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December 5, 2006 |
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SKS Founder and CEO, Vikram Akula, Receives MIT Technovators
Award
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New York � Founder and CEO of
SKS Microfinance, Vikram Akula, was awarded the Global Indus
Technovators Awards 2006 for his organization�s work in cutting edge
technology in the field of microfinance. Vikram was recognized along
with nine other young innovators of Indian origin working in the
fields of biotechnology, medicine, healthcare, optics,
optoelectronics and information technology.
SKS is recognized as one of the first microfinance institutions in
the world to have a fully-automated Management Information System
(MIS) that streamlines operations and helps reduce transaction
costs. The ease-of-use of this system allows SKS field-staff, most
with no more than a 10th grade education, to independently handle up
to 600 borrowers each and up to 30 lakhs ($65,000) of loans. SKS was
also one of the first MFIs to run a smart-card pilot project in
2001-2001. The pilot aimed to reduce the increased cost and time
involved in conducting thousands of manual transactions. Though the
smart-card never rolled out, SKS is now working with VISA
International on using a cell-phone based Point-Of-Sale (POS) device
that will allow members to use magnetic-stripe cards as cash
substitutes.
Vikram noted, �this award is a recognition of SKS� achievement as a
technological innovator in the industry. We hope that others in the
microfinance field follow suit and adopt automation as a standard
business practice. This can only help the industry grow to new
heights, and help us provide financial services to greater numbers
of poor around the world.�
The Globus Indus Technovators Awards 2006 is an initiative of the
Indian Business Club at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other
winners were Adam Rasheed, Rajeev Ram, Aref Chowdhury, Krishna
Kumar, Shiladitya Sengupta, Anita Goel, Sameer Sawarkar, Anuj Batra
and Rajit Manohar.
Dr. Anita Goel, Dr. Krishna Kumar and Dr. Shiladitya Sengupta won
the awards in the area of biotechnology/medicine/healthcare. Goel is
the president of Nanobiosym Labs and Nanobiosym Diagnostics Inc.,
which focus on developing next-generation diagnostic capabilities.
Kumar, chairperson of the department of chemistry at Tufts
University, is an expert on peptide therapies and has authored
patents with an immense potential to impact cancer management.
Sengupta, co-founder of ANGENIX Ltd. won the award for one of his
biggest innovations, the nano cell, according to a press release.
Dr. Aref Chowdhury, Dr. Rajeev V. Ram and Dr. Adam Rasheed - are the
three recipients of the materials and devices awards. Chowdhury is a
technical staff member at Bell Labs and his innovations are in the
field of nonlinear optics, a field critical to improving long-haul
optical transport networks. Ram, currently a faculty member at MIT,
is widely acknowledged for his work in the field of optoelectronics
and is one of the pioneers in the semiconductor based laser science
and technology. Rasheed, a research engineer at GE Global Research
Center, is widely recognized for his work in the GE-NASA project on
pulsed detection engine feeding an axial turbine, for which he
received the innovator award. Dr. Anuj Batra and Dr. Rajit Manohar -
won the award in the field of information technology. Batra, who
currently works on high speed digital communication technology at
Texas Instruments -, is highly acknowledged for his developmental
efforts of ultra wideband - technology. Manohar, cofounder of
Achronix Semiconductor, is currently an associate professor in the
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University
and is a pioneer in asynchronous semiconductor design. The winners
of this year's Grassroots category award are Vikram Akula - and
Sameer Sawarkar -. Akula launched SKS Microfinance in 1998. It is
one of the fastest growing microfinance organisations in the world,
having provided over $33 million in loans and helping over 300,000
people in becoming economically self reliant. Sawarkar, founder of
Neurosynaptic Communications Pvt, Ltd, works in the areas of remote
medical diagnostics and telemedicine.
About the Indian Business Club (IBC)
IBC is a student-run organisation chaired by graduate students at
MIT. It was established in 2002 as an initiative of Sangam, the
Indian student's organisation at MIT.
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For further information, please contact: [email protected]
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