Akash graduated from The Wharton School in 2007 with a dual degree in Finance and Management. Unlike the majority of his peers however, he was admittedly never interested in pursuing a career in management consulting or investment banking. He fancied himself as more a builder and an entrepreneur – someone that hoped to leave the world a little better off than he found it.

After a couple of startups and a short stint as a financial analyst, Akash found himself at Kiva.org, where he served as Chief of Staff to the CEO and President. Now, he is one of the business leads on Kiva.org’s new pilot program, Kiva Zip. Together, he and the rest of the Zip team are testing different ways to leverage technology such as mobile payments to make Kiva’s existing model more direct.

In his spare time, Akash enjoys mentoring high school students and going on hikes.