Oxford Saïd MBA student Simeen Kaleem’s journey of impact and innovation showcases sustainable leadership, championing social impact, and enabling women’s empowerment. She strives to create meaningful change through ethical leadership goals and impact-driven business. Explore how her Oxford Saïd MBA experience shaped her vision for a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Simeen Kaleem is a social entrepreneur focused on financial inclusion and impact-driven solutions. Simeen’s journey is one of purpose and passion. As a Laidlaw Scholar at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, she uses her Oxford MBA journey to drive meaningful change.
Through her previous work at an agtech not-for-profit, Gramhal, she helped to empower Indian farmers by using digital tools to improve access to data and drive social impact and innovation. She spent five and a half years working on this important and meaningful project.
Reflecting on her mission, Simeen shares, “Our vision at Gramhal is to democratize data for farmers so that farmers have access to better information and they’re able to make better sale decisions that actually affect their income.” (00:53)
After completing her Oxford MBA and recently leaving Gramhal, her new goal is to make businesses that are equally purposeful and profitable. It is this overarching goal that now drives her long-term career plans.
The Laidlaw Scholarship at Oxford Saïd provides female scholars with funding, mentorship, and leadership development opportunities.
Simeen’s leadership journey at Oxford Saïd included being part of the Laidlaw Scholars Network. The program offered Simeen a strong professional network and a supportive community among other Laidlaw Scholars.
She brought valuable work experience and insights to both the Oxford MBA and the Laidlaw Scholars program. Her work extends beyond Gramhal. She has spent nearly a decade in the social sector, working on reproductive rights, economic inclusion, and leadership development issues.
“My journey started with working on reproductive rights of women in India and my work initially was about how do we give women access to more information so that they can make better decisions. My work at Gramhal is very similar to my work with reproductive rights.” (00:26)
The combination of the Oxford MBA and the Laidlaw Scholars program had an immense impact on Simeen, both professionally and personally. The Oxford MBA has equipped her with the tools and business know-how to scale her efforts while ensuring sustainability and purpose-driven impact. The Laidlaw Scholarship has aided her in developing her leadership style and supported her in leveraging her impact globally.
At Oxford Saïd, Simeen immersed herself in a rigorous curriculum that bridges business with social good. The school’s global perspective, strong network, and interdisciplinary approach aligned well with her vision for sustainable change.
Oxford Saïd’s purpose-driven leadership focus helped Simeen balance profit, purpose, and scale in her work. She knew that pursuing an MBA, particularly at Oxford Saïd, would help her to take her projects to the next level. She explains, “At Gramhal, we were struggling with finding that golden mix of purpose, profit, and scale, and I realized that I can’t scale an organization if I don’t scale myself.” (02:36)
Oxford Saïd’s entrepreneurship and leadership ecosystem, particularly its Impact Lab at the Skoll Centre, has been crucial in shaping her approach. She recalls, “The Impact Lab at the Skoll Centre was a huge highlight for me … it prepares us a little bit more for when we step out [into] the world to be better impact leaders, so to say. And to have a better eye for what it means when we say that we’re going to change the world for the better. It gives us the right tools, the right language, [and] the right ecosystem to examine our own work.” (07:29)
This experience helped her further develop herself, preparing her for future roles and new challenges.
Simeen passionately advocates for the need for safe spaces for women in leadership. She highlights the power of peer support in fostering confidence and resilience.
She reflects, “Women have always played a very central role in my life: when it comes to my career, my personal life, just choices that I’ve made in my life.” (01:17)
The support of women has shaped Simeen’s journey, a reminder that the right people can push us to become better people, and better leaders.
She also credits the Laidlaw community with providing an intentional and empowering space where women uplift one another. She describes the meaningful impact of a Laidlaw scholarship, “It is such a phenomenal space to be a part of, women supporting other women, women cheerleading other women. There’s nothing like it!” (06:10)
Safe spaces for women to share, mentor, and build confidence are key to fostering future female leaders. Fostering a sense of community, rather than competition, goes beyond networking. It creates lifelong connections built on trust, empowerment, and shared growth.
Leadership today is about adaptability, empathy, and vision. Simeen believes that institutions like Oxford Saïd are crucial in equipping future leaders with these skills.
She notes the importance of broadening the conversation. She insists leaders need to be doing the inner work, as well as skill-building and scaling. She urges business schools to focus on kindness and empathy, alongside other skills.
She emphasizes the importance of developing leaders who prioritize sustainability and long-term systemic change rather than short-term gains. “We need more kind leaders. We need more empathetic leaders. We need more diverse leaders.” (13:30)
The advice she gives to those hoping to create positive change is, “For future leaders, I would not just focus on skills only. I would urge everyone to also think about the human side of being a leader, [and] the inner work of being a leader. That conversation needs to take center stage right now. Not only the conversation on skills.” (13:43)
She also cites communication as critical for leadership. Excellent communication skills are needed in leaders, particularly when working with multicultural teams and tackling complex, global issues. She hopes that future leaders will place greater emphasis on communication, empathy, and inner work in order to lead more effectively.
Simeen Kaleem’s journey as a Laidlaw Scholar at Oxford Saïd exemplifies how business education can fuel social innovation. She is setting a precedent for future leaders through initiatives like Gramhal and a strong commitment to empowering communities.
Her story underscores the importance of entrepreneurial thinking, leadership development, and gender equity in driving systemic change. As she continues her journey, her impact will extend beyond Oxford Saïd, by influencing policies, businesses, and lives globally.
Want to study at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford? Take our eligibility quiz to see if you qualify!
