Nilekani, along with Rohini Nilekani and Shankar Maruwada, co-founded EkStep Foundation with the aim of improving literacy and numeracy by providing access to learning opportunities for 200 million children in India. EkStep Foundation addresses the complex issue of limited access to education through its initiatives, including Mission EkStep and the creation of Sunbird. Sunbird is an open-source, configurable, and extendable digital infrastructure for learning, designed to be scalable and available under the MIT license.

Recognizing that large-scale societal challenges require innovative thinking, EkStep Foundation embraces Societal Platform thinking to enable rapid and sustainable development. Nandan Nilekani, who is also the Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited, leads EkStep Foundation as its Co-Founder and Chairperson. He is a respected figure in the field, having received numerous accolades, including being named Asia's Businessman of the Year 2003 by Fortune Magazine.

Overall, EkStep Foundation is committed to providing every child with access to learning opportunities, aiming to improve the lives of millions of children and address the multidimensional challenges they face