Traidcraft Services

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Meet Our People

Our team is all about making the world better. Our board members and team bring together a rich tapestry of experience driven by vision, combined together with commitment to empowering communities, inspiring innovation and creating a lasting impact.

Our Board Members

Mathew John

Maveen Pereira

Revathi Rugmini

Kushagra Merchant

Charlotte Timson

Our Team

Mukesh Tiwary

Business Head

DIPANKAR SENGUPTA

Supply Chain Expert

Kratika Choubey

Human Rights Due Diligence Specialist

Chitralekha Choudhury

Gender and Policy Manager

Pawan Kumar

Associate Manager — Market Linkages

Akriti Singh

Associate Manager - Youth Engagement

Jyotiprakash Samantray

Market Research and Value Chain Expert

Arati Pandya

Consultant - Women's Economic Empowerment

Ichwant Bana

Monitoring and Evaluation Expert

Kritika Malhotra

Senior Business Communication Associate

Surya Chakravarthi

Finance and Administration Manager

Sowmitra Chatterjee

Business Associate, Youth Engagement

Siddoju Shiva Kumar

Finance Assistant

Kallol Ghosh

Senior Business Associate

Shefali Alam

Technical Expert

Mathew John

Mathew John is the Managing Director of Last Forest Enterprises and Co-founder of Keystone Foundation, with a distinguished career in sustainability and community development. A former World Board Member of IFOAM-Organics International (2011-2017), Mr. John’s role was pivotal in establishing Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in India, now recognized and promoted by the Government of India.

Passionate about ethical enterprise, he supports small organisations in building sustainable, value-driven businesses. He envisions people-centric enterprises rooted in strong values while navigating the dynamic demands of modern markets. His efforts include leading the umbrella branding of fair-trade retail stores in India and actively engaging with the Slow Food Network to champion the principles of good, clean and fair food for all.

Maveen Pereira

Maveen Pereira brings over 40 years of rich expertise in the international development area, focusing on fair and ethical trade, small business growth, gender empowerment, and sustainable farming. Her work has supported supply chains that prioritise the needs of small producers and workers, ensuring equitable opportunities and long-term sustainability.

Maveen Pereira’s innovative approach backed by her professional acumen and dedication to inclusive development consistently inspires meaningful change across communities.

Revathi Rugmini

Revathi Rugmini has been a trailblazer with over three decades of transformative leadership in the development sector. Her career spans managing complex multi-national programme and forging impactful partnerships across civil society organisations, governments, academic institutions, and the private sector.

As a former Regional Representative for South Asia at Leonard Cheshire, she championed inclusive development, extending her impact to East Asia Pacific and Africa.

An advocate for equity, she has mobilised resources for scalable, locally-driven solutions while fostering global collaborations. With advanced degrees in Science, Law, and Social Work, and currently pursuing her Doctoral Degree, she combines academic rigor with hands-on expertise.

Kushagra Merchant

Kushagra Merchant is a dynamic leader and a visionary changemaker, committed to empowering small and medium-sized non-profits in India through his work with Social Synergy Foundation. His efforts focus on transformative areas such as urban development, health, governance and sustainable agriculture, driving meaningful impact for marginalised communities.

As an advisor to the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), he mentors the next generation of development professionals. His career journey, from consulting roles at Accenture and Monitor Group to pioneering market-driven solutions for housing and water sustainability, is a testament to his passion for creating scalable, people-centered change.

Kushagra Merchant holds an engineering degree from the University of Mumbai and a Management Diploma from IIM Calcutta. He is also the Director for SMV Green Solutions and the Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Foundation.

Charlotte Timson

Charlotte Timson is highly experienced in the charity and not-for-profit sector. She has an illustrious track record in driving transformational change and building sustainable, future-ready organisations in complex environments.

As the former CEO of Transform Trade, she successfully navigated the organisation through financial crises, introduced resilient business models, and supported over 950 producer organisations, positively impacting more than 94,000 individuals across Africa and South Asia. Under her guidance, the organisation has driven cultural and governance transformations, embedding equity, diversity, inclusion, and impactful rebranding initiatives.

In her earlier career days, Charlotte served as Christian Aid’s Country Manager in Malawi, where she developed innovative strategies, built high-performing teams, secured significant grants, and forged strong alliances to deliver lasting social impact and financial resilience.

Mukesh Tiwary

Mukesh Tiwary leads the team of Traidcraft India as the Business Head. Mukesh brings a wealth of expertise to his role with a Post-graduate Degree from XISS, a Non-Profit Management Degree from Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore, and an Advanced Management Programme in Public Policy from ISB, Hyderabad.

Mukesh Tiwary oversees Traidcraft’s portfolio of Indian projects across the textile, cotton, and tea sectors. With extensive expertise in the textile industry, particularly in addressing workers’ issues, he excels in Project Design and Management of sustainable, cross-sector programme. As a skilled trainer and facilitator, Mukesh brings diverse groups of stakeholders together to co-create solutions and strategies to combat challenges.

Dipankar Sengupta

Dipankar Sengupta, Traidcraft’s Supply Chain Expert, brings over 23 years of cross-functional experience in Strategic Planning, Project Development, Value-Chain Management, and Marketing. He holds a PGDABM from IIM Ahmedabad, a PGDRD from XISS, a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture and a Project Management Professional certification.

Dipankar has honed his expertise in conducting large-scale research studies involving complex data collection and analysis, from years of working with leading organisations such as Rallis India, Bayer CropScience, and Tata Chemicals. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from IIM Ranchi and relentlessly pushes the boundaries of innovation in sustainable supply chain development.

Kratika Choubey

Kratika Choubey is a remarkable professional with a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Delhi. She is a Business and Human Rights specialist within global supply chains in the garments and textile sector. She brings extensive experience and leads Supply Chain Assessments, Audits, and Remediation Processes. Kratika focuses steadfastly on advancing decent work, labour rights, gender equality, and child rights.

Chitralekha Choudhury

Chitralekha Choudhury is a Gender and Policy Manager at TSIPL, who brings 24 years of valuable experience in Programme Management in natural resource management, rural livelihoods, drinking water, sanitization, and interlinked gender and social inclusion matters.

With a Post Graduate degree in Rural Development from XISS, she brings rich experience from creating impactful programmes, strategies, and resource mobilisation for several national and international organisations. She has passionately activated and scaled programs on improving livelihoods, drinking water, and sanitation in tribal regions of Odisha and Jharkhand. Her experience is powered by her passion for empowering marginalised and indigenous communities.

Pawan Kumar

Pawan Kumar, a Postgraduate Degree holder in Rural Management from XISS Ranchi, works as an Associate Manager—market linkages at TSIPL. In his previous stint, he was a Marketing Officer supporting collectives across Jharkhand state at BIRSA, an organisation that works with the Forest Community. His unwavering interest in social enterprise has led him to work on various market and value chain assignments, feasibility studies, and economic impact.

Akriti Singh

Akriti Singh provides a rare combination of creativity and expertise to her work, with a Postgraduate Degree in English Literature and a Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management from XISS, Ranchi. Prior to her stint at Traidcraft, she contributed to initiatives at JSLPS (Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society), Centre for Catalysing Change, and Bharatiya Jan Utthan Parishad.

Her strong domain expertise in skill development, research, and stakeholder management, has brought in meaningful changes through meticulous research and collaboration assignments.

Jyotiprakash Samantray

Jyotiprakash Samantray works as a Market Research and Value Chain Expert at Traidcraft India, bringing over 20 years of experience working with farm and off-farm value chains. With a Postgraduate Diploma in Management, Jyotiprakash has been dedicated to empowering small producers and building inclusive market systems. In his previous work with CARE India and MART, he has played a key role in creating opportunities for communities to thrive through his expertise in providing better market access.

Arati Pandya

Arati Pandya is a seasoned development professional with over 25 years of experience in livelihoods and women’s economic empowerment. She is an M.Phil in Development Economics, and has worked with leading organisations like CRY, Christian Aid, and the Azad Foundation driving impactful initiatives for marginalized communities.

As a valued consultant to Traidcraft India, Arati brings finesse to project management, monitoring, and evaluation; along with in-depth knowledge of fair trade and sustainable supply chains. She has championed gender equality, social inclusion, and livelihood security across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Ichwant Bana

Ichwant Bana is a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Expert at TSIPL. She has over 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector and specialises in designing innovative MEL frameworks and evidence-based methodologies to drive high-impact programs.

Ichwant excels in developing MIS systems, that are key to building organisational capacity and embedding data-driven approaches into institutional practices. She brings a collaborative mindset that builds inclusive, stakeholder-focused MEL systems rooted in the organisation’s culture.

Kritika Malhotra

Kritika Malhotra is an accomplished professional in business communication and content strategy, currently serving as a Senior Business Associate at Traidcraft India. With advanced qualifications in Journalism, Mass Communication, and Motion Graphics, she excels at creating impactful content that bridges creativity and purpose.

Kritika brings a wealth of experience from both the corporate and development sectors. Her versatile approach and storytelling expertise make her an integral force in amplifying organisational impact and nurturing meaningful connections.

Surya Chakravarthi

Surya Chakravarthi, the Finance and Administration Manager at Traidcraft India, is a graduate from Andhra University and a Master’s in Finance from Ambedkar University, Hyderabad. He brings extensive experience of over two decades in both the development and corporate sector.

An expert at managing NGO partnerships, financial systems, and procedures, he manages large donor projects, working with different partners across countries funded by the European Union, USAID, Big Lottery Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, etc.

Sowmitra Chatterjee

Sowmitra Chatterjee brings domain expertise in youth skill building, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and off-farm livelihoods; and drives the Youth Engagement Programme in TSIPL. He holds a Master’s in Social Work & Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (BBA), a certificate in Business Correspondence, and a diploma in Information Technology.

He has been associated with organisations like Pradan, Pratham Education Foundation, and Society for People Awareness for over 12 years.

Siddoju Shiva Kumar

Siddoju Shiva Kumar is the Finance Assistant at TSIPL. With a strong foundation in finance, he brings expertise in accounting principles, financial analysis, taxation, and auditing, which are essential for supporting businesses, organisations, and individuals.

In his role, Shiva Kumar diligently prepares and analyses financial statements—including cash flow charts, balance sheets, profit and loss statements, salary computations, managing payments and receipts, and performing tax computations.

Shiva Kumar holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Osmania University, has successfully completed his CA Intermediate, and is currently in the final year of Chartered Accountancy in Hyderabad.

Kallol Ghosh

Kallol Ghosh works as Senior Business Associate and brings his expertise on climate adaptive practices in both agriculture and Tea sector. In his earlier stint, he has been part of Pradan, NEEDS and Niti Ayog where he worked with central and state governments for interdepartmental coordination and convergence.

Having done his Integrated Masters in Agriculture Rural and Tribal development from Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, he specialises in climate resilient farming, natural resource management as well as FPO management.

Shefali Alam

Shefali Alam is a Technical Expert at TSIPL, leading our work on institutional development and gender programming. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, and brings over six years of experience in the development sector.

She is an expert at driving institutional strengthening initiatives with the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. She also works in partnership with NGOs such as CINI and JABALA to promote gender sensitisation and tackle issues of trafficking and violence against women in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Shefali is deeply passionate about advancing the rights and empowerment of women and girls, and firmly believes that lasting change stems from holistic, women-led approaches.

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