WDI Appoints Gagandeep Bakshi as Senior Director of Impact Investing
Seasoned finance leader with 20+ years of emerging market experience joins WDI to advance its high-impact financing strategy
WDI today announced the appointment of Gagandeep Bakshi as Senior Director of Impact Investing. In this role, Gagan will lead WDI’s high-impact financing strategy and initiatives, supporting enterprises and entrepreneurial ecosystems across renewable energy, e-mobility, climate-health, and health sectors in emerging markets.
Gagan joins WDI with over 20 years of experience in capital raising, capital structuring, mergers and acquisition advisory, blended finance, and corporate finance across India, Africa, and South Asia. For more than thirteen years, he has focused specifically on mobilizing capital for enterprises driving inclusive growth and sustainable development. Most recently, as Partner and Director at Intellecap, Gagan led the firm’s private equity, and mergers and acquisitions advisory practice, where he closed more than 40 transactions valued at over $700 million across healthcare, climate and renewable energy, and financial inclusion.
“Gagan’s appointment marks a pivotal moment for WDI’s impact investing work,” said Wendy Taylor, President and CEO of WDI. “His deep expertise in blended finance and capital structuring, combined with his track record of closing high-impact transactions across emerging markets, makes him uniquely positioned to advance our mission of crowding in the right kinds of capital for enterprises at the right time for their stage of growth. As WDI deepens its engagement in this area, Gagan’s leadership will be instrumental in forging the partnerships and financing models that can drive meaningful change at scale across Southeast Asia and Africa.”
In this new role, Gagan will develop and execute blended finance strategies, engage with investors and ecosystem stakeholders to structure innovative financing vehicles, and position WDI as a leading thought partner in impact investing globally. He will also lead business development efforts to expand WDI’s financing programs and grow WDI’s impact investing team.
“What drew me to WDI is the rare combination of intellectual rigor, entrepreneurial mindset of the team and on-the-ground impact that defines the Institute,” Gagan said. “WDI’s standing as a knowledge builder, enterprise accelerator, and ecosystem catalyst gives it a unique and credible platform from which to shape how capital flows into emerging markets. I’m excited to help translate that institutional depth into financing strategies that unlock real, lasting change for entrepreneurs and communities across Southeast Asia and Africa.”
Beyond his transactional work, Gagan is a dedicated mentor to entrepreneurs, providing guidance on capital raising, pitch development, and term-sheet negotiations. He is also a founding and executive committee member of the Confederation of Biomass Energy Industry of India (CBEII). He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (U.S.) a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Economics from Delhi University (India), and the CFA charter (US).
