Founder & CEO, Best First Step Education Pvt Ltd. | Founder, GrasStart Accelerator
After obtaining a post-graduation in business management, Mr. Aditya Baran Mallik acquired wide-ranging experience in branding, strategic planning, financial and business restructuring in diverse sectors like Consumer Products, Food, Luxury, Retail, Hospitality, and Infrastructure, which finally nudged me into the world of entrepreneurship
Mr. Mallik believes that poverty is the key challenge that is faced by India and developing nations and hence poverty alleviation should be the focal point of developmental strategy, Needless to say, poverty alleviation can only be sustainably addressed through livelihood generation. Mr. Mallik's chosen paths for pursuing developmental hypothesis are livelihood linked skill development and entrepreneurship development. Mr. Mallik's other interests and focus areas are last-mile access to education/skills and livelihood, grassroots startup evangelism, and global collaboration models for investments and business. Mr. Mallik has extensive exposure to South East Asia and is passionately interested in developmental issues of the Region
Mr. Mallik personal interests include art, music, history, and travel Best First Step Education Pvt Ltd was a pioneer in the social enterprise and vocational education sectors in India and is funded and approved Training Partner of the National Skill Development Corporation ( and an investee company of Kitendo Capital, Switzerland Through its brand ‘Institute for Quality Skill Training’Training’( it has implemented high social impact, outcome linked skill development initiatives in multiple States in East and North East India Triggering self-employment and livelihood cascades through grassroots level startup entrepreneurship is the key idea behind GrasStart GrasStart aims to create a sustainable ecosystem for triggering and nurturing grassroots level, community-based start-up entrepreneurship
Mr. Mallik is a Dasra Cohort Alumnus and honoured with accolades like the 'Sankalp Award for Education Vocational Training the ICICI Foundation Inclusive India Award Emerging Business and the global Cordes Fellowship
In his personal capacity, Mr. Mallik is the Principal Consultant/ Advisor to the Skill Missions of multiple State Governments