Research

Projects & Team

A comprehensive view of ongoing and completed research initiatives, and the talented individuals who make this work possible.

Research Projects

Active and recent research initiatives across emerging markets.

active2025-01-01 — Present

Banas Dairy: Strengthening Rural Retail through Umang Malls

Partnering with Banas Dairy — India’s largest dairy cooperative and a key contributor to Amul — to research sales performance, consumer behaviour, and marketing strategies for the Umang Mall rural retail model. The initiative covers 35+ stores in rural areas following a circular economy model, offering branded products to rural consumers.

Collaborators: Prof. Jaideep Prabhu

active2024-01-01 — Present

Shattering the Invisible Chains: Women Entrepreneurs in Egypt

Investigating how age and gender influence buyer dependency in micro-enterprises in Egypt. Using scenario-based field experiments, this study identifies effective interventions — including negotiation training, alternative supplier information, and networking opportunities — to reduce supplier dependency and improve business performance for women entrepreneurs.

Collaborators: Prof. Jaideep Prabhu, Magda Hassan, Jarrod Vassello

active2023-01-01 — Present

Farmonaut: AI-Powered Satellite Advisories for Farmers

Evaluating the causal impact of Farmonaut’s AI-powered satellite-based agricultural advisories on farmer productivity. Comparing WhatsApp-based alerts versus the JEEVN AI web portal, using remote sensing data (NDVI, SAVI), Regression Kink Design, and quasi-experimental techniques across 900+ farms.

Collaborators: Paul Kattuman, Luisa Corrado, Prof. Jaideep Prabhu

active2022-01-01 — Present

Mentor Matching: Impact of Customized Mentoring on Entrepreneurs

In collaboration with Micromentor (Capital For Good), this University of Cambridge-backed project develops a two-sided matching framework to customize business mentoring based on mentee and mentor characteristics. Using econometric modelling and machine learning, we aim to maximize successful matches and drive evidence-based improvements in the Micromentor platform’s matching algorithm.

Collaborators: Prof. Jaideep Prabhu, Prof. Ahmed Khwaja

active2022-01-01 — Present

The Frugal Space Race: ISRO Satellite Project

Investigating the role of frugal innovation in India’s space programme (Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan), emphasizing how constraint-led innovation has made India globally competitive. Gathering comparative data on 17,000+ global satellite launches (US, Russia, China, etc.) to benchmark India’s performance on cost-effectiveness and policy implications.

Collaborators: Prof. Jaideep Prabhu, Paul Kattuman, Luisa Corrado