Portfolio

Bangladesh Country Director
April 2023 - Present

GiveDirectly is a global nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to delivering unconditional cash transfers directly to people in poverty.

I lead GiveDirectly’s operations in Bangladesh, currently managing an annual budget of USD 6 million. Since taking over, I have expanded the team from 2 to 13 employees and overseen the delivery of unconditional cash transfers to over 23,000 households in rural Bangladesh.

As the Chief of Party, I managed a USD 5.2 million, 18-month project funded by USAID. The USAID Digital Cash Assistance Project – jointly funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and Google.org and in partnership with the government’s Aspire to Innovate (a2i) program, UNDP, and the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at UC Berkeley – used machine learning and mobile phone data to remotely identify those in poverty and provided them with cash transfers via mobile money.

In collaboration with the University of Oxford, I also raised USD 4 million for an ongoing randomized controlled trial on anticipatory action.

Consultant
February - April 2023

URC is a global company dedicated to improving people's quality of health care, social services, and education.

I conducted a rapid landscape analysis of private sector actors and innovations in Bangladesh to inform URC’s strategy for US government-funded health programs in the country.

Consultant, Social Protection and Jobs
May 2021 - January 2023

The World Bank’s Social Protection & Jobs (SPJ) Practice supports the Government of Bangladesh implement its social security strategy through technical assistance, operational support, and evidence-based solutions to help individuals and families manage risk, cope with chronic/transitional poverty, and access better livelihoods and jobs.

In my consultancy role, I provided technical and operational support to task team leaders and government counterparts across the SPJ portfolio, particularly for the USD 200 million Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE) project focused on economic inclusion and the reintegration of returning migrants and implemented by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), and the Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB) under the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.

I also supported the preparation of a new project on early childhood development to be implemented by the Department of Women Affairs, under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, and the Local Government Division, under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives.

Stakeholder Engagement Consultant
November 2020 - March 2023

Global Knowledge Initiative (GKI) builds purpose-driven networks to deliver innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. They thrive on creating the enabling environment, the mindset, and the tools that make collaborative innovation possible.

I led the early stakeholder engagement and strategic communication efforts of a newly launched project in Bangladesh led by GKI and supported by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. The project utilized a challenge competition to strengthen the innovation ecosystem for humanitarian challenges and community resilience in Bangladesh.

I was previously deployed to the USAID-funded Feed the Future Bangladesh Agricultural Policy Activity, a buy-in under the Policy Leadership, Interactions, Networks and Knowledge (Policy LINK) project, where GKI was a sub-contractor to DAI. Policy LINK is a global Feed the Future program to advance leadership and collaboration for better policy systems. The year-long stakeholder engagement support to Policy LINK included supporting the core project team in preparing learning briefs, facilitating capacity-building workshops, and assisting with the groundwork and delivery of stakeholder consultation workshops/roundtable discussions at national, regional, and community levels in the priority sectors of seed, nutrition, food safety, and social safety net.

Bangladesh Consultant
November 2021 - March 2022

British Asian Trust is a diaspora-led international development organization delivering high-quality programs in South Asia. They were founded in 2007 by King Charles III and a group of visionary British Asian business leaders and launched their Bangladesh program in late 2019.

As the Bangladesh Consultant, I provided overall leadership and technical direction of the Trust's recently launched program in Bangladesh, including overseeing ongoing projects in the areas of mental health, social finance, and entrepreneurship and skilling for youth, designing and developing new projects, and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Key accomplishments included launching a GBP 74K project with BRAC UK using Zakat funds for essential primary healthcare support to the Rohingya refugees; conducting a feasibility study – in partnership with Social Finance and icddr;b, – to help USAID and the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) explore the potential for blended finance to enhance maternal and child outcomes in Bangladesh; and supporting the development of an anticipated project worth GBP 94K to strengthen mental health support for ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh.

Business and Investment Consultant, USAID Digital Frontiers Project
April - May 2021

DAI is an international development company that tackles fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. They work with a wide range of clients, including national and local governments, bilateral and multilateral donors, private corporations, and philanthropies.

I was contracted by DAI’s headquarters to provide short-term support on business and investment initiatives during the start-up phase of the Feed the Future Bangladesh Digital Agriculture Activity, a buy-in under the USAID-funded Digital Frontiers project. Digital Frontiers is a USD 74.4 million buy-in mechanism that works with USAID’s Global Development Lab, the Center for Digital Development, USAID Missions, the private sector, and international and local development organizations to pilot and scale sustainable digital development approaches globally.

Deputy Project Manager (last position)
May 2016 - January 2021

iDE is a global development organization that co-creates with foundations, governments, individuals, for-profits, and nonprofits lasting market-based solutions to poverty in eleven countries across Asia, Africa, and Central America.

I spent nearly five years at iDE working in various multifaceted roles, primarily in private sector engagement and access to finance, and later ending my stint in the organization being the deputy of a USAID-funded grant on agricultural mechanization and manufacturing, with cross-sectoral support to the business development unit. I developed and managed private partnerships with over ten agricultural machinery retailers and manufacturers, small-and-medium light engineering enterprises, financial institutions, and technology firms combined. Beyond my work with projects, I also supported the fundraising unit, including participating in a USAID/India co-creation workshop for the development of a smallholder mechanization and finance program and writing several sections of concept notes and proposals.

Freelance Writer
September - December 2018

BRAC’s customized and diverse range of products support families to access financial services, manage and build assets, invest in small enterprises, access employment opportunities, and cope during emergencies. Complementing this, BRAC builds financial literacy and has instituted a range of client protection measures that distinguish them for their commitment towards client-centric service delivery. 

The short-term assignment with BRAC Microfinance involved working with their communications unit and conducting field interviews with their clients to produce several blogs, articles, and social media stories in preparation for the annual Financial Inclusion Week.

Communications Consultant
August - September 2018

UNICEF works in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere. They do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive, and fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. 

For this short-term consultancy with UNICEF Bangladesh, I was responsible for writing and designing a brief report on the significance of an integrated nutrition information system in Bangladesh.

Mentor, Young SDG Innovators Program (YSIP)
October 2019 - July 2020

The Young SDG Innovators Program (YSIP) is an accelerator program designed to engage young professionals working in companies that participate in the United Nations Global Compact.

As one of the mentors of YSIP, I worked with a group of young professionals from two Bangladeshi companies – Northern Tosrifa Group and Leadership Excellence, and Development (LEAD) –  and provided guidance through a series of consultations on business innovation and sustainability.

Communication Officer, USAID SPRING Project
May 2015 - May 2016

The USAID-funded Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) project was dedicated to strengthening global and country efforts to scale up high-impact nutrition practices and policies. SPRING provided state-of-the-art technical support focused on preventing stunting and maternal and child anemia in the first 1,000 days, linking agriculture and nutrition, and creating social change and behavior change through communication. Helen Keller International was a partner to JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. in the SPRING consortium.

I led the communications efforts of the USD 20 million initiative in Bangladesh, revamping their communications strategy, setting up their social media and reaching over 10,000 followers on Facebook in six months, and managing the coordination of high-profile visits including that of former USAID Acting Administrator Alfonso Lenhardt.

Co-Founder / Strategic Director
August 2011 - Present

Plaantik is a media company that is dedicated to providing a 360-degree experience for football fans in Bangladesh and beyond. From promoting local football in Bangladesh to highlighting the football subculture of Europe, Plaantik creates an immersive world for passionate football fans through informative, entertaining, and engaging content and events.

I co-founded Plaantik in 2011 in a largely nascent environment of digital media content and helped build an online football news aggregation and discussion platform that currently has a community of over 750,000 followers.