ABOUT US
Propelevate is a boutique consulting firm working at the intersection of the private sector and social impact.
Propelevate believes a better world is possible when:
Patriarchy isn’t a given.
Everyone is able to fully realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
All entrepreneurs, everywhere have a chance to see if their ideas can change the world.
Climate action is considered in all social impact initiatives.
OUR TEAM
Before we were consultants, we were doers. We were responsible for designing and executing strategy, launching products and services, achieving sales targets, delivering social impact targets, entering new countries, securing funding, and managing teams in diverse global contexts.
Because we have been in your shoes, we understand you and value your experience. We get up to speed quickly. We understand that new ideas need internal and external buy-in and what effective change management looks like. And we can be a trusted partner - we know that doing is imperfect, and we don’t judge.
We have expertise in both impact and commercial spaces. We are effective translators for commercial clients stepping into the impact space, and vice versa. We can expedite the learning curve by sharing insights from previous initiatives working at the intersection of social impact and the private sector.
We can help generate new ideas, unlock the potential of integrating social impact or commercial models and do so with credibility and confidence.
Krisila Benson
Founder & Managing Director
Krisila is a well-respected leader with extensive experience designing, launching, leading, scaling, measuring and supporting social ventures around the world. She started Propelevate to leverage the capacity of seasoned development professionals to support companies that seek to generate social impact via the private sector. Krisila has led a range of engagements that have enabled clients to better generate and measure impact, increase efficiency and efficacy, and land resources.
Prior to Propelevate Krisila worked as the Senior Director of Program Services at TechnoServe; Country and Program Director with PSI in the Central African Republic, Guinea and India; and the Director of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities. Krisila holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Risha Hess
Principal
Risha is a seasoned public health professional working primarily on sexual and reproductive health. She looks at the world through a marketing lens informed by behavioral science. She is passionate about the intersection between social impact and private sector and sustainable business models especially as they relate to gender and reproductive justice.
Prior to Propelevate, Risha was Country Director at MSI Reproductive Choices in Ethiopia; held various marketing and behavior change roles at PSI in Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Kenya and India; and was the Vice President of Better World Advertising. Risha holds an MBA from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
OUR APPROACH
Our approach is client-centered. We meet you where you are, working with your frameworks and requirements. We boil down vast information to meet your needs. We are able to work with a broad range of stakeholders from frontline workers to board members, to create alignment and excitement around a common vision or plan. We understand that new ideas need internal and external buy-in and what effective change management looks like.
We help create custom solutions adapted to your needs with clear next steps.
“We appreciated the bespoke, highly tailored nature of the consultancy service that Propelevate delivered. The TORs were critically examined and they offered suggestions on how we should shape and improve the consultancy process – rather than simply delivering what we thought we needed!”
— Joanne Hemmings, Asst Director of the Dept of Design & Innovation, Options
We partner with a network of globally-based consultants who are from the countries where our clients work. We are committed to growing the ecosystem of business advisory services in diverse global contexts, and our partnership model facilitates a broader range of exposure, experience and connections between our clients, who are largely international in focus, and partner consultants, who generally own or represent small but ambitious country-specific firms.
This model offers our clients a best-fit staffing model, with exactly the right expertise, language skills, geographic skills and networks for any engagement.