On this week's podcast, Matthew Stadlen meets activist and microfinance pioneer Chetna Gala Sinha, whose work in rural India empowers some of the world's poorest women.

When Chetna Gala Sinha moved from her home town of Mumbai to rural Mhaswad as a young economics graduate, she saw first-hand how lack of access to banking facilities deprived local women of the opportunity to employ their entrepreneurial skills and lift themselves out of poverty. Since then, she has dedicated her life to creating the financial, technological and educational infrastructure needed by women in rural India to support themselves -- and been acknowledged the world over as one of the most influential activists of her generation. Today the Mann Deshi Bank manages millions of dollars and the Mann Deshi Foundation educates hundreds of thousands of women in business skills -- with profoundly significant consequences.

In our turbulent age, it is easy to become sceptical about the power of one person to make a difference in the world. This week's podcast is proof that they can.

Apologies for the occasionally bumpy sound in this week's episode.

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