our leadership

Humaira Islam, Ph.D. oversees policy formulation, administration, and fund management as Executive Director. Her career in microfinance spans over 25 years. She holds an MA in Political Science, M. Phil Degree, and Ph.D. from Dhaka University. Her thesis was on women’s empowerment.

She founded Shakti Foundation as an institution for microfinance and gender issues, which provides services in financial empowerment and networking to the disadvantaged in partnership with financial institutions and banks, as well as leadership development, community development, and, enterprise development.

She is a Member of the Board of Trustees, Women’s World Banking (WWB), Executive Committee Member of INAFI, Asia Chapter, Member of the National Council of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (DAB) Executive Committee member of "Utsho Bangladesh", Member of Bangladesh University of Health Sciences (BUHS), Member of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, Member of National Caucus for Women’s Economic Empowerment Bangladesh, Founding Coordinator of Coalition of the Urban Poor (CUP).

Prior to founding Shakti Foundation, Dr. Humaira Islam worked at Manabik Sahajaya Sangstha (MSS) as Project Director; and at the Center for Integrated Rural Development Program for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) as a Research Associate. She began her career teaching English at Viqarunnisa Noon School and teaching English language and literature courses at Green Herald International School.

Dr. Humaira was an ASHOKA fellow and has received several awards including: Innovators for the Public 1994, Women’s World Banking ‘Excellence in Leadership’ Award, 2012 in Microcredit and Citi Micro Microentrepreneurship Award, 2011 by Citi Foundation.

Imran Ahmed is the Deputy Executive Director of Shakti Foundation. He is responsible for managing all programs of the organization including Microfinance, SME, Health and Climate Change, including the nationwide green initiative. He also oversees the Training Department and leads the New Initiatives Unit, which is focused on providing better services & digital inclusion to Shakti's clients.

He was previously a Vice President at comScore Inc., a premier Data analytics company based out of Washington DC USA, where he led Client Services and Product Leadership business units. Prior to joining comScore, Mr. Ahmed worked at mcKinsey & Company in Boston, where he focused on economic research and strategy. He has multiple publications on economic growth and job creation as a research fellow at McKinsey Global Institute.

He has earned his M.A in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University, USA and his BA in Mathematics from Bard College, USA. He is recipient of multiple awards including Distinguished Scientist Scholarship and General Welfare Award.

Asma Begum is the Head of Human Resource Department at Shakti Foundation. Ms. Begum started her career as a Credit Officer and reached her present position after serving in various capacities in different departments of Shakti since 1992. She has trained in multiple areas ranging from monitoring and evaluation, administrative skills development to project development and management. She has received training on Project Program Development and Management (PPDM) in Philippines (1996), and Business Planning and Financial Modelling in USA. Ms. Begum has an Honor’s and Master’s degree in Sociology from Dhaka University.

Md. Shariful Islam is the Head of Administration Department at Shakti Foundation. With a humble start as a Credit Officer, Md. Shariful Islam, now a Senior Director, has served Shakti Foundation in different capacities in departments like Microfinance, Human Resources, Solar and Enrich Program since 1992. He has been working successfully in Shakti for the last 30 years. Mr. Islam has a Master’s degree in Economics and a postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management. He has also received trainings on Project Program Development and Management (PPDM) in Philippines in 1996.

Nazmul Ahsan is the Head of Audit & Legal Department at Shakti Foundation. Mr. Ahsan started his career as an accountant in the organization in 1994. Currently Mr. Ahsan formulates the internal control system within the organization and internal audits at the
branches and head office. He received trainings on Project Program Development and Management (PPDM) in Philippines (1996), Accounting and Finance from different institutions, Microfinance in USA (1999), Operational Risk Management in India (2005) and MFI Management in a Changing Environment in Germany (2008). Mr. Ahsan has a Master’s degree in Finance (1991) From Dhaka University. He has completed ICMA (intermediate) and is also an Income Tax Practitioner.

Sabya Sachi Roy is the Head of Training and Asset and Business Development at Shakti Foundation. He has been with the organization for 23 years. Mr. Roy has a Master’s degree in Commerce. He is a certified Administrator Professional for Oracle Database 11g and Lead Auditor on Information Security Management System ISO/IEC 27001:2005

Mr. Asaduzzaman is the Head of Microfinance Program at Shakti Foundation. He started his career as Fund Management In-Charge under Shakti's Finance Department in 2011. Mr. Asaduzzaman has a Honor’s (2003) and Master’s degree in Accounting (2004). He has completed Chartered Accountancy Course (Professional Level) and is also an Income Tax Practitioner. He has received trainings on Project Management Program in Philippines (2014), Monitoring and Evaluation (2014), Community Based Financial Inclusion and Microfinance in Thailand (2016) and, Business Planning with Microfin in Nepal (2017).

Mr. Abdul Halim joined Shakti Foundation on 16th May 2022 as a Senior Director and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Halim, in his career of over 26 years, served in different departments in BURO Bangladesh as Program, Internal Audit, and finally, Coordinator and Head of the Finance & Accounts Department. Mr. Abdul Halim has an Honors and Master’s degree in Accounting from Dhaka University (1992). He has received training in Management Information Systems for MFIs, Financial Analysis, Delinquency Management, Micro Finance Risk Management (Microsave, India) and Accounts Management (India).

Mr. Md. Zillur Rahman possesses a distinguished 25-year career characterized by significant expertise in Data Science, Data Analysis, Software Development, ERP, and various other software applications, with a focus on Sales and Implementation.

His professional journey commenced at Southtech Limited, Bangladesh. He initially held the role of Senior Analyst Programmer and subsequently advanced to the position of Applications Manager. During this tenure, he garnered certifications as a Microsoft Dynamics ERP Consultant, DBA, MCT, and others. Recently he completed the “IBM Data Science Professional Certificate” (total of 10 courses) from Coursera.

Post his tenure at Southtech, Mr. Rahman contributed substantially to Rahimafrooz, where he dedicated a total of 13 years. Serving as the Head of IT for 11 years, he also took on the role of Managing Director for UDDOM Limited, a startup focusing on a Social Commerce Platform.

His academic achievements include an Executive MBA from East West University, Bangladesh, and a Professional Diploma in Information Technology from NIIT, Bangladesh. The latter specialization covered Object-Oriented Programming, Database Design, and Implementation.

Before affiliating with Shakti Foundation, Mr. Rahman served as the Head of Implementation at Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Limited in Bangladesh. His prior experiences demonstrate close involvement with diverse domains, including Software Quality Assurance, Web Service Development, and ERP Applications Development. He is proficient in programming languages such as advanced SQL, Java, C#, Python, JavaScript, among others.

Dr. Shamsher Ali Khan is the Senior Adviser of Health Program at Shakti Foundation. He has over 37 years of experience in the field of Public Health and Hospital Management around the globe. He has served and supervised 155 health centers including 11 upgraded health centers of BRAC with EOC facilities and other health programs in many countries of Asia and Europe. Dr. Khan has obtained his advanced Diploma in Reproductive Health from Uppsala University, Sweden after completing MBBS from Dhaka Medical College. He has made valuable contributions  in policy advocacy for chronic health issues like Malaria and Maternal & Neonatal Health Care in association with USAID, WHO and other international agencies.

Ms. Sohani Huq Elias is the Head of Climate Change Program and Director at Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women. She is responsible for designing and implementing the projects to adapt and mitigate the climate change challenges. Ms. Elias also looks after the relationships with external stakeholders and works closely with them for new projects and initiatives. Previously she had worked in the banking sector and in teaching for a while. She has an MBA in Finance from North South University and MSS in Economics from University of Dhaka.  

Ms. Tamanna Yasmin Khan is the Head of Communication, Marketing and Research Department at Shakti Foundation. She started her career as Senior Manager in the training section under the Human Resource Department  in 2004. She has a Honor’s and Master’s degree in Economics from Dhaka University  and a Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management from Bangladesh Institute of Management (BIM). Ms Khan is a CEDR (Center for Effective Dispute Resolution) Accredited Mediator in 2013.