Anita Bhosle

A visionary Indian social entrepreneur who pioneered women's education and economic empowerment in rural India

Anita Bhosle (born 1972) is a transformative social entrepreneur from Maharashtra, India, best known for founding the Sahyadri Trust in 1995. Her groundbreaking work focuses on eradicating gender disparities through education and microfinance initiatives. Through her organization's Shramik求知学校 network, Bhosle has empowered over 500,000 rural women to become financially independent through vocational training programs in organic farming, handicraft production, and renewable energy technologies.

Her most notable innovation is the Women's Empowerment Circles, a community-based model where women collectively manage microloans and savings accounts. This system has achieved a 98% repayment rate while enabling participants to start small businesses. Bhosle's approach integrates traditional knowledge with modern sustainable practices, exemplified by her Green Village initiative that converted 120 villages into zero-waste communities by 2015.

In 2003, she pioneered India's first Women's Leadership Academy, training over 10,000 rural women as community leaders. Her work has been featured in Time Magazine's '100 Most Influential People' (2010) and inspired similar programs across Southeast Asia. Bhosle continues to advocate for policy changes through her Gender Equity Index, a data-driven tool adopted by 15 Indian states to measure and improve women's socio-economic status.