‘Rising Star’ Leila Janah on Fighting Poverty

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Leila Janah is trying to find a way to connect women and young people living in poverty to dignified work via the Internet. Her company Samasource, which she founded in 2008, provides free, specialized technology training via 16 centers in nine countries, including India, Pakistan, Kenya, Haiti and Uganda.

In December, Ms. Janah was chosen by Forbes Magazine as one of 30 Rising Stars under 30.

Ms. Janah, whose mother is half Belgian, half Bengali and father is from Kerala, grew up in the U.S. She started visiting India during her college years, and says she felt an overwhelming sense of belonging on these trips.

“When I first arrived at Chatrapati Shivaji Airport (in Mumbai), an immigration official smiled at me and said, ‘Welcome, madam, you are home.’ For a quiet moment before the haggling and hustling began with the baggage handlers, I felt deeply connected to my roots,” Ms. Janah told The Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time.

Source: Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

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