Can you run a Startup without purchasing any equipments, or hiring staff? Certainly not! In almost every case you would require outside capital to grow and expand your avenues. So how do you raise outside money? Why Raise Money? When to Raise Money? How Much to Raise? Get all your burning questions about fundraising answered by our next guest Ms. Ratna Mehta, head of the Wadhwani Catalyst Fund at the Wadhwani Foundation. Based out of Mumbai, Ratna heads the Wadhwani Catalyst Fund which invests in high-quality entrepreneurs with scalable business models and programs, with the overall objective of accelerating economic development by creating jobs. • A private equity investor with 20 years of experience across growth/ buyout and early investing, consulting, and banking. • Has experience spanning the entire cycle of investing, portfolio turnarounds, and exits across multiple investments. • Prior to joining the Catalyst Fund, she was with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in strategy consulting. • Prior to BCG, she was an Executive Director at Everstone Capital, an Asia focused PE fund with over US$ 3 billion in AUM, where she spent 11+ years overseeing investments in consumer, education, financial services, and healthcare • She has been on the board of various portfolio companies, driving overall strategy and growth. She is also a board advisor to various start-ups and an active member of various entrepreneurship networks. Ratna is a rank holder Chartered Accountant and has completed all levels of the CFA program (Charlottesville, USA). She has also attended the “Negotiations and Leadership Program” of Harvard Business School. She was chosen as the “Top 20 digital influencer of 2020” by the leading news portal, Yourstory. Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, innovation, and skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes. For more details on Wadhwani Foundation, please visit https://www.wfglobal.org/
