Radha Rajkotia is an entrepreneurial leader known for her commitment to driving innovation, impact, evidence, and positive change in international and economic development.
Most recently, as the Chief Executive Officer of Building Markets, Radha championed market-based solutions for small businesses in economically vulnerable communities, facilitating their entry into sustainable and profitable supply chain opportunities. In her previous role as Chief Research and Policy Officer at Innovations for Poverty Action, she spearheaded the execution of IPA’s strategy across 22 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, translating evidence into impactful practice and policy. Radha spent eleven years leading the economic unit at the International Rescue Committee, applying her creative thinking to deliver aid and test groundbreaking ideas on the ground, from cash-based relief to job creation in conflict settings.
Radha actively contributes to shaping the social impact landscape through her voluntary service, including past and current board positions at Building Markets, where she is chair of the board of directors, and Birdseed Foundation, which provides down payment grants to low-income, first-generation home buyers in DC and Philadelphia. Previously, she served on the board of directors of the Cash Learning Partnership (CALP – a global organization promoting the use of cash grants to support people affected by crisis), the Center for Economic Opportunity (a US-based community development financial institution, providing flexible and low-cost loans to refugees and migrants), and Asphaleia (a UK-based charity dedicated to education and employment programming for young migrants).
Radha holds a Ph.D. in Refugee Studies (Geography), an MA in Migration Studies, and an MSc in Social Research Methods from the University of Sussex. She is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Henry Leir Institute for Human Security at Tufts University and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University.
