Hardika Shah is the Founder & CEO of fintech Kinara Capital recognized widely for disrupting small business lending in India. Under her focused vision of driving vast MSME financial inclusion, Kinara Capital has provided access to formal credit to more than 75,000 small business entrepreneurs across 100+ cities in India. This has led to a positive impact of over 390,000 jobs supported in local economies and over USD $100 million in incremental income generation for the entrepreneurs.

Globally recognized for her passion and innovative work over the years, Hardika is a recognized Ashoka Fellow. In 2022, Forbes named Hardika among Top 20 Self-Made Women Power List; and the Government of India and NITI-Aayog recognized her with a Women Transforming India award on the occasion of India’s 75th independence anniversary. Hardika was chosen as the Fintech Leader of the Year at Bharat Fintech Summit in 2023 and she was named by Mint among Top 100 Women Leaders Building & Shaping India.

Prior to establishing Kinara Capital in 2011, Hardika spent two decades in Management Consulting leading large teams and executing complex projects for international companies across the USA, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

Hardika graduated with B.A. in Computer Science from Knox College, Illinois and holds an MBA from a joint program between Columbia Business School and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.