfather grew fish, my great grandfather did the same. Like many other families in this area, we have a large pond right next to our house, but fish were always seen as a ‘side’ thing.

P.K.Laheri is one of Ambuja Foundation’s longest standing Board Members, and has had one of those careers where the mind simply boggles at all that was seen, heard and been a part of. He served as the Chief Secretary of Gujarat for 3 years and was the Chairman and Managing Director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited, Gandhinagar – responsible for the development of one of the largest water infrastructure projects Gujarat has ever seen. Oh to have been a fly on the wall …