Aarti Krishnan

• Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and Innovation, University of Manchester

Aarti Krishnan is a developmental economist, working at the nexus of environment, trade and development. Her areas of expertise include value chain analysis, green growth, agricultural transformation, innovation and knowledge systems, digitalisation and regional development.

She began her career working as a commodity derivate market analyst at in Mumbai working on developing structured financial products for edible oils and oilseeds futures and carbon markets. Following this, she was a Research Associate at the University of Manchester, evaluating the role of sustainability standards, environmental innovations and corporate social responsibility in agricultural and light manufacturing sectors. She has worked as a Senior Research Officer at the Overseas Development Institute, researching a range of topics to support governments from designing skill development finance funds, the intrinsic linkages between migration, technology and the SDGs and promoting the inclusion of micro and small enterprises into value chains and special economic zones in East Africa.

She currently hols the Hallsworth Fellowship, working in Ag and foodtech in value chains and the implications on sustainable development. Previously held the prestigious ESRC postdoctoral fellowship, focusing on taking the environment seriously in value chains, researching the effects digitalisation has within the fourth industrial revolution on future of food production and consumption and the implications on regional integration within East Africa. Aarti holds a Masters in Environmental Management and PhD in Development Policy from the University of Manchester, and BBA (Finance) from Delhi University.

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