Sixty-year-old Anshula Kant, responsible for Financial and Risk Strategies of the World Bank Group, had cut her teeth in banking in the carpet and silk belt of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Currently, as Managing Director & Group CFO, she contributes to mobilisation of resources for development from donors and shareholders, as well as from the capital market.
At a time when the world is in the grip of a pandemic, Kant is part of an institution that has a big role to play. The Bank is supporting over 100 countries in the fight against the pandemic. It expects to provide up to $160 billion by June next year. "The World Bank Groups role is more important than ever," she says. Kant, along with her team, has worked to maintain a strong financial position to support significantly higher commitments in response to Covid, while protecting the group's financial sustainability and risks. Her two-decade experience at the grassroot level at State Bank of India is coming in handy now. She had moved to SBIs corporate centre when the global financial crisis was impacting financial systems.