Paul Basil

Biography

Mr. Basil is Founder and CEO of Villgro Innovations Foundation. Over the last decade, Mr. Basil has incubated over 130 innovative enterprises, creating over 4000 jobs, touching around 5 million lives in villages across India.

Mr. Basil also co-founded Menterra Venture Advisors, a seed stage, impact fund that makes venture investments in for-profit, impactful enterprises.

Apart from the core of his mission, which is incubating early stage, innovative businesses, Paul also has contributed to building the social enterprise eco-system in India. Unconvention, India’s leading conference on innovation and social entrepreneurship is organized in 15 cities across India, a Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IIT-Madras that focuses on research and education, the ANDE India Chapter (Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs) a network of intermediaries that support small and growing businesses etc., are some of his achievements in building the eco-system in India.

Mr. Basil was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2002 for his outstanding social entrepreneurship in setting up Villgro. He has also been conferred the Samaj Seva Bhushan Award and the Star Entrepreneur Award