Our Founders

K. Paul Thomas is the Founder of the ESAF Group of Social Enterprises, which includes the ESAF Society and ESAF Small Finance Bank. He founded ESAF as a non-profit organisation in 1992 by organizing neighbourhood women into self-help groups (SHGs). His contributions have been pivotal in charting the hybrid model of sustainable business by leveraging the benefits of the self-help group and joint liability group models. He is the recipient of the SKOCH Award for Financial Inclusion and Karma Ratna award for exemplary contributions to Kerala society.