Dr. Megha Phansalkar is the Founder of Tisser Artisan Trust, driving women-led entrepreneurship, circular economy models and heritage-based value chains to impact one million lives. They promote rural livelihoods by supporting artisans across India through the production, marketing, and sale of authentic, handcrafted products rooted in traditional Indian crafts.

Megha has 27 years of experience across urban planning, water and sanitation, public health, livelihoods, skilling, data-driven governance and social innovation. She also serves as Principal Advisor – Networking & Partnerships at AIILSG, fostering government–industry–community collaborations for scalable development. A former Governance Chair and Steering Committee Member at WSSCC (UNOPS, Geneva), she has worked extensively with the World Bank, FAO and national agencies, championing inclusive policy design and multi-stakeholder convergence.