Raleigh Investment Firm Supports Empowerment Initiative

The Wilson College of Textiles at NC State has received support for a unique women’s empowerment initiative: the Hunar Project, which provides students in Raleigh with service learning opportunities and women in India with a chance at economic independence. Shah Capital of Raleigh has made a gift of $80,000 that will support both the Wilson College of Textiles, which will receive $30,000, and the Association for India’s Development (AID), an international non‐profit and COT’s project partner, will receive $50,000.

The Wilson College of Textiles has been collaborating with AID for three years to support Hunar, a grassroots women’s collective in Jaipur, India. The project targets the development of sustainable garments while training and supporting underprivileged women in the area. The gift will help develop the project’s infrastructure and support several awards aimed at providing global service learning experiences to deserving students through internship opportunities and travel grants. Students and faculty traveled to Jaipur in March 2016 to meet with the women participating in the project.

“We are very grateful for this wonderful philanthropic gift by Shah Capital. It will help us in our strategy to provide impactful and enriching experiences to our students on multiple levels and in our land-grant mission to bring economic prosperity to society,” said David Hinks, dean of the Wilson College of Textiles.

For Shah Capital, supporting the Hunar Project is a perfect fit.

“The gift aligns with Shah Capital’s vision: uplift underprivileged women of India to be self-sufficient; expose them to new ideas; expose NC State students to diverse culture and on-the-ground global learning experiences; and enable the growth of the project so that it might become a model which could then be implemented in other parts of India and in less developed countries around the world,” said Himanshu Shah.

About Shah Capital: Shah Capital, a global investment management firm founded in 2005 by Himanshu H. Shah, aspires to serve its community in philanthropic endeavors that can strengthen our society. Driven by its tenets of conviction and passion, the firm supports efforts ranging from community development and education to cultural diversity.