Rasima Swarup

Rasima Swarup

Head of Strategy & Operations, Catalyst Fund

Rasima is the Head of Strategy & Operations for Catalyst Fund. As part of her role, she shapes the Fund's strategic direction, fostering collaboration within the team to achieve targets, and identifying growth opportunities. She particularly focuses on growing the Catalyst Climate Innovation Hub, a grant-funded initiative dedicated to accelerating innovation ecosystems for climate resilience in emerging markets.

As one of the early members of Catalyst Fund, Rasima has worn multiple hats, including leading venture-building engagements with portfolio companies to help them achieve product-market fit, portfolio management and forging partnerships with investors and corporate stakeholders, and crafting the initial AAA impact framework. Before joining BFA Global, Rasima pursued her graduate degree and worked with CGAP to develop and test customer-centricity frameworks. Her career journey also includes experiences with Deloitte in both India and Australia, where she served as a Senior Analyst. At Deloitte, Rasima focused on building identity governance solutions for various financial institutions, while also managing client relations and product development across multicultural, globally distributed teams. Rasima holds a Masters in International Business and Development Economics from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from Manipal University (India).

Publications by this author

Learning From Our Past: Successful Ecosystem Evolutions Follow a Common Path
Climate Action |

Learning From Our Past: Successful Ecosystem Evolutions Follow a Common Path

In early 2021, BFA Global, CGAP, UNCDF’s Better than Cash Alliance, PayPal, the UN’s Race to Resilience, and the...

By Bethany Kanten
Why we invested: HealthDart is providing accessible, affordable healthcare services to townships in South Africa
Inclusive Fintech |

Why we invested: HealthDart is providing accessible, affordable healthcare services to townships in South Africa

Approximately 615 million people in Africa (~52% of the population) face either nonexistent or fragmented access to healthcare. Yearly,...

By Rasima Swarup
Investor guide to remote due diligence for inclusive fintech startups
Inclusive Fintech |

Investor guide to remote due diligence for inclusive fintech startups

  For investors, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a remote approach to the due diligence process. As a result, investors...

By Rasima Swarup
Beyond credit: 3 emerging opportunities for fintech startups in the gig economy
Digital Financial Services |

Beyond credit: 3 emerging opportunities for fintech startups in the gig economy

Gig work is projected to generate a gross volume of ~$455 billion globally by 2023. Gig work has been...

By Rasima Swarup
Catalyst Fund toolkit helps startups get AI ready
Artificial Intelligence |

Catalyst Fund toolkit helps startups get AI ready

In India, we’ve seen a vast array of AI solutions deployed across all sorts of industries. Funding of AI...

By Rasima Swarup
What are Fintech CEOs saying about the future of inclusive fintech?
Inclusive Fintech |

What are Fintech CEOs saying about the future of inclusive fintech?

An insight, an opportunity, and a challenge Last week, an incredible community of entrepreneurs who are building cutting-edge financial...

By Maelis Carraro
What if We Offered Business Support to Small Merchants Over WhatsApp?
Livelihoods and Microenterprise |

What if We Offered Business Support to Small Merchants Over WhatsApp?

Micro-consulting to Provide MSMEs with Practical Advice Micro and small retailers (referred to as small merchants here) play a...

By Rasima Swarup