Meet Ganesh Raja, the CEO of Kotak Education Foundation, who’s on a mission to transform India’s education landscape. With a passion that’s simply infectious, he is dedicated to empowering marginalised children and youth, helping them develop a growth mindset and driving social impact. So, what’s he done so far? The Kotak Education Foundation, under his leadership, has collaborated with several state governments to renovate hundreds of schools in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.
His team has been collaborating closely with educators and school administrators, providing them with teaching strategies that support children in gaining critical abilities like digital literacy, communicative English and 21st-century skills. He has always been motivated by a dedication to social responsibility, starting with his early years at ITC Hotels and continuing through his leadership positions at the Bahrain Economic Development Board, Dun & Bradstreet and ITM Business Schools. He has been leading the foundation toward some incredible innovations in his capacity as CEO!
His focus is on impact, outreach and operational excellence. More than 50,000 students have benefited from their programs, with academic performance improving by 30% and digital literacy increasing by 50%. The figures speak for themselves.
To begin with, he discusses the organisation’s approach: “We believe that the future of education lies in technology-driven strategies. However, digitisation is only effective when there is access to the internet, digital resources and government support to implement these policies seamlessly. By aligning our programs with existing government infrastructure and leveraging last-mile connectivity, we ensure that our interventions reach the students who need them most.”
While many philanthropic initiatives focus on short-term interventions, KEF adopts a Sustainability-First approach, ensuring that its programs create lasting impact. Elaborating on the same, he says, “Each of our programs is designed to catalyze long-term, systemic change rather than serve as a one-time intervention. We continue to support educational institutions even after our programs officially conclude, fostering deep trust and strengthening institutional capacity. Our flagship educator development program, KSHAMATA, equips teachers with leadership and pedagogical skills in communicative English, digital pedagogy, school leadership and foundational literacy and numeracy. This creates a ripple effect, ensuring continuous improvement in learning outcomes long after our direct participation ends.” In addition to strengthening the education ecosystem, they also bridge the gap between education and employability. “Our vocational education and livelihood programs prepare young people for jobs in the organised sector and track their employment outcomes for up to three years post-placement. Through initiatives like the Kotak Junior Scholarship, Kotak Graduate Scholarship and Kotak Kanya Scholarship, we support students at every stage of their academic journey, ensuring that financial barriers do not hinder their progress.”
As KEF expands its reach, ensuring the quality of educational outcomes remains a key priority. He acknowledged the challenges of scaling impact:
“For 15 years, we focused on an ‘Inch Wide, Mile Deep’ approach—working closely with schools as systems of change. We measured student learning outcomes at the school level to ensure meaningful progress. However, scaling up comes with risks, including knowledge absorption gaps among teachers and students. To mitigate this, we are building a learning repository that educators and learners can access anytime, fostering lifelong learning.” With artificial intelligence (AI) transforming education and the job market, KEF is committed to equipping marginalized students with the skills they need to compete. He further emphasised, “AI can significantly enhance accessibility for marginalised communities by improving student learning outcomes, teacher motivation and parental engagement. We integrate AI-assisted learning tools, pre-made digital content, workbooks and interactive materials to enrich the learning experience.”
Beyond basic literacy and numeracy, KEF prioritizes 21st-century skills. “To be future-ready global citizens, students from underprivileged backgrounds need financial and digital literacy, analytical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, communication skills, adaptability and media literacy. By embedding these competencies into our programs, we prepare them to compete with their more privileged peers.”
One of the biggest challenges in digital education is ensuring sustainability. KEF avoids reliance on high-tech solutions that may not always be viable in underprivileged areas. “We strongly believe that teachers are the real change agents. Instead of relying solely on digital infrastructure, we equip educators with tech-enabled, pedagogically sound methods through programs like KO-Teach. By leveraging existing low-tech infrastructure and blended learning approaches—such as explainer videos, differentiated worksheets, and AI-assisted lesson plans—we ensure that technology enhances learning rather than dictating it.”
Moving away from traditional rote learning methods requires a mindset shift, particularly in schools located in remote rural areas or urban slums. The CEO credited KEF’s School Leadership Program as a key driver of this transformation:
“We empower school administrators with 67 internally developed leadership and management strategies, helping them create an environment that fosters innovation in pedagogy. One of our primary challenges has been shifting expectations—from seeing students as passive learners to setting high academic standards. Through a structured process of perspective-building, we guide school leaders in developing a personal vision for their roles and fostering a culture of continuous learning.” These interventions have yielded tangible results, reducing resistance to change and encouraging more engaging, participatory classroom environments.
Reflecting on the shift from the corporate world to the social sector, the spokesperson shared a valuable leadership lesson: “One thing I’ve learned is that slow is fast. Any meaningful change in education takes years—sometimes even decades. There are no shortcuts. No project can be measured by a two- or three-year timeline, as that represents only a fraction of the time required for systemic transformation. We must remain relentless in our pursuit of progress, societal change, and shifting mindsets.”
India’s 2% Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandate has shaped philanthropic efforts, but has it driven true innovation? He offered a nuanced perspective:
“Before the 2% mandate, many corporations already had strong CSR initiatives focused on ethical, philanthropic, and environmental goals. However, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in marginalised communities and accelerated the need for strategic social investments. The key to fostering meaningful corporate philanthropy lies in creating long-term collectives—collaborations spanning at least five to six years with clear CSR mandates and government support. This will ensure sustained commitment rather than short-term compliance-driven funding.”
When asked about the ultimate indicator of success, he articulated a powerful vision: “Success means ensuring that a child from the most remote part of India—perhaps a girl from a rural or tribal area—receives the same quality of education as a student in an elite urban school. More importantly, their pathway to success should be seamless, without barriers of gender, income, or geography. When global, national and local policies align to guarantee quality education and economic opportunities for all, that is when we will have truly transformed educational equity. I would love to see how many Kalpana Chawlas we can nurture in the years to come.”
