Our Tamil Innovators Spotlight is an online series which puts the spotlight on individuals from the global Tamil community who are building great products, services and initiatives. Our latest event is brought to you in partnership with Startup Dojo.

 

The event will be held live on Mon. March 15, 2021 at 6:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada).

 

 

Suba Umathevan was born in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka, in 1982. At the age of two, she fled the war-torn country with her family and arrived in Bern, Switzerland. Suba holds a Master's degree in International Affairs with a specialization in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, and an Honours degree in International Studies and Modern Languages from the University of Ottawa in Canada.

 

She began her international career as a research fellow at UNESCO-International Bureau of Education, where she assessed mother tongue and bilingual education programs in Sub-Saharan African countries. Suba has spent nearly a decade in Non-profit management and has dedicated her work to women's and children's rights. She led development programs in a number of countries in Africa, Asia and South America. Her thematic expertise is in women's economic empowerment, education in emergencies, gender-based violence, female genital mutilation/cutting, and early marriage.

Suba spent a few years designing and leading learning programs for people and strategy development with executives across the globe, identifying global megatrends and preparing leaders to transform.

Suba was the CEO of Plan International Switzerland, an organization that advances children's rights and equality for girls. Today, Suba is the CEO of DROSOS FOUNDATION. The Foundation supports projects aimed at promoting life skills of disadvantaged children and young people.

17-year-old entrepreneur, Anjalee Narenthiren, is the founder of Startup Dojo, an entrepreneurial ecosystem for students. She is a sought-after speaker, giving keynote addresses at large conferences like the AI World Forum, and a Google Conference held in Sunnyvale California.