Our team

He has considerable experience in the UK and internationally and substantial experience of assisting small and growing businesses, co-founding one of the UK’s first business support organisations and becoming chief executive of the UK Government’s Small Business Service in 2000. He has experience in designing and implementing export programmes and international joint venture programmes. He was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion in 2009. He is non-executive Chairman of Cobweb Information Ltd, which researches, publishes and markets business information for new and growing businesses. He is a Visiting Fellow of the School of Politics at Newcastle University and of Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University.

Nada also has considerable experience in conducting studies that provide an assessment of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and has supported donors to identify more effective approaches in stimulating the private sector: generating economic opportunities and creating jobs. She also holds a masters from the LSE centred on Development Policy, has first-hand experience of establishing and managing an innovative enterprise and is an SME finance expert.

Prior to joining IMC, Valentine was based in Sri Lanka where she worked with government and civil society partners to raise awareness of and build partnerships for the promotion of sustainable development and human rights.

He has successfully implemented and managed SME competitiveness enhancement capacity building projects in various sectors in the region. Aru has built a strong network in the developmental sector and has established good relations with several multilateral organizations, chamber of commerce and business associations in the region. Aru is also speaker in several conference and forums on sustainable development. Aru is a Chemical Engineering Graduate and moved into developmental sector since 2007.

At Bombay Chamber, he looks after International trade relations, export facilitation, sectoral engagements with respect to shipping and logistics, infrastructure, start-ups, insurance and risk management as well as industry-academia collaboration. He has managed multiple assignments funded by international agencies. Pravin is a qualified lecturer, pursuing his PhD in Economics, and keen to develop industry research and business facilitation. His current areas of interest are the “Future of Work” and the “Ease of Doing Business”.

During the time working for her last Employer, i.e.: TUV Rheinland Vietnam Co., Ltd., Thuy had been leading the Training and Consulting Department where she had been deeply involved in managing and implementing funded PPP project, in collaboration with technical partners, stakeholders, local authorities and foreign NGOs. The project coverage – in terms of size – ranges from single to multiple countries. Most projects focus on capacity building for the sustainable development of SMEs in the implementing countries. Thuy joined ASSIST team as Project Manager since July 2020.

Lien is a Business Graduate and moved into developmental sector in 2018. She has successful managed projects partnership projects in health and environmental sectors in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. She prepares and reports to donors of several partnerships and also organizes regular planned meetings with the donors and partners.

She also worked at METRO Cash & Carry Vietnam as IM-IT Assistant then Rules & Procedures Organizer, assisting cross functional teams (local and HQ) in internal projects: grand store opening, system upgrade / implementation, providing advice and support in terms of standard work practices to departments in their complex routine operations. Thuy graduated with a Bachelor of chemical engineering.

Sandeep is also widely acknowledged for his mentoring skills for every aspect of the business -product design, sales and distribution. At Bombay Chamber, he would be developing business networking opportunities for SMEs.

He is extremely well connected and highly capable of leading outreach and networking efforts, reaching out to potential SMEs and looking out for partners. He is a member of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other business and industry organisations internationally.

She supported the management team in the communications as well as reporting and M&E. She has good experience of policy advocacy, having worked in the Committee Secretariat for the Private Equity Venture Capital and Capital Market Committee and Start-up Forum.