Niharika Verma is a Senior Manager at Athena Infonomics’ Agri-Rural Livelihood practice, which she joined in November, 2026. She is a development professional specialising in rural and urban livelihoods, financial inclusion and enterprise development. Her career has been built around working closely with the Government of India on flagship livelihoods missions under the Rural and Urban Ministries.

Her expertise spans policy advisory, programme design and on-ground implementation, with a strong track record of turning strategy into execution at scale. She has framed programme guidelines, driven rollout across states and cities and led the design and rollout of digital portals to strengthen programme delivery.

She has also coordinated with cross-functional teams to deliver measurable outcomes for communities, built monitoring frameworks and led large-scale evaluations that shaped policy and planning. She has worked closely with community institutions and women-led self-help groups, state missions, financial institutions and donors, including the World Bank and the Gates Foundation.

Previously, she worked with MicroSave Consulting and DAY-NRLM. She holds a PGDM in Rural Development from Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi.