Mr. Varad Pande is an investment partner at Omidyar Network India, leading strategy, impact and new initiatives. A social impact and public policy professional, he has held diverse roles across government, strategy, multilateral projects, investment organisations working on issues of economic development, social impact and base-of-pyramid (BOP) business models. Before joining Omidyar Network India, he was a partner at Dalberg, a global social impact consulting firm, where among other things, he got the opportunity to support the ‘agritech’ agenda for a large Indian state, which is pioneering new approaches to sustainable agriculture.
Mr. Pande was Special Advisor to India’s Minister for Rural Development and Environment & Forests, where he drove the agenda on sustainable livelihoods, including a national initiative on sustainable agriculture, environment and climate change. He was also a member of the Government of India’s Low Carbon Expert Group. He served as a Principal Advisor to Abhijit Banerjee on the UN-SG’s Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda (SDGs) and as a Sherpa on the UN-SG’s Global Sustainability Panel. Mr. Pande led the setup of the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship that connects India’s youth with grassroots development. He holds an MPA in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MA in Economics from University of Cambridge, and a BA Honours in Economics from St. Stephens College, Delhi. Mr. Pande lives in Mumbai, with his wife Pranjul and twin daughters Rumi and Tara.