Profile Of Founder

Pradeep Kashyap
Pradeep Kashyap is known as the father of rural marketing in India. He is recognized as a thought leader and is a regular speaker at CEO forums in India and abroad. At the recently concluded Cannes Lions 2008 he was the only speaker from India among the 50 Global speakers who addressed the 24 seminars during the week-long festival in France. His topic was 'Rural India: The Emerging Market'. He has authored the most definitive ‘Rural Marketing Book’ for students and practitioners alike. He is a regular guest speaker at the top B-schools in India.

In 1993 he started MART as a transparent, team based, non-hierarchical, flat organization based on ethical and spiritual principles. MART has emerged as India’s leading rural consultancy organisation.

He has been Marketing Advisor to MoRD and has served on Prime Minister Office and Chief Minister Committees on rural development. He is a World Bank and United Nations consultant. He has led the MART team to develop the most comprehensive livelihoods promotion model - the 3M approach, a collective marketing model involving 7500 women from 500 backward tribal villages in Orissa and conceived and organized 300 Gramshree melas for sale of rural products in urban centres.

He co-created Project Shakti with Hindustan Lever to appoint women micro entrepreneurs among SHGs as company dealers. 46,000 women in 12 states have benefited and each of them earns Rs 1,000 per month as profit from this business. He has pioneered another low cost, last mile rural distribution model using village volunteers on bicycles for Colgate, Godrej, Eveready, Heinz, Tata Tea and others.