Join the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development for a conversation with Safeena Husain, Founder of Educate Girls and author of Every Last Girl: A Journey to Educate India’s Forgotten Daughters, as she shares the inspiring journey of building one of India’s most impactful education movements. The discussion will explore how innovative, community-led approaches can address deep-rooted barriers to girls’ education and create lasting social change at scale.
Millions of girls in India continue to face significant challenges shaped by poverty, gender inequality, early marriage, and restrictive social norms. At Educate Girls, this often-overlooked child is known as Antimbala or “the last girl”, representing those most at risk of being left behind. What began in a small number of rural villages has grown into a movement that has reached more than 31,500 villages and helped over 2.2 million girls access education.
In conversation with Rajesh Chandy, Professor of Marketing, Tony and Maureen Chair of Entrepreneurship and Co-Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute at London Business School, Safeena will reflect on the challenges and opportunities of designing solutions that can scale sustainably, the role of communities in driving development outcomes, and the lessons business leaders, policymakers, and social entrepreneurs can learn from Educate Girls’ success. The event is supported by the LBS Social Impact Club.
Date: Monday 5th October 2026
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Lecture Theatre 1, Sussex Place, Ratcliffe Building, London Business School
About the speaker
Safeena Husain is the Founder of Educate Girls, an award-winning Indian non-profit that partners with governments and communities to improve girls’ education in India’s marginalised regions. She was named to the TIME Women of the Year 2026 list and led Educate Girls to become the first Indian non-profit to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2025. Her vision is to empower 10 million learners by 2035 through scalable, community-led solutions.
About the moderator
Rajesh Chandy is Professor of Marketing and the Tony and Maureen Wheeler Chair in Entrepreneurship at London Business School, where he serves as Co-Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. His research sits at the intersection of business and development, spanning projects on micro-entrepreneurship in South Africa, innovation among farmers in India, and the use of big data for development outcomes. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy and of the American Marketing Association.