Zahir leads our work across inclusive growth, which includes markets, supply chains, investment and finance. He has over 15 years’ experience spanning the public and private sectors.
Zahir cares passionately about reducing poverty and firmly believes the best way to do this is to harness the power of markets, companies and investors to create jobs and opportunities. More than a decade of his career has been in the public sector, with roles in both Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), including postings to two of DFID’s largest country programmes, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Zahir has led important policy initiatives, as well as the design and implementation of a number of flagship DFID programmes.
Prior to joining DFID, Zahir took part in the Accenture UK graduate scheme and held various roles in the city. Zahir has a BSc in economics from the London School of Economics and an MA from the University of Warwick. He obtained a Level 1 Chartered Financial Analyst qualification in 2012.