Mumbai: In the world of banking and financial services, precision and performance often take center stage. Yet for Dr. Kunda Jadhav, a CXO at a foreign Bank, numbers have always carried a deeper meaning- one that extends into the realm of social impact. Her recently awarded Doctor of Philosophy in Management – Strategy & Leadership by Indian Management School & Research Centre, marks not just an academic achievement, but a milestone in her lifelong pursuit of measuring impact beyond balance sheets and demonstrating how empowerment initiatives can transform communities.
Her thesis, “Measuring the Social Return on Investment (SROI) of Women’s Empowerment: A Case Study of the ShaktiNest Incubation Program for Women Entrepreneurs,” has been formally accepted, earning her the coveted doctoral certificate. The research is already being hailed as a significant contribution to the growing field of social impact measurement.
A Career Rooted in Banking Operations and Strategy
Dr. Jadhav’s career spans decades in Banking and Financial services, where she has steered teams through complex transitions with strategic leadership and turned intricate frameworks into practical outcomes.
Colleagues describe her as a leader who blends technical rigor with human insight. “Banking taught me the language of numbers,” she reflects, “but leadership taught me the language of impact. I wanted to bridge the two- to quantify empowerment not just as a moral imperative but as a measurable return on investment.”
ShaktiNest: A Pro-Bono Experiment in Empowerment
The ShaktiNest Incubation Program became the centerpiece of her doctoral research. But before it became a case study, it was a hands-on experiment. Dr. Jadhav set up ShaktiNest on a pro-bono basis, determined to experience the challenges and opportunities of women’s empowerment initiatives closely.
Unlike many pilot projects, ShaktiNest was run with the discipline of a corporate venture. It had a vision and mission statement, a logo that symbolized strength and growth, clearly defined objectives, and a phase-wise action plan. Progress was monitored through structured processes, ensuring accountability and transparency.
“I wanted to treat empowerment with the same seriousness as any corporate project,” she says. “That meant clear goals, progress tracking, and a brand identity. Women entrepreneurs deserve professionalism, not charity.” This approach gave ShaktiNest structure and credibility, offering mentorship and resources while instilling confidence and belonging.
The Case Study and SROI Framework
Dr. Jadhav applied the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework to ShaktiNest, showing how empowerment generates returns beyond business- strengthening families, communities, and inspiring future generations. “Empowerment is contagious,” she says. “When one woman rises, she lifts others with her.” By quantifying outcomes like confidence, resilience, and mobility, SROI makes a compelling case for continued investment in women-led initiatives.
Why SROI Matters
When CSR could slip into box‑ticking, SROI restores accountability. Dr. Jadhav’s thesis makes clear: “women’s empowerment is strategy, not charity.” “Numbers can persuade where words fail,” she says. “When empowerment yields measurable returns, the conversation shifts from benevolence to necessity.” Her research frames empowerment as a driver of inclusive growth, urging wider adoption of SROI.
Motivation and Personal Drive
The motivation behind her research was deeply personal. As a leader in banking, Dr. Jadhav witnessed firsthand the barriers women face in accessing capital, mentorship, and leadership opportunities. As a mentor and guest lecturer, she encountered the hunger for guidance among young professionals and entrepreneurs, reinforcing her resolve to measure empowerment’s broader impact.
Her PhD journey became a way to integrate these experiences into a legacy project- one that would not only contribute to academic scholarship but also inspire an institutional change.
“I wanted my thesis to be more than an academic exercise,” she says. “It had to be a bridge—between industry and academia, between numbers and narratives, between empowerment as an idea and empowerment as a measurable reality.”
Navigating the Research Journey
Balancing professional responsibilities with academic rigor required discipline, resilience, and a supportive ecosystem. Dr. Jadhav synthesized complex frameworks into compelling visual and narrative formats, blending technical precision with storytelling.
Her thesis is anchored in clarity and accessibility, ensuring that examiners, policymakers, and practitioners alike can engage with the findings. Visual legacy maps and timelines were used to trace the evolution of India’s Global Capability Centers (GCCs) from cost centers to stewardship hubs, contextualizing the ShaktiNest program within broader institutional shifts.
Banking Experience as a Foundation
Her banking and financial services background provided the analytical lens through which she approached SROI. Concepts such as risk management, return on equity, and capital allocation became metaphors for understanding empowerment.
“Banking taught me to ask: what is the return? Research taught me to ask: return for whom? Together, they shaped my thesis into a framework that is both rigorous and humane,” she observes.
This dual perspective of financial acumen combined with social consciousness, enabled her to craft a thesis that resonates across sectors.
A Legacy Beyond the Thesis
For Dr. Jadhav, the PhD is not an endpoint but a beginning. Her long-term vision is to grow the ShaktiNest symbol and IGNITE values beyond the thesis, creating spaces where women’s empowerment is institutionalized, celebrated, and scaled.
She hopes her research will inspire future scholars to adopt SROI as a tool for measuring impact in diverse fields—from education to healthcare, from sustainability to leadership.
Conclusion
Dr. Kunda Jadhav’s doctoral journey is a story of purpose, precision, and passion. It is about a banker who chose to measure empowerment, a leader who chose to mentor, and a scholar who chose to leave behind a legacy of clarity and impact.
Her thesis on the Social Return on Investment of Women’s Empowerment is more than a certificate—it is a call to action. It reminds us that empowerment is not abstract; it is measurable, valuable, and indispensable to the future of inclusive growth.
As she celebrates this milestone, her journey stands as an inspiration for professionals who dare to ask deeper questions, for institutions that seek to measure what truly matters, and for women everywhere who dream of building enterprises that change not only their lives but the world around them.
