In this edition of Member Spotlight, Aditi Seshadri, co-founder of this women-led social venture, explains how Unlock Impact empowers purpose-driven organizations through storytelling and communications. Their Comms Ninja program fosters meaningful change while creating flexible work opportunities for women.

Aditi Seshadri is an entrepreneur on a mission to blend purpose with profit. As the co-founder of Unlock Impact and Nushu Network, Aditi is dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs and driving social change in South and Southeast Asia. Through innovative ventures like Comms Ninja, she’s creating flexible work opportunities while helping organizations tell their impactful stories. With her extensive experience as a business advisor and mentor, listening to Aditi’s interview, we distilled inspiring and invaluable insights into entrepreneurship and social impact.

— How do you see the organization’s role in the larger SGB Ecosystem?

— Unlock Impact is all about making a difference. We’re a women-led social venture dedicated to fostering success among purpose-driven organizations across South and Southeast Asia. Our mission is clear: to help these organizations thrive.

Through our flagship service, Comms Ninja, we provide impactful storytelling, communications, and marketing solutions to small and growing organizations, empowering them to expand their influence and create meaningful change.

In addition, our Nushu Network serves as a supportive community for women entrepreneurs throughout Asia, offering essential resources like coaching and access to capital to nurture sustainable business growth.

At Unlock Impact, our approach is defined by a strong focus on gender equality, impact, and sustainability, which form the core of everything we do.

— What is your most exciting program?

— At Unlock Impact, we’re immensely proud of the impact we’ve achieved through Comms Ninja. It’s been thrilling to witness how we’ve helped over 50 organizations worldwide tackle a crucial challenge: how to build their brand and communicate their work effectively, even with limited resources.

Comms Ninja isn’t just about creating flashy campaigns. It’s about crafting compelling stories that resonate. From shaping brand strategies to producing impactful reports and driving fundraising efforts, we offer end-to-end communications and marketing services tailored for growth-oriented organizations.

Our secret? It’s our incredible team of Comms Ninjas based across India. They’re a talented group of women, each with diverse skills and industry experience. We’ve designed our model to be virtual-first, providing flexible opportunities that empower women to stay in the workforce, especially those from smaller towns with limited job prospects. So far, we’ve created meaningful employment for over 30 women, with plans to expand further. Interestingly, 30% of these women are from smaller towns in India with fewer opportunities for remote working.

Since our inception, we’ve delivered 20,000 hours of communications support and witnessed a 40% increase in professional fees for our team members over 2-3 years. These numbers continue to grow, showing the immense potential for an even greater impact.

— What is coming for Unlock Impact, and how can ANDE members get involved?

— Looking ahead, we’ve got some exciting events lined up at Unlock Impact, and we’d love for ANDE members to join us! As we continue to provide tailored services to SGBs (including ANDE India among our valued clients), we’re also gearing up to broaden our impact.

We’re pooling our wealth of knowledge, insights, and practical toolkits with our diverse team’s expertise to develop new training modules. These modules are designed to empower anyone from an SGB or social impact organization to enhance their communication and storytelling skills practically and efficiently.

Think webinars, courses, and training workshops—designed to be accessible and beneficial for all ANDE members. It’s an opportunity not just to learn, but to actively improve how you connect and communicate your organization’s impact.

— Being part of ANDE, what does it mean for Unlock Impact?

— Our partnership with ANDE is a significant milestone for Unlock Impact, both personally and as an organization. It all started when we began supporting ANDE’s India chapter as a client. Naturally, joining their network felt like the next logical step. We’re always exploring ways to strengthen this bond and amplify ANDE’s impactful work.

Last year, we collaborated as a pro-bono communications partner at the ANDE South Asia Convening, where we also hosted a webinar on storytelling for attendees. This year, we’re excited about similar opportunities, including potentially contributing to the global conference. Our goal is to continue enhancing our collaboration with ANDE and contribute positively to their initiatives.

— Could you see the future for us?

— Looking ahead, one thing that really excites us is the ongoing evolution of generative AI and its potential impact on services like ours, particularly in content creation. AI tools are becoming incredibly sophisticated, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for us to continually evolve—not just in how we operate as a business but in our core mission of storytelling.

Interestingly, as technology advances, there’s a growing desire for genuine connection and authenticity. At Comms Ninja, we thrive on bridging that gap, using tech to enhance our storytelling and foster meaningful connections. It’s about embracing innovation while staying true to the heart of what we do.