Aakarsh Naidu

Aakarsh Naidu is an alumnus of the London School of Economics (LSE) Global Startup Enabler and Venture Builder. He has served as the Head of Fintech & Startups at the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) and built an extensive career bridging government, corporate and academic innovation ecosystems, including leadership roles as Head of Startup Incubation at IIM Bangalore’s NSRCEL and the Head for Startup Programs at Meta (Facebook) across India and South Asia. He also founded the UK-based venture Startupreneur®, which was acquired by an early-stage VC.He has been recognised as a Young Leader Under 40 by Businessworld Magazine, and his work has been featured in the Financial Times (UK), Business Standard, Economic Times, International Finance, Les Echos France, Hindu Business Line, Financial Express, India Today, TOI, ANI and other leading media outlets.As a keynote speaker, Aakarsh has addressed thousands of participants globally at platforms such as London Tech Week, Global Fintech Fest (GFF), Asia-Pacific Week Berlin, International Finance Corporation (IFC), UNDP, Nasscom, Google for Startups and at leading academic institutions including the IITs and IIMs. His ecosystem exposure further spans advisory, jury and mentoring roles with the German Accelerator, Global Startup Awards, Elevate 100, Founder Institute, WRI, CWE and WE Hub, alongside participation in policy engagements such as the unveiling of the Startup India Action Plan.Beyond his institutional roles, Aakarsh is also a content creator in the startup domain. His Startupreneur video and podcast series has garnered 250,000+ cumulative views, and he has written and performed The Startup Song.