Prema Gopalan

Background

About Prema Gopalan

Prema Gopalan is the Founder and Executive Director of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), based in Pune, India. At the core of Prema’s belief is that excluded and resource-poor communities can be revitalized through economic growth and social progress if the true potential of grassroots women entrepreneurs is realized and tapped. Over the last two decades, Prema through Swayam Shikshan Prayog has built a robust ecosystem that enable women led entrepreneurship and leadership in emerging high impact sectors clean energy, agriculture and nutrition, health and sanitation. SSP inspires, educate and builds socially-minded women entrepreneurs who generate incomes, enhance women’s leadership, and create social impact and environmental gains within the marginal communities. SSP’s work, by choice is centered around low income climate threatened communities across seven states in India. Since 2009, through SSP, Prema has empowered over grassroots women to solve problems through revitalizing rural economies. Prema has received Schwab Foundation's Award of Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 from Prof. Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. She is also the winner of SEOY India 2018 of Schwab Foundation and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation. In her leadership, SSP has received the UNDP Equator Prize 2017 and Momentum for Change Award 2016 for pioneering the network of grassroots women entrepreneurs. She is an Ashoka Globaliser Fellow, Synergos Fellow and Womanity Foundation Fellow. Prema holds a Masters degree in Social Work and M.Phil from TISS, Mumbai. As an active global advocate and Advisor to Huairou Commission, a global network of autonomous NGOs, grassroots women’s organizations across 40 countries Prema continues to root for women’s leadership in building community-resilience in vulnerable communities facing disasters and climate change.