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Shloka Ambani on The Masoom Minawala Show: Building a purpose-first movement with ConnectFor

Shloka Ambani on The Masoom Minawala Show: Building a purpose-first movement with ConnectFor

Time of India19-07-2025
On a recent episode of The Masoom Minawala Show, Shloka Ambani and Maniti Shah shared their story behind ConnectFor - A volunteer-matching platform that is making a difference to India's social impact landscape.
Shloka talks about several challenges, like funding along with juggling motherhood while staying true to their principle: Purpose over profit.
They also brought a sharp, business-minded approach to impact. By tracking 'ROI in Hours', ConnectFor measures the exact number of volunteer hours contributed—making the invisible work of kindness feel tangible and valuable, without ever losing sight of its heart.
In this enlightening chat, Shloka Ambani talks about how she always saw herself in this space and how her educational background of anthropology and law also contributed to this inspiring drive in her trajectory.
What began as two twenty-somethings scribbling ideas on a whiteboard—after Shloka's eye-opening field visits and Maniti's post-consulting burnout, snowballed into ConnectFor. This platform has matched 1 lakh volunteers with 1,000+ NGOs and saved the sector ₹21 crore.
Shloka's "Artshala" school transformation projects exemplify her approach: rather than just building infrastructure, she ensures proper maintenance and education components.
Her anthropological background helps her see that sustainable change requires understanding local contexts and communities.
Shloka Ambani describes how ConnectFor brings a professional, business-oriented approach to the nonprofit space. They mention tracking measurable metrics such as the 'ROI in hours' — quantifying the volunteer hours contributed to NGOs and translating the value of those hours (for instance, financial savings to the NGOs).
Shloka emphasises how important it is to make the 'invisible' impact of volunteer work more tangible and reportable, ensuring accountability to themselves and their partners, while still retaining the mission-driven heart of the organisation.
Shloka Ambani's approach of modeling professional ambition for her children while building flexible work systems demonstrates how social enterprises can create sustainable business models that accommodate diverse life circumstances.
Overall, this conversation was a masterclass in how Shloka Ambani showcases value-driven leadership, and a reminder that when purpose leads, impact follows.
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