Anshu Gupta
Rewritting many rules of the development sector Anshu made the masses his prime focus – not only as givers and receivers of material but also as the prime source of money, skills and services. He also structured imaginative solutions with urban surplus, to some basic but neglected needs outside the radar of the development sector and the civil society.
Over the years as Goonj garnered major awards, including World Bank’s Development Marketplace award and NASA’s Launch award, Anshu also won recognition as an Ashoka and Schwab Fellow while he was also listed as one of India’s top social entrepreneurs by Forbes Magazine and Fast Company.
Now Anshu is focused on global replication of his model to bridge the massive gap of social and economic inequities between urban prosperity and rural poverty. He speaks extensively on national and international forums to instigate urban and rural masses to engage more deeply with the issues faced by the society.
His vision for Goonj, “Goonj doesn’t want to grow only as an organization; it wants to grow as an idea… where organizations and individuals across the world take up the work, learning from our experience and help reach the basics of life to people who need it urgently. Mindful of their dignity and their needs, not as charity.” Anshu is a foodie who loves photography, travel and writing. He lives in Delhi NCR with his wife Meenakshi also the Co-founder of Goonj and their daughter, Urvi.
