VMPL
New Delhi [India], April 25: Aspire Impact (www.aspireimpact.in), Global South's first standards-based Impact Measurement & Certification initiative today announced strategic backing from The Parinama Group, founded by Guneet Banga, alongside the appointment of Saloni Malhotra as Chief Executive Officer of Aspire Impact Assurance (AIA). In parallel, to strengthen its governance, the organization announced that Dr. Ram Sharma, Chancellor- UPES has joined Aspire Impact as a Member of the Board of Advisors.
This three-fold announcement marks a pivotal step in Aspire Impact's mission to build global leadership in ESG, Sustainability, and Impact measurement. Following the strategic investment from Parinama Group, Aspire Impact has reached a new milestone with a post-funding valuation of INR 360 million. Over the past six years, Aspire Impact has grown clients at 65% CAGR and revenues at 83% CAGR to grow to 60+ clients and delivering 150+ ESG, Sustainability and Impact measurement engagements.
Aspire Impact serves marquee clients like Ather Energy, Protean eGov, Mahindra Lifespaces, Mahindra Holidays, Urban Company, Capgemini, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Capital Healthcare Fund, etc. Parinama's seed investment will help Aspire Impact further enhance its SaaS platform, IKOO World (www.ikooworld.com) and help scale in India and abroad. The global ESG, Sustainability & Impact measurement and management market, according to Aspire Impact , is expected to grow from $15 billion in 2025 to $31 billion in 2030.
Guneet Banga, Founder, Parinama, said "Aspire Impact is building a critical layer in the global impact ecosystem--credible, comparable, and decision-useful measurement. This is essential for directing capital towards genuine impact. We are excited to support Aspire Impact at this early stage."
Aspire Impact also announced that it is welcoming Saloni Malhotra as CEO of Aspire Impact Assurance, its services vertical. Saloni will lead Aspire Impact's flagship offering Comprehensive Impact Assessments (CIA)- across four editions: Corporate, NPO/CSR, BFSI, and Education, with a Government Edition to be launched soon. Saloni brings over two decades of cross-sector leadership spanning the corporate world (CEO-MIPL), the social impact ecosystem (Co-Founder, Lotus Petal Foundation), and media (BBC/Times of India). Her experience in corporate transformation and strategic expansion, delivering education & skills to the underprivileged, combined with an early career in journalism, gives her a rare ability to integrate purpose, performance, and storytelling, making her uniquely suited to the role.
Saloni Malhotra said "Aspire Impact is addressing one of the most important gaps in the global economy--the need for a robust and credible framework to measure impact. I am excited to join this journey and contribute to building a system where impact becomes integral to how organizations define success. Aspire Impact's Comprehensive Impact Assessments have the potential to become a unifying global benchmark, and I look forward to helping scale this vision."
Moreover, Prof Ram Sharma joins an august group of Advisors which includes Rajiv Kapahi (Former Boston Scientific India Group CXO & Board Member), Sachin Golwalkar (Former CEO, United Way of Delhi), Mauricio Sampers (Chair- Impacto Colombia), Ashok Sethi (Managing Partner, Kauset Ventures; Ex-Global CIO- Publicis), Anirban Ghosh (Head, Sustainability Centre, Mahindra University, Ex Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group), Corey Glickman (Founder, Greenman Black, Ex- Partner, Head of Sustainability & Design, Infosys), Prarthana Borah (Ex- Director- India, CDP) and Vikas Bagga (CEO- India Corporate Volunteering Association and Founder- Pehla Akshar). Dr. Sharma's visionary leadership and mastery of academic internationalization bring an intellectual depth that marks a true milestone for our mission.
Dr Ram Sharma said "Joining Aspire Impact is a natural extension of my commitment to building purpose-driven institutions. I am eager to help bridge the gap between academic rigor and corporate accountability, ensuring that impact measurement becomes a fundamental standard for leadership across the Global South."
Amit Bhatia, Founder- Aspire Impact, said "The steadfast support of Guneet, The Parinama Group and Dr. Ram Sharma, is a testament to our shared vision on the Impact imperative. We are equally thrilled to welcome Saloni to Aspire Impact. She is a rare leader who combines deep operational experience in the corporate world, grassroots credibility in the social sector and the storytelling lens of media. Together, we will ensure that impact is measured with the same rigor as financial performance."
About Aspire Impact
Aspire Impact is the Global South's first standards-based Impact Measurement & Certification initiative. Its proprietary 4P (Product, People, Planet & Policy) Impact Assessment Framework evaluates Corporations (listed and unlisted), BFSI institutions, CSR/Non-Profits, and Educational Institutions using 40 market-validated Impact Standards and ~150 KPIs. The framework enables sector-wide benchmarking through Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Green Leaf certifications. Founded in April 2020, Aspire Impact has served ~60 clients and delivered ~150 projects, supported by a diverse team across 7 cities speaking 9 languages. Its SaaS platform, IKOO World, enables both DIY and assured ESG, Sustainability, and Impact Assessments. The platform was beta-launched in the second half of 2024 and already hosts comparable benchmarking data for 650 organizations.
About The Parinama Group
In January 2024, The Parinama Group was founded with a sense of urgency and calculated intent. Its mission was ambitious: to elevate India's climate tech sector to global standards and establish cross-border collaborations to hit net-zero emissions over the next 25 years. To achieve its mission, Guneet designed Parinama to operate through three interconnected divisions. The first is the Venture Builder, which focuses on co-creating companies within critical sectors such as energy, mobility, materials, and resilience. The second division, Strategic Advisory and Partnership is dedicated to translating complex climate science into actionable corporate strategies. The third is the Ecosystem Builder, which brings together capital and capabilities to unlock substantial scale.
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