Rajesh Rathod
FOUNDER | YUME LEARNING | ENTREPRENEUR | WORKFORCE ARCHITECT
Rajesh Rathod is a serial entrepreneur and lifelong learner who has spent over two decades building platforms that help young people transition from education to employment. As the founder of Yume Learning, he focuses on bridging the gap between emerging technologies and accessible, job-linked training for graduates.
He has consistently worked in sunrise sectors — launching mobile phones in 1996, promoting internet payments in 2000, entering the skilling space in 2010, and most recently, popularizing AI learning since 2024. Across 12 Indian states, his companies have directly trained more than 5 lakh learners, many from underserved backgrounds. Before founding Yume, Rajesh co-founded Paradigm Consulting and Ants & Partners, and mentored SAFAL Trust, leading skilling programs in collaboration with government bodies and civil society.
He has contributed to large-scale initiatives such as STAR, Skill India, BridgeTech, Naan Mudhalvan, and Kalike Jothege Kaushalya (KJK) — all focused on practical, outcome-driven education.
A product of IIM Ahmedabad, with a degree in Physics from Mumbai University, Rajesh’s early career in advertising & telecom Industry shaped his sharp professional instincts. He draws inspiration from Bill Bernbach’s honest creativity and Alfred E. Neuman’s playful irreverence— a mix that reflects in both his work and worldview.
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Outside of work, Rajesh enjoys traveling through India’s small towns, watching oddball foreign films, listening to rock and folk music, and, most recently, getting lost on treks — always curious, always moving forward.
Co-Founder, ANTS SKILL VARSITY & Yume Learning | Social Entrepreneur | Skilling Leader | Non profit Strategist
Dr. Rumi Sikdar is a serial entrepreneur and changemaker who has worked at the intersection of skills, livelihoods, and social impact for over two decades. As Co-Founder of Yume Learning and Chief Functionary of SAFAL Trust, she has helped shape inclusive training ecosystems across India, especially for women, youth, and underserved communities.
Rumi began working in the skills and livelihoods space long before it became a national priority. Since 2005, she has built and led operations that have trained over 2 lakh learners across India, combining government partnerships, CSR engagements, and grassroots mobilization. Her work spans multiple states and includes flagship initiatives under NSQF, N.Cr.Framework, NULM, PMKVY, EGMM, and others and in the latest skilling space with Higher Education Programs Like Naan Mudalvan, Kalikey Jotheygey Kaushalaya, MicroSoft Education and NASSCOM’s Future Skills Prime.
She holds a PhD on the impact of the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), and has worked on curriculum reform, school-based skilling programs, Higher education programs and community entrepreneurship. Her entrepreneurial journey has been marked by adaptability — building teams of 400+, using technology to scale in remote areas, and navigating crises with resilience. She is also one of the early women leaders to successfully blend social impact with enterprise.
Rumi’s professional experience includes earlier roles in organizations like TARU, CEE, YUVA, and Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, where she worked across environment, disability, and youth development. She is an alumna of IIM Bangalore’s Entrepreneurship Program, a UNCTAD-certified Empretec entrepreneur, and a passionate advocate for women-led nano enterprises.
Beyond work, Rumi is an avid traveler (with 33 countries visited), an enthusiastic gardener, and a design lover with a keen eye for interiors and landscaping. She has been recognized with awards like Social Entrepreneur of Karnataka (2017) and Women Entrepreneur of the Year (2018), and featured in CEO Magazine (2023).
Dr. Rumi Sikdar
Dr. Ravi Shankar
Dr. Ravishankar is a global thought leader in framing accreditation and certification standards for Data Science & AI-ML. He specializes in IR4.0 technologies & its application to solve business problems especially in the Education, Pharma, Insurance and the IT sector. He crafts learning journeys and delivers AI-ML courses for CXO’s in the Healthcare, BFSI and Retail/CPG verticals. Dr. Ravi Shankar is also an entrepreneur, mentor & investor in the AgFood Tech & rural impact startup ecosystems.
Currently a Visiting Professor, at leading business institutes in India & abroad including the prestigious ISB & Singapore Management University. Ravi specializes in teaching Strategic AI Leadership, AI Business Adoption, Computer Vision and Deep Learning. He also consults & drives Data Science driven Digital Transformation initiatives at Fortune 1000 firms. Ravi has over three decades of experience at the intersection of
Agricultural Policy and Data Analytics.
He is actively involved in transforming the sugarcane industry from a net zero perspective. Also, co-founder of Gram Paathshala, Bharat Mandi & NextWave Tech. Past work experience includes ICAR, AMEX, BLACKSTONE, DELL, GE-Healthcare and PwC evolving from mid to senior level leadership roles in analytics led consulting straddling multiple verticals -Agriculture, BFSI, Healthcare, CPG-Retail and Technology in the Indo-US corridor. He is also involved in fostering FPOs/ FPCs at scale and driving innovation & technology adoption in the Indian Agriculture community across Ag-Food value systems.
A seasoned AgTech mentor with numerous accelerators & incubators including UASB & UASD, C-CAMP, Ah Ventures, Antennae Ventures, FAAD network (Agrimunch), A-Idea NAARM (AgriUdaan), AgFoodTech360, FKCCI startup’s, TiE Bangalore, & Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM). Contributing to the overall growth & development of the Agri ecosystem by virtue of being on the Advisory Board of NDRI & IIHR - Central Research Institutes (ICAR, GoI), MoFPI, ICRISAT, CIMMYT, ITC, JUAIV, DRL Foundation, Yara International etc. Most recently, Dr. Ravi Shankar has been selected as an Indian Administrative Fellow (IAF) with the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
