Meet the Major Programmes team
Nikita Pancholi
Nikita has been an advocate for impact at scale throughout her life.
“Growing up in India, where the educational gender gap is prominent, I was conscious of my privilege to be able to study and obtain a degree that has granted me so much independence.”
This discrepancy in opportunities motivated Nikita to join the development sector early in her career. She worked with local and international development organisations to help them become more strategic in their approach, improve operational efficiencies and raise sufficient funds, while expanding their reach and improving more lives.
“I fondly remember a female social entrepreneur who founded an organisation to improve learning outcomes for students from low-income backgrounds. She was passionate about continuously increasing her organisation’s impact, striving to improve the educational outcomes of as many young girls as she could over a five-year horizon. Working with such entrepreneurs helped me to realise the power of operating at scale.”
Working in Major Programmes has enabled Nikita to apply her formative working experience with business frameworks to a variety of complex client challenges. Her work constantly inspires her to think of the big picture, particularly when she’s managing large-scale transformation programmes that are delivering real societal impact.
“In my current role, I’m supporting a life sciences organisation with a major finance transformation. It’s rewarding to see how we’re helping them to scale efficiently and become better equipped to serve their customers – people who need a timely diagnosis and effective treatment decisions.”
"My diving experiences have been a real eye opener and prompted my interest in sustainability."
In her spare time, Nikita continues her passion for driving impact at scale and levelling access to opportunities. She mentors start-up founders on a pro-bono basis, most recently having mentored for a fund that supports female-founded start-ups.
“My Major Programmes experience and digital mindset have enabled me to add real value in these mentoring sessions.”
Major Programmes has given Nikita an avenue to explore other passions such as sustainability. As a scuba diver, she has seen the impact of climate change first-hand.
“It is disheartening to witness the bleaching of coral reefs due to rising temperatures and plastic floating at the bottom of the sea with beautiful marine life. My diving experiences have been a real eye opener and prompted my interest in sustainability. I joined the Major Programmes Sustainability and Climate Change community to learn and engage more with the topic.”
These experiences give Nikita great fulfilment, and having lived in a society with enormous disparities, driving social impact at scale is both a business imperative and her personal quest.
