A $100 Trillion Opportunity: Empowering Entrepreneurial Households in the 'Unseen Middle' in India | Jyotsna Krishnan, EPIC World (#077)

SRI360 | Socially Responsible Investing, ESG, Impact Investing, Sustainable Investing

My guest today is Jyotsna Krishnan, the CEO and Co-Founder of EPIC World focused on empowering what she has termed "the unseen middle." Jyotsna leads initiatives to change the financial systems for entrepreneurial households in India, creating replicable models for other regions that share similar market dynamics, like Latin America.

She recognized great potential in a segment that comprises 247 million households. According to EPIC World's estimates, there is a $100 trillion opportunity over the next 20 years to serve Indian entrepreneurial households and harness their economic vibrancy.

Educated at top institutions, Jyotsna Krishnan honed her financial expertise at HSBC but felt limited in impact. To drive real change, she joined Elevar Equity to support entrepreneurial households directly.

(Sandeep Farias, founder and managing partner of Elevar Equity was my guest in one of the previous episodes. Listen in to learn more.)

Often overlooked as the "bottom of the pyramid," these households were in fact dynamic risk-takers, problem-solvers, and creators of multiple income streams during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite their economic potential, they lacked access to quality healthcare, education, financing, and business services, mainly because businesses didn’t figure out how to serve them effectively.

That’s when EPIC World was born.

Founded by partners from Elevar Equity and a co-founder skilled in deep tech and data, it acts as a scaling engine. It bridges the gap between businesses, investors, and entrepreneurial households by offering deep market intelligence, real-time data, and aligned capital strategies. Their goal is to help 50 companies scale up to become blue-chip firms that serve these entrepreneurial households, recognized as key drivers of India’s growth.

And the numbers showing the market's potential are staggering: Entrepreneurial households in India alone contributed $8.8 trillion in transaction volume in 2023, and this figure rose to $10 trillion in 2024, with the potential to grow tenfold over the next 20 years.

Tune in for this interview with Jyotsna to learn more about the palpable change she's making and how inclusive economic practices can genuinely uplift entire communities, creating new leaders from those who were once misunderstood, undervalued, and overlooked.

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About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing.
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Additional Resources:

- Jyotsna Krishnan LinkedIn

- EPIC World Twitter

- EPIC World Website

- Book: Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women And The Search For Intimacy And Independence

- Episode #72 with Sandeep Farias

Κεφάλαια

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Jyotsna’s background and early experiences (00:03:56)

3. Joining HSBC (00:06:23)

4. The turning point that led Jyotsna to leave HSBC for impact investing (00:13:19)

5. EPIC World – a high-level overview (00:16:21)

6. Defining entrepreneurial households and why they matter (00:18:57)

7. The biggest gaps in addressing the needs of the entrepreneurial households (00:24:25)

8. Setting up EPIC World and its mission (00:34:01)

9. EPIC World’s two key strategies (00:44:36)

10. The $8.8 trillion EPIC Opportunity (00:52:26)

11. Dismantling biases (00:56:06)

12. Women’s growing role in economic decision-making (00:57:35)

13. Jyotsna’s vision for EPIC World over the next few years (01:00:07)

14. Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh (01:01:34)

15. Rapid fire questions (01:04:06)

16. Contact info (01:08:31)