Sugantha Priscilla

Sugantha Priscilla is a senior specialist in social development with over 20 years of extensive field research and global work experience in promoting economic empowerment of women and inclusive growth of societies. She has specialised in entrepreneurship development, community-driven development systems, participatory methodologies, gender-differentiated impact and skill development. She has been involved in implementing the women’s self-help group movement in seven states in India. She has supported implementation of SHG poverty reduction programmes in Afghanistan, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil and Cambodia. Having worked with government projects and INGOs she has a unique advantage and the skill set to navigate public–private partnerships.

Priscilla has work experience in skills and placement, enterprise development and livelihoods promotion. She comes with proven skills in identifying/reviewing business initiatives, paving activities and timelines, mentoring, implementation and effective use of financial and monitoring tools. As head of a micro-enterprise facilitation unit in Hand in Hand India, she has initiated a large number of underprivileged women into various enterprises. Priscilla has coordinated vocational skill training activities in more than 28 trades and has established 3 enterprise HUBs and an Enterprise Incubation centres. She has also worked as state specialist for a Government of Tamil Nadu project supported by World Bank when she undertook a study on potential enterprises in Tamil Nadu and had facilitated promotion of Economic Activities groups (EAG) and enterprise federation. She has also coordinated a project for establishing B2B online business among SHG women entrepreneurs. She has served as consultant to Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd, Water Partners and Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS). She has been a part of technical assistance team in the projects funded by IADB (Inter-American Development Bank) in Brazil and ADB (Asian Development Bank) in Madhya Pradesh, SIDBI’s Poorest States Inclusive Growth (PSIG) project, and the Puducherry government’s Tank Rehabilitation Project supported by the European Union. She has managed a wide range of development projects at various capacities, from implementation at field to senior management level. Priscilla has been appreciated for her skills in preparing client friendly learning materials and training modules.

Currently she works with IIHS, implementing activities related to gender, inclusion, sanitation workers welfare in the City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) programme at Tiruchirappalli. Priscilla holds a master’s in rural technology and is currently pursuing with her doctorate in women’s empowerment.