Saleema Vellani
Saleema is the Founder and CEO of Ripple Impact, an accelerator and community that helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses and platforms. At the age of 21, Saleema co-founded and launched Brazil’s top-rated language school to finance an orphanage. She later co-founded a leading online translation agency to help companies expand their digital presence globally. She has co-founded seven ventures with three exits.
In 2017, Saleema co-led an award-winning study at the World Bank on solving food insecurity in conflict-affected countries through climate-smart technologies. She has also contributed to impact evaluations and other research for various international organizations. Saleema is the author of Innovation Starts With I. She has co-authored twelve publications in international development and evaluation and regularly contributes to Forbes.
She is the Adjunct Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at University Startups. Saleema also teaches Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship at Johns Hopkins University and frequently guest lectures at business schools. As a keynote speaker, Saleema speaks on innovative leadership, entrepreneurship, and inclusive innovation.
Saleema holds a Bachelor's degree in International Development from McGill University and a Master's degree in International Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. She is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian.
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