Raju Kendre (born October, 1993) is an Indian educator, social entrepreneur, and social activist known for his work in promoting education and grassroots development in rural and tribal communities of Central India.
He is the founder and CEO of the Eklavya India Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering first-generation learners from underprivileged backgrounds.
Raju is recognized as a TED speaker and has been honored with a place in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. He is also Chevening scholar at FCDO, UK and Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Early Life and education
Raju Kendre was born in a small village of Pimpri Khandare, situated near the Lonar crater in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region. He completed his schooling in a Zilla Parishad (government school) in the vernacular medium. Due to socio-economic constraints and a lack of awareness and mentorship, he had to drop out from Pune University and transitioned to a distance education program for his undergraduate studies.
Raju did his master's in social work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Since 2017 he has served as a visiting faculty at Savitri Jotirao College of Social Work in Yavatmal.
Raju was awarded Chevening scholarship by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom.This scholarship helped him pursue a master's in Development studies at SOAS University of London,where he authored his master's thesis on "Inequality in Indian Higher Education."
Eklavya India Foundation
Raju founded Eklavya India Foundation, a dynamic organization dedicated to promoting higher education and enabling grassroots leadership. Eklavya serves as a support system, providing mentorship, training, and guidance to first generation learners from historically underrepresented communities of Maharashtra. This empowers them to pursue education at premier Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) while fostering grassroots leadership in academia, policy, law, media, and development.
Global Scholars Program
Recognizing the underrepresentation of marginalized groups from India in world-class universities and global scholarships, Raju Kendre founded the Eklavya Global Scholars Program (GSP). The program's pilot batch included 60+ first-generation students, with 50 receiving offers from Ivy League and tier-2 universities in the UK, US, and Europe.
Awards and Recognitions
Fellow at Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). TedX Speaker. Forbes 30 Under 30 India. LinkedIn Top Voices in Social Impact. India-UK 75 Achievers Award. Zee Yuva Sanman.
Raju's social enterprise Eklavya is incubated at SOAS London, NSRCEL- IIMB and Nudge Institute, bangalore.
