Meet Arijit Basu, the Allianceâs Regional Director of Markets
To help the Alliance with its recent expansion, we are pleased to announce the hiring of Arijit Basu as the Regional Director for Market Development in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. A seasoned professional, Arijit bring over 25 years of experience building global consumer brands throughout South Asia and Africa. Well-grounded in business development, Arijit’s background includes launching Heinz ketchup in India, driving aggressive growth for Nestle’s “Well Baby Clinics,” managing supply chain logistics for Glaxo Smith Kline, overseeing nationwide trade marketing for Henkel India, heading national sales for Eveready, and launching Gillette in Eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
Arijit moved to Uganda in 2009 to take over as General Manager of Fresh Dairy – the leading dairy brand in Uganda. He grew their business throughout Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2012, after catching the “global health bug,” Arijit joined Living Goods, moving from the private to the social sector. There he focused on three fundamental crises in the developing world, the:
1) Challenge of distribution;
2) Shortage of healthcare workers and high turnover rates; and
3) Failure of innovative appliances, like stoves and lamps, to reach scale.
“When I was at Living Goods, I was selling life-changing products, products for health, for home lighting and cookstoves too. I know cookstoves quite well, from the factory, to the government, to the channels of distribution,” Arijit said. “I worked with the women’s clubs that did the selling in the community.”
Arijit helped Living Goods Uganda significantly grow its reach and impact. He launched the LG Open model, built out three new branches and recruited hundreds of agents. Arijit’s success in Uganda led to Living Goods expansion into Kenya.
Arijit has been in Washington this week meeting with the U.S.-based Alliance team and getting to know the staff and their areas of work.. On his way, he traveled through India and Bangladesh, and then spent several weeks in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda “to see first-hand what is happening in the local geography.” While there he met with the regional alliances to learn more about their work and familiarize himself with the many Alliance stakeholders operating in our focus countries..
Although he has been living in Uganda for the past five years, Arijit’s home base will be in Kolkata, India. He urges partners in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to reach out and introduce themselves and their clean cooking work.
Arijit said. “I’m here to help. Ask me to help.”
You can reach Arijit directly at:
LAND PHONE: +9133 4008 2423
MOBILE PHONE: +9198 3035 5445
EMAIL: arijitbasu@cleancookstoves.org
SKYPE: arijit.basu1958