higlights

Ritu Verma is the Co-founder of Ankur Capital, an early stage venture capital fund. With a total work experience of more than 21 years, she has been investing in Agtech over the past 9 years and sits across the Boards of many AgTech startups. She is a PhD in Physics from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from INSEAD.

Hemendra Mathur is a seasoned investor, advisor, and ecosystem builder with nearly three decades of experience across venture capital, private equity, investment banking, management consulting, and policy advisory. He has played a pioneering role in shaping India’s agritech and food systems innovation ecosystem, investing in and mentoring multiple early-stage and growth-stage deep-tech and agritech startups. He brings deep expertise across the full investment lifecycle—from fund formation and deal origination to portfolio scaling and exits—with a strong focus on climate-smart agriculture, digital public infrastructure, and technology-led transformation. He actively advises governments, multilaterals, and industry bodies in India and internationally. An early evangelist of the AgriStack vision, he continues to work closely with policymakers, startups, and global development organisations to accelerate adoption of innovation at scale. Hemendra is widely regarded as a bridge between policy, capital, and on-ground implementation in agriculture and allied sectors. He is an agricultural engineering graduate from Rajasthan Agricultural University and has done his management education at IIM Ahmedabad.

Raman Ahuja is an independent consultant in food & agriculture working to influence the ecosystem for improved outcomes for businesses and producers Clients include technology startups, owners of Small & Medium Enterprises, The World Bank Group, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, etc. Prior to that Raman’s work experience spans agribusiness value chains, consumer products, and ingredients industries, operating in Indian and International markets.

Ram Kaundinya has 36 years of operating experience in the Agri Input industry, the last assignment being as the Global CEO of Advanta Seeds. He is a thought leader in the seed and biotech industry. An Advisor and Consultant for the last 12 years, he works closely with Agri Entrepreneurship Development programs and funds. He is an author and teaches Strategy to MBA students. He was the Director General, Federation of Seed Industry of India. He is a Management graduate from IIM Ahmedabad.

Abhijit brings nearly two decades of experience across agriculture, innovation, finance, sustainability, and rural development. His work spans agri-value chains, policy and government advisory, rural and agri-finance, microfinance, warehousing, commodity procurement, agri-infrastructure, and sustainable livelihoods. Over the years, he has worked across both public and private sectors, including with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, EY, NAFA, Spandana, YES Bank, Axis Bank, SSL, and NBHC. This extensive cross-sector and on-ground experience has shaped his multidisciplinary approach to building resilient, inclusive, and future-ready agri-food systems.A graduate in Agricultural Science from Assam Agricultural University and a postgraduate in Agri-Warehousing and Supply Chain Management from National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Abhijit brings strong expertise in regenerative and climate-smart agriculture, ESG adoption and reporting, food safety and quality assurance, agri-insurance, export-oriented agribusiness, and agricultural risk management. At ThinkAg, he focuses on strengthening startup and innovation ecosystems, enabling cross-border collaborations and strategic partnerships, and fostering multi-stakeholder engagement across startups, corporates, governments, investors, and development institutions to advance inclusive, regenerative, and climate-resilient agricultural growth.

A development practitioner at heart, Pallavi brings a rare combination of deep academic rigor and practical venture experience to the agricultural ecosystem. After earning her PhD in urban sustainability and spending over a decade in academia, she dedicated the next ten years to the startup space—shaping business strategies, product design, and inclusive innovation models. Her career is built on a foundation of diverse collaborations with global multilaterals, incubators, foundations, and grassroots communities. As a Co-Founder at ThinkAg, Pallavi guides our insights and acceleration initiatives, both domestic and global. She applies a multi-disciplinary approach to complex sector challenges, focusing on the practical, on-field adoption of technology, financial integration, and systemic sustainability. For Pallavi, true impact cannot be decoupled from inclusion and scale. Grounded in a people-centric philosophy, she relies on active dialogue and shared learning to build the relationships that drive meaningful, sector-wide change.

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