How startup led by 2 women is reworking boardrooms in Pune, other major cities

In September 2017, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had disqualified over two lakh directors by applying section 164 (2) of the Companies Act, 2013, which allows this action if a company does not file financial statements or annual returns for a continuous period of three financial years.

According to MMB’s founders, Divya Momaya and Neha Shah, this revealed a critical lack of governance awareness among directors.

The duo felt that there was a need to educate founders, promoters and those in charge of boards about good governance practices.
Momaya is a company secretary and Shah an HR professional with long track records.

In 2018, they set up MMB to guide business leaders in developing ethical and progressive leadership habits, and equip them with insights to make their boardrooms competitive.

Last year, MMB held a Directors’ Meet in Pune, their first outing after their home city of Mumbai, to expose business leaders here to new ideas, real-world board challenges and a growth trajectory that involves learning, collaboration and an understanding of critical leadership reviews.

In May, they held a similar meet in Bengaluru.

“We are in the process of setting up a small community in Pune to ensure that the best practices from each member is present on a common platform so that everybody can learn from one another. There are around seven mentors in Pune and a community of 25 to 30 people who come and network.

They understand and they absorb from each other,” says Momaya.

While Pune is one of the leading startup hubs of the country, it is also home to several traditional businesses where the old generation is making way for the younger family members.

Many of the latter want to transform to align their businesses with global practices.

“Many startups work as ‘solopreneurs’. We work with companies in their startup journey and holding them to create their advisory boards. Then, there is a company from Pune, which is listed, and has been growing. The promoter told us that they had a secretary and every other resource but they wanted to ensure that their governance practices were better. We have created a mentor panel, which speaks to the promoter and helps them,” says Shah.

As India looks to boost its economy, business is increasingly at the forefront of the government’s attention.
MMB is designed to fit into this journey.

“In 2023, we did not make many unicorns. Instead, there have been governance challenges. We need better informed directors, promoters and people who are in the boardroom so that a company can grow through collective wisdom,” says Momaya.