Shalini Khemka moved to the UK when she was just 5 years old, her parents were immigrants from India, and their hard work always inspired her. Shalini’s mother, Asha, was made a Dame in 2014 for her contribution to the education sector. Asha was also the first ever Indian-born woman to receive one.
Shalini started her career in finance, and worked for banks such as Lloyds and Deutsche Bank, before moving into private equity where her interest in helping entrepreneurs became apparent. After moving into private equity, she realised how differently entrepreneurship could be done, and wanted to encourage entrepreneurs to be surrounded by likeminded people, rather than just going with the company in front of them. Realising all of this, in 2011 Shalini launched her company E2E Exchange, which created networking events for entrepreneurs to learn and be mentored by top executives.
Shalini is incredibly passionate about her business, and about entrepreneurialism, and due to this passion, E2E has become very successful, with over 23,000 entrepreneur members. Shalini believes that small businesses are what drive the economy, and are vital for future economic growth. Her dedication and belief in her business meant that in 2021, she was made a CBE for her services to entrepreneurship.
