Sumita Ghose is the founder and managing director of Rangsutra Crafts, a social enterprise which seeks to bring about socioeconomic development and inclusive growth in rural India by engaging both the community and the handicrafts market.
Rangsutra is owned by over 1,000 artisans, most of whom are women. Other owners are like-minded organizations and people who are committed to ensuring sustainable livelihoods for rural artisans in India. Rangsutra provides design, marketing, technical and organizational support needed to make crafts. The organization also allied rural industries into viable enterprises so that they may provide regular home and village-based employment to rural artisans.
Prior to setting up Rangsutra, Sumita lived and worked in different parts of rural India for many years, mostly in Western Rajasthan with the URMUL Trust, working with rural communities for social change and economic development.
Sumita has a Master’s Degree in Economics from Mumbai University. She was a Fulbright scholar in the United States, where she completed a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution. Sumita was also a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship for Leadership and is among the first batch of the CII - Aspen India Fellows.