Priya Naik

Priya is the Founder and CEO of Samhita Social Ventures, a social sector consulting firm that collaborates with companies, government, and social organizations to strategize and implement effective social impact initiatives and create a ‘better normal’ for India's most vulnerable communities and environments.

Previously, Priya co-founded The Spark Group, an education incubator that delivered affordable education to low-income communities in India. She has worked with the International Finance Corporation, the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and at Arthur Andersen. Priya has a master’s degree in economics from Yale University, a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a master’s degree (and a Gold Medal) in Commerce from Mumbai University. She also holds an Executive Education degree from Harvard Business School.

In 2020-21, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Priya and Samhita led the front on livelihoods revival and healthcare response with two multi-stakeholder Alliances - REVIVE and India Protectors Alliance (IPA). REVIVE, supported by USAID, MSDF, Omidyar Network India, British High Commission, New Delhi, and UNDP, is a blended finance facility leveraging corporate and philanthropic funding to provide accessible and affordable capital in the form of returnable grants to 1,00,000 informal workers and at-risk nano and micro enterprises, with a focus on women and youth.