Ms. Veena Mankar has over four decades of experience across banking and financial services. She began her career with ICICI Ltd. (the precursor to ICICI Bank). She went on to work with global institutions such as Emirates Bank (Dubai), West LB (Germany), and FimBank (Malta). She was actively involved in setting up non-banking financial institutions as joint ventures focused on trade finance in India, Dubai, and Egypt—pioneering efforts to bridge funding gaps for underserved businesses in emerging markets.
She is the founder of Swadhaar FinAccess, a non-profit focused on financial education and inclusion, and Swadhaar FinServe Pvt. Ltd., a microfinance institution later acquired by RBL Bank and now operating as RBL FinServe.
Ms. Mankar currently serves on the Boards of RBL Bank, Spice Money Limited, PB Fintech Limited, and Artha India Research Advisors. In the past, she has served as the Independent Non-Executive Chairperson of IDFC First Bank and an Independent Director on the boards of Liberty Insurance (India) and Sa-Dhan.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Hons.) and a PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Her career reflects a deep commitment to inclusive finance and institution-building. She has been, and continues to be, engaged with financial inclusion since 2005.
Her interests include travelling, reading ( books in the old-fashioned way), bridge, and spending time with family, including her 6 grandsons. She is based in Mumbai.