Anshu Gupta

Biography

Anshu Gupta, Founder of Goonj and Gram Swabhiman, started his journey in social entrepreneurship with the disruptive idea of putting clothing — one of humanity’s most basic but most ignored needs — on the world’s development agenda.
Today, Goonj, the non-profit Anshu established in 1999, is recognized around the world for its unique approach to transforming lives. Clothing and discarded home goods are collected in India’s urban centers, restored and repurposed, and then the upcycled material is used as a form of currency to fuel “people-powered” community revitalization projects in rural villages.

Recipient of the 2015 Ramon Magsaysay award, popularly called the Nobel Prize of Asia, Anshu is also an Ashoka and Schwab Fellow while under his leadership Goonj has received national and international recognition on innovation, entrepreneurship, governance and public service including World Bank's Development Marketplace Award, Changemakers Innovation Award and many others