Dr. Medha Purao Samant

Dr. Medha Samant graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics at Mumbai University in 1981, a Master of Social Work in Urban and Rural Community Development at Pune University in 1996 and Ph.D. in the University of Pune about the ‘Role of Groups and Group Leaders in the socio economic development of poor self-employed women’.

She has worked in various networks and was an active member and elected ladies representative of All India Bank Employees’ Association. Previous to joining Uplift in Pune she worked in the Bank of India in Mumbai and Pune for 12 years in the area of customer relationship, marketing banking services and operations. Dr. Samant resigned from the job in 1993 to set up Annapurna. She has obtained several academic scholarships and distinctions for her work.

Dr. Samant describes herself as an ex-banker turned into a microbanker. She sees microfinance as a tool to empower poor women. In her opinion microfinance with a minimalistic approach does not empower the poor families. Therefore MFIs need to develop a support structure and safety net for the poor. That is why she has added Micro insurance into the activities of Annapurna. Dr. Samant states that she learnt microfinance more from her members.