Vikas Raj

Vikas Raj is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School.  He is a noted expert on venture capital and impact investing, with a particular focus on financial technology (fintech) and resilience.

Professor Raj is co-founder and Managing Partner of ResilienceVC, a venture investor in fintech startups that drive financial resilience for the underserved.  Over the course of his career, he has invested in over 70 fintech startups, helping them raise over $1 billion and creating over $4 billion in value, with a singular focus on inclusive solutions for highly underserved consumers and small businesses.  Previously, Professor Raj was the Managing Director of Accion Venture Lab, the world’s first seed-stage venture fund focused on fintech for the underserved. Prior to Venture Lab, Professor Raj was an M&A investment banker at Evercore Partners.  He also helped build two pioneering entities in the microfinance space, as an early employee at Ujjivan and ASA International, both of which are now publicly traded companies.

Professor Raj has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from Columbia Business School (2010).  He is also an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).  He is the Chair of the Investment Committee of The Catalyst Fund, a climate fintech fund focused on Africa, a fintech contributor for Forbes and the host of The Pnyx, a technology debate podcast.