Shikha joined Elevar in 2021 as a member of the India investing team.
Shikha brings 13+ years of work experience pertaining to various aspects of finance: from controllership and business finance to group oversight. Most of her career prior to Elevar was with Fidelity International, where she held various global roles, led transformation projects managing senior stakeholders and established well functioning teams. Prior to Elevar, she worked with Eight Roads Ventures, where she was a senior member of the finance team, managing portfolio valuations, audit and working closely with the investment team on the investment and divestment activities. Shikha started her career with Ernst & Young in their statutory audit division, working with manufacturing clients globally.
Shikha has always been passionate about impact. While working with Fidelity, she was an important member of their CSR team, partnering with NGOs and contributing towards establishing a process for providing meals to shelter homes and private schools for underserved children.
Shikha is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and completed her graduation in BCom(H) from Delhi University. She enjoys yoga, cycling, reading and spending time with her daughter.
I have always been inclined towards making a difference (sustainable living, nutrition, healthcare, education for the underserved), however, what I realized trying to assist NGOs over the past is that the scale of impact was limited. A bigger objective requires an equally bigger mechanism, finances, and a scalable self-sustaining structure which is able to provide the right motivation for people as well. Hence I started looking for opportunities where I can be a part of a larger impact infrastructure while making a career and creating wealth in the long run.
The Elevar approach and philosophy is deeply inclined towards finding and building such businesses which have greater impact in the lower income groups while having the potential for scaling up and becoming profitable ventures. This truly resonated with me in terms of personal and professional goals.
When the day ends and you reflect back, you feel a sense of satisfaction of having been able to contribute something and feel rejuvenated to start again tomorrow.
The journey of creating impact and being able to add value takes perseverance and patience. The key is to treat this journey more like a marathon versus a sprint and enjoy the learnings and milestones along the way.
Outside of work I can be mostly caught in activities below:
– trying to make something new with my super creative daughter
– chilling with some tea and a book in my hand
– cycling or trying my hands on a yoga pose