Ali Asghar

Background

About Ali Asghar

I was managing my family business in 1990 when Hyderabad witnessed the worst communal riots in its history. I got involved in relief work; an experience which left a lasting impression on my mind. Here I learnt my first lessons in community work. Interactions with people in the camps taught me that, irrespective of the adversity of their situation, people are not comfortable subsisting on charity as it hurts their self respect. Also, they are reliable when it comes to repayment of loans, a lesson in Micro-credit that was drilled home when I helped a group of Bangle makers restart their business.During this time, I got associated with the Communal Harmony Project of Deccan Development Society – which later transformed into Confederation of Voluntary Associations (COVA). In COVA I played a key role in setting up programmes for communal harmony, peace and social justice, sensitisation of all sections of society and empowerment of the marginalised and poor. I was able to make a vast impact in two specific areas : socio-economic empowerment of women, and civic and community rights. During this period I attended GSBI - the 3 week social entrepreneurship programme at Santa Clara University in California, USA Since 2009, I have free lanced with several organizations in Rajasthan, UP, Bihar and J&K, helping them reduce dependency on grant funding and move towards sustainable social enterprise models. Largely the focus has been on Educational Initiatives, Financial Inclusion, Livelihood Development of small producers, artisans and micro entrepreneurs through a market led approach. Founder and President of Association for Socio Economic Empowerment of the Marginalised ( ASEEM) working on issues of Rights and Entitlements of Minority Communities in India. At a professional level, I am engaged with Nirantara Infratech Pvt. Ltd, Bidar to prepare Infinity School to be a full fledged high school and to scale up the HoneyBees Pre-School through a franchising model. Am currently pursuing the Certified Life Coach Course conducted on line by Michigan University and affiliated to the International Coaching Federation. This will enable me to work with high school students to construct their life goals in accordance with their interests and passions and thus lead a happy and fulfilled life. Specialities - Organisational Development and Transformation, Strategic and Business Plan Development, Financial inclusion, organising small producers and Capacity Building of Teachers and school leaders in small towns and semi rural areas