Stepping Up The Ladder

What would you say about an avid squash and basketball player managing brand and strategy?

She's daughter of Rana Kapoor, founder of Yes Bank, and she's stepping out into the big world of business.

Rakhee founded ART Capital (India), a financial-services holding company, with an aim to build an organisation driven by innovation, creativity, and the finest human capital with an Owner-Manager-Partner entrepreneurial ethos.

Under ART Capital, where she is also the CEO, are two ventures: RAAS Housing Finance (India), for long-term mortgage finance to retail customers, and Rural Agri Ventures India, an incubation/project-development firm focused on verticals in the rural and agricultural domains.

Says Raakhe: “I am focusing on tapping India's sunrise sectors by providing incubation and project development assistance to businesses in the rural and agricultural domain. I believe that India can achieve its true potential by providing entrepreneurial and creative platforms to the youth as well as women entrepreneurs looking to establish their own ventures.”

Raakhe (married to Alkesh Tandon) prepared for entrepreneurship through four summer internships: in 2005 with Merrill Lynch, in 2006 with JP Morgan in Mumbai, in 2007 with JP Morgan again, but in New York, and in 2008 with Goldman Sachs. That was while she was completing a Bachelor of Science in Economics diploma (2004-2008) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, focusing on Finance and Management.

One of three undergraduate students selected to matriculate into the MBA program directly from the under-graduate program, she completed an MBA from The Wharton School, U. Penn, Philadelphia (2007-2009), majoring in Entrepreneurial Management, USA.

That has given her the background to step into her latest venture: The Indian School of Management & Entrepreneurship, an institution for Entreprenuerial Studies with an innovative and thinking-ahead curriculum to develop entrepreneurial momentum.

She is also the Chapter Chair on the board of YPO Next Generation (YNG) and a member on the committee of the Young FICCI Ladies Organization (YFLO), New Delhi. Besides, she is active in her alma mater alumni organization and co-founded, in 2013, the Penn Club of Delhi. She is also on the Board of Trustees of The Three Sisters’ Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that works towards educating and empowering the girl child.

Her younger sister, Roshini, with a Master’s in Management Science from The London Business School recently joined The Three Sisters: Institutional Office. Her elder sister Radha, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Parsons - The New School of Design, New York, collaborated with Parsons to launch The Indian School of Design and Innovation in Mumbai.

Raakhe believes that there’s huge potential for rural India, particularly women in rural India, and her new ventures are aimed at bringing empowerment and growth to rural areas.

Says Raakhe: “My mission is to empower and engage entrepreneurs, especially the Indian woman, and also bring to the fore the immense potential of rural and agri ventures, affordable housing and entrepreneurial education. I would say to women entrepreneurs is “you, and every woman, can have it all”.