Aditi Surie

A pioneering Indian entrepreneur driving digital financial inclusion and education technology innovations.

Aditi Surie is a visionary entrepreneur and founder of EkStep Foundation, a nonprofit organization that leverages technology to improve access to quality education and financial services in India. Born in 1980, Surie has spent over two decades working at the intersection of technology, social impact, and public policy. Her work focuses on bridging the digital divide and empowering marginalized communities through scalable solutions.

In 2010, Surie co-founded Digitéza, a financial services startup that pioneered mobile banking solutions for rural populations. The platform enabled millions of unbanked individuals to access savings, loans, and insurance products via simple SMS-based interfaces. This initiative was recognized by the World Bank as a model for financial inclusion in developing economies.

Surie's most impactful contribution is the EkStep Foundation's Sunbird platform, launched in 2015. This open-source digital infrastructure supports India's National Education Stack, providing personalized learning experiences for over 50 million students across 250,000 schools. The system integrates AI-driven adaptive assessments and teacher training modules, significantly improving learning outcomes in underserved regions.

Her advocacy extends globally through organizations like the World Economic Forum, where she chairs the Global Future Council on Education Technologies. Surie's TED Talk "How to Build a Global Education Platform That Scales" has garnered over 1.2 million views, inspiring tech leaders worldwide.

Surie's unique approach combines grassroots community engagement with cutting-edge technology. She pioneered the "Digital Villages" initiative in partnership with Microsoft, creating hyperlocal digital hubs in 1,500 villages. These centers provide not just educational resources but also health services and agricultural market linkages through digital platforms.

In 2021, she launched the Suraksha initiative, a blockchain-based microinsurance platform protecting smallholder farmers against climate risks. This system uses satellite imagery and AI to provide instant crop insurance payouts, benefiting over 2 million farmers by 2023.

Surie's work has been acknowledged with prestigious awards including the McKinsey Social Innovation Award (2018) and the UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development (2020). Her leadership exemplifies how technology can be a powerful force for equity and systemic change in education and finance sectors.