Experience

UNDP

• United States
• International Affairs
• 700 & Above Employee

• Innovation Specialist

  • Apr 2022 - Present

• Head of Experimentation

  • Oct 2019 - Apr 2022

  Co-leading the Accelerator Lab team serving 10 countries across the Pacific with the aim of accelerating learning to achieve SDGs by 2030- Work with project teams to improve learning and capacity to map systems and assets, identify levers and logic for intervention, build hypotheses of change and test new approaches- Develop portfolio of experiments based on fit, coherence and leverage points for Tuvalu and Fiji- Design and coordinate four experiments with partners and communities on improving climate security and food systems / agriculture- Sensemaking with Government of Fiji and Vanuatu to develop UNDP’s post COVID-19 development offer



International Trade Centre

• International Trade and Development
• 700 & Above Employee

• Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and Innovation Consultant

  • Jun 2021 - Sep 2021

  • Conducted a Network Analysis and Mapping of the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon, Tonga, Samoa, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea with the United Nations Capital Development Fund• Interviewed 100+ incubators, entrepreneurs, associations, tech hubs to identify key priority actions for the development of the entrepreneurship sector in the Pacific• Developed user journeys for entrepreneurs with particular focus on women, youth, and minority entrepreneurs• Produced a 100-page report with visuals and conceptual frameworks contextualizing entrepreneurship in the Pacific



Xynteo

• Norway
• Business Consulting and Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Principal

  • Nov 2017 - Oct 2019

  Worked with Shell Global and Leadership Vanguard to train senior leaders in understanding systemic challenges in frontier markets and co-create opportunities for market development- Identified emerging issues / trends around renewable energy and air quality with a focus on social enterprise and regulation- Supported learning journeys through facilitation and tools like systems mapping, personas, backcasting, co-creation, ethnography and design thinking Lead the Waste to Value team which was designed to help Unilever build proof points for their support towards plastic waste management. This included the following:- End-to-end project management from ideation to testing pilots on the ground - Build capabilities and scalability by building in-house methods and toolkit - Understand the social, economic and environmental challenges confronting society and business to define project scope + communicate with ground level-end users and consumers to understand project requirements and opportunities- Build and manage relationships with external stakeholders and sector experts, so that their insights and analysis are captured into the project recommendations- Develop and showcase thought-leadership material and outcomes from research, analysis and synthesis of complex issues - Build a climate of trust, fun and openness by leading multi-disciplinary project teams and supporting project partners



World Resources Institute

• United States
• Think Tanks
• 700 & Above Employee

• Project Lead - Urban Innovation

  • Sep 2014 - Oct 2017

  - Built frameworks to analyse emerging mobility trends globally, with a focus on India- Managed key stakeholders to mainstream sustainable transport eco-systems into the infrastructure of cities: regulators, entrepreneurs and investors. - Led accelerator programmes and worked closely with transport technology companies ranging from start-ups to large aggregators to help them harmonise their business models with social impact.- Build impact metrics to understand impact of new mobility enterprises on cities.- Built pipeline of 200+ new mobility enterprises and worked with 20+ through accelerators and capacity building programs.- Supported high-level discussions with policymakers for better regulation by organising 6 roundtables.- Facilitated ~ $1 million into enterprises through partners and investors.- Developed funding proposals and managed donor relationships.- Devised baseline and endline surveys to monitor impact of programs.



Intellecap

• India
• Business Consulting and Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Content Curator

  • Aug 2013 - Aug 2014

  − Worked with multiple partners to develop a theme and content for the annual Sankalp Africa Summit and Global Summit for 2014 on inclusive business, social enterprise and business-led development.− Created a strategy for a knowledge corridor between Africa and India and an outreach plan for the theme and content to be seeded and disseminated through mainstream and digital media.− Led Sankalp Collab, a crowdsourcing platform for the inclusive development community. − Worked with multiple partners to develop a theme and content for the annual Sankalp Africa Summit and Global Summit for 2014 on inclusive business, social enterprise and business-led development.− Created a strategy for a knowledge corridor between Africa and India and an outreach plan for the theme and content to be seeded and disseminated through mainstream and digital media.− Led Sankalp Collab, a crowdsourcing platform for the inclusive development community.



Global Shapers Community

• Switzerland
• Non-profit Organization Management
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Curator of Mumbai Hub

  • Mar 2013 - Apr 2014

  The Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum is a group of young extraordinary individuals with great potential for future leadership roles in society.You can find me at: https://www.globalshapers.org/shapers/zainab-kakal The Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum is a group of young extraordinary individuals with great potential for future leadership roles in society.You can find me at: https://www.globalshapers.org/shapers/zainab-kakal



Educate Girls

• Non-profit Organizations
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Consultant

  • Aug 2013 - Dec 2013

  Created standard operating procedures to scale Educate Girls' presence in Rajasthan Created standard operating procedures to scale Educate Girls' presence in Rajasthan



The Blue Yonder Associates

• Co-founder and Director

  • Nov 2011 - Aug 2013

  − Developed and implemented a Sustainability Audit which aimed to help Le Meridien Kochi save costs, save energy and preserve local culture by the use of locally sourced materials. The audit is designed to have triple bottom line impacts− Organized the 1st Green Birding Conference in India with Gujarat Tourism and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) in the fragile ecosystem of Rann of Kutch− Conceptualized and organized the 1st Sustainable Tourism Conference on World Tourism Day for the tourism industry with Gujarat Tourism and FICCI− Conceptualized and created Responsible Tourism Clinics for ABAV, Brazil Travel and tourism show 2012. Clinics included workshops and talks designed to train sustainable tourism professionals as well as engage the mainstream industry.− Conceptualized and created Responsible Tourism Clinics for ITB Berlin 2012, 2013 and ITB Asia 2012,2013 along with Wild Asia Malaysia



Niiti Consulting

• India
• Civic and Social Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Consultant

  • Feb 2011 - Aug 2012

  Client: Atmosfair, Berlin, Germany− Conducted a feasibility study to understand and estimate the market for carbon offsetting projects in India, evaluated the current reach and impact and the potential opportunity for investment and scale of investment. Uncovered 60 potential targets and conducted field visits to selected projectsClient: Lafarge Research Center, Lyon, France− Reached out to 1600 players in Sustainable Construction in India for launching the Lafarge Invention Awards 2011, organized meetings across India and collected 33 entries for the awards



K.C. College, Mumbai University

• Visiting Lecturer

  • Dec 2011 - Mar 2012

  Conceptualized and taught a module on Mass Media Research to second year students of the Bachelors in Mass Media programme Conceptualized and taught a module on Mass Media Research to second year students of the Bachelors in Mass Media programme



Tata Institute of Social Sciences

• India
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Writer-Researcher

  • Jul 2011 - Sep 2011

  Client: Indian Department of PostResearched and co-wrote a manual for postmen with India Post to pursue entrepreneurship

• Research Officer

  • Mar 2011 - Jun 2011

  Conducted 15 interviews, Focus Group Discussions and multi-stakeholder consultations for evaluating HPCL's CSR initiative – Unnati



StartingBloc

• United States
• Professional Training and Coaching
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Starting Bloc Fellow and Member of Admissions Committee

  • Feb 2011 - Mar 2011

  Fellow at StartingBloc Boston 2010Joined the Admissions Committee 2011 Fellow at StartingBloc Boston 2010Joined the Admissions Committee 2011



Habitat for Humanity International

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 700 & Above Employee

• Volunteer

  • Feb 2011 - Feb 2011

  Contributed to making of the Public Service Advertisement and resource development at the Ivy Leaguer Build Contributed to making of the Public Service Advertisement and resource development at the Ivy Leaguer Build



SDA Bocconi

• Italy
• Education Administration Programs
• 500 - 600 Employee

• Research Intern

  • Jul 2010 - Nov 2010

  − Advanced research on European governance models with Dr. Fedrica Bandini (Dean, Nonprofit Dept., Centre for Public Management & Policy), published in numerous journals titled “Social Enterprises in Europe: Governance Models - An Analysis of Social Enterprises Governance Models Through a Comparative Study of the Legislation of Eleven Countries”− Created an annual strategic plan for nonprofit law, developed a knowledge database of social enterprise research making 10,000 articles accessible to students



Samhita

• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Outreach Associate

  • Jul 2009 - Dec 2009

  Developed the NGO outreach strategy and relationships with 50 non-profits, created and implemented a framework for conducting due diligence on registered NGOs and structured the content development for the web platform Developed the NGO outreach strategy and relationships with 50 non-profits, created and implemented a framework for conducting due diligence on registered NGOs and structured the content development for the web platform



Responsible Tourism Network

• Volunteer

  • Jun 2009 - Jun 2009

  Conceived and documented personal stories during disaster relief post Cyclone Aila which were published by The Blue Yonder Conceived and documented personal stories during disaster relief post Cyclone Aila which were published by The Blue Yonder



UnLtd India

• India
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Volunteer

  • May 2009 - Jun 2009

  Aided event planning and administration for the ‘The Hub’ and the International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship in India Aided event planning and administration for the ‘The Hub’ and the International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship in India



Jagriti Sewa Sansthan

• India
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Partcipant & Selector

  • Dec 2008 - Jan 2009

  − Participant of the Tata Jagriti Yatra 2008-09− Part of the team that lead and presented the final synthesis report of the Tata Jagirti Yatra.Selector, 2009, 2010, 2011 − Participant of the Tata Jagriti Yatra 2008-09− Part of the team that lead and presented the final synthesis report of the Tata Jagirti Yatra.Selector, 2009, 2010, 2011



Intellecap

• India
• Business Consulting and Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Intern

  • Nov 2008 - Dec 2008

  Organized multi-stakeholder meets across India to modify the existing value added proposition of their new company, Intellecash and developed content for website and newsletter Organized multi-stakeholder meets across India to modify the existing value added proposition of their new company, Intellecash and developed content for website and newsletter



Piramal Foundation's Grassroots Development Laboratory

• Intern

  • Apr 2008 - Jun 2008

  Created communication material for business development including brochure, short film and website content, managed public relations resulting in 6 newspaper articles in national and local dailies and devised recruitment processes and managed a team of 40 BPO rural women employees Created communication material for business development including brochure, short film and website content, managed public relations resulting in 6 newspaper articles in national and local dailies and devised recruitment processes and managed a team of 40 BPO rural women employees



Toybank - Development through Play

• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Intern

  • Oct 2007 - Nov 2007

  Created information architecture and developed content for the website, organized 2 toy distribution events with St. Jude India Childcare Centre and Mobile Crèches distributing about 100 toys and one toy collection event with State Bank of India collecting more than 150 toys Created information architecture and developed content for the website, organized 2 toy distribution events with St. Jude India Childcare Centre and Mobile Crèches distributing about 100 toys and one toy collection event with State Bank of India collecting more than 150 toys



Mumbai Together

• Communications Coordinator

  • Jul 2007 - Sep 2007

  Designed the communications campaign (Web, TV and Print) for the week-long Chalo Mumbai Saath Saath (part of the Clean up the World international campaign) Designed the communications campaign (Web, TV and Print) for the week-long Chalo Mumbai Saath Saath (part of the Clean up the World international campaign)



Aga Khan Rural Support Programme

• Research
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Volunteer

  • Apr 2007 - Jun 2007

  Developed market study of women entrepreneurs at the Shri Navjeevan Adivasi Mahila Vikas Manch (NJAMVM), held 30 focused group discussions resulting in 7 case studies which formed a part of a paper titled “Impact of livelihood interventions: Study of Mahila Swa-Sahay Juth Bazaar Haat” and conducted an impact assessment of microfinance intervention on livelihood of women. Findings were presented to the CEO resulting in revision of the organizational structure of the Women‟s Federation Developed market study of women entrepreneurs at the Shri Navjeevan Adivasi Mahila Vikas Manch (NJAMVM), held 30 focused group discussions resulting in 7 case studies which formed a part of a paper titled “Impact of livelihood interventions: Study of Mahila Swa-Sahay Juth Bazaar Haat” and conducted an impact assessment of microfinance intervention on livelihood of women. Findings were presented to the CEO resulting in revision of the organizational structure of the Women‟s Federation



Frog Books

• Intern

  • Oct 2006 - Nov 2006



Ormax Consultants

• Intern

  • Mar 2006 - May 2006



Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation and Research Centre (DAIRRC)

• Volunteer

  • Jun 2005 - Sep 2005

  Life-skills tutor at Utpal Sanghvi School, Juhu for STEP (Student Teacher Education Programme) Life-skills tutor at Utpal Sanghvi School, Juhu for STEP (Student Teacher Education Programme)