Akanksha Sharma has more than a decade of experience in leadership roles at both large corporations and UN agencies, where she led change for development through strategic decision-making and policy discourse on CSR, sustainability, business responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and impact investments. She currently leads CSR and Sustainability for Sterlite Technologies. She is also a global shaper of the World Economic Forum and was chosen in 2017 to represent India on an international expedition on climate change in Antarctica. She has mentored non-profits and has served on several boards and policy committees.
Sharma has worked extensively on international development issues such as poverty alleviation, health, education, environment, climate change, gender issues, post conflict development, governance, disarmament and more in diverse regions of the world. Knowing those policy contexts and the on-the-ground challenges first hand, she attended the Creating Shared Value program at Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education. Here she discusses her HBS experience.
I have been working with all the three players in the sector including businesses, international organizations and non-profits, building valuable alliances for development ranging across public and private sectors, NGOs, and civil societies. And honestly, I faced an ethical dilemma when it came to finding scalable solutions to some of the most pressing global development problems. People around the world are finding it increasingly difficult to buy into the narrative of shared, continuous social and economic progress that has prevailed for decades. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide solutions to the most basic problems of development. The time is right to look for disruption in a big way, and I wanted to learn about this from the source: HBS professors Michael Porter and Mark Kramer.
This program helped me redefine the larger narrative. It strengthened my conviction that developing a collaborative approach for development models and creating a shared-value proposition is a definite answer to many of the global developmental issues in the world. With my experience, I understand the ground-level issues, particularly at the resource front. I now believe that the solution actually lies in bringing all the development institutions together to create shared value.
In working with businesses and international organizations and helping them establish strategic partnerships to achieve their development goals, I've seen that often we don't view a problem through the right lens. I can say with conviction that most people consider businesses as problem creators, which limits their ability to contribute to the solutions. This program helps you develop the perspective that businesses should be considered not just as development contributors through CSR or philanthropy—they should be placed at the very center of the development process.
In addition, the absolutely brilliant and diverse peer group at HBS and their shared experiences made the program very interesting. We had senior executives from all around the world—working across business, government, the social sector, and civil society—each accomplished in her or his own unique way. This made a real difference to the cumulative learning experience.
I believe that we are in an unprecedented time in history, in the sense that we are extremely aware of the problems around us, yet we feel helpless to solve them. In spite of all the efforts made so far by many governments, the UN, the NGOs, and society, we are ham-fisted with the most basic of social problems.
This program provides an innovative approach to assessing possible solutions. The real value of the program lies in its practical approach, with case studies of institutions that have successfully implemented the shared-value models. The program content provides the opportunity for a range of interesting, intellectually stimulating discussions surrounding the case studies, helping you look at the same issue with a different lens. It’s that perspectives that makes all the difference.
I believe this program is right for anyone who is concerned with development, whether the person works with businesses, government, or NGOs. It is fundamentally a strategy program on development. I also strongly recommend that we pay attention to the many popular but failed theories around us and understand them as a desire for a new model for a better world.
