Ep 335 - The Hustle Behind Villgro Philippines

EPISODE INTRODUCTION

Priya Thachadi, co-founder and CEO of Villgro Philippines, shares her inspiring journey from grassroots activism to driving social impact through entrepreneurship. After a diverse career spanning journalism, public policy, and social enterprise development, she moved to the Philippines to establish Villgro Philippines, a pioneering incubator supporting impact-driven startups. Priya opens up about the challenges of building an ecosystem from scratch, overcoming self-doubt, and empowering entrepreneurs from underserved communities. Whether you're a founder seeking impact, an aspiring changemaker, or someone navigating career pivots, this episode is rich with insights and advice you won't want to miss.

Episode Timeline: 

[00:04:08] - Growing up in Kerala and early influences

[00:07:14] - Boarding school life and developing independence

[00:13:54] - Discovering journalism

[00:18:25] - Shifting from journalism back to public policy

[00:23:19] - Stumbling into social entrepreneurship 

[00:27:27] - Joining Villgro India

[00:37:18] - Moving to the Philippines

[00:42:23] - Eye-opening experiences with rural entrepreneurs

[00:46:07] - Problems of start ups in the Philippines

[00:56:04] - The importance of role models in entrepreneurship

[01:02:38] - Building Villgro Philippines to support impactful businesses

“Now that we have a certain momentum in the ecosystem, we really have to work on making it more inclusive and kind of helping bring that exposure to entrepreneurs because the ideas and the quality of the talent, at least to get started, is definitely there.”

- Priya Thachadi

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyathachadi/ 

Website: https://villgrophilippines.org/

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