President, Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
Philippines

Managing Director, Grameen Healthcare Services Ltd & Samajik Health Science Institute and Research Center Ltd.
Bangladesh

Shamsul Haque Ahmed brings more than 25 years of corporate experience including 14 years in top management position. He obtained MBA from Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in 2000, with Major in Finance. He also completed B.Sc. in Engineering degree in EEE from Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology.

His career track includes operations and business development, sales administration, market development and project management. Shamsul worked for top level reputed companies like Omera Petroleum, ARTISAN Ceramics, SHANTA Properties, Rahimafrooz & Shinepukur Ceramics. Presently he is working as the Managing Director of Grameen Health Care Services Ltd. as well as performing responsibility of Managing Director at Samajik Health Science Institute and Research Center.
Shamsul Haque Ahmed is a business professional, member of different associations; he attended several professional training and workshop programs both locally and internationally.

Managing Director, Grameen Shakti
Bangladesh

Sohel Ahmed is the Managing Director of Grameen Shakti, one of the leading social business in the world, founded by Nobel laureate Prof. Mohammad Yunus, with an aim of improving “Access to Energy”. Sohel has more than a decade of experience of working in the field of Renewable Energy, have expertise of modelling and managing large development projects, as well as investment planning and advocacy on renewable energy and social business.

Sohel is also spearheading “Consultancy & Knowledge Practice” cell in GS that has executed or implementing various development projects, notable among them are (a) peer-to-peer solar electricity trading (UN DESA) (b) Eco-village Development (Danish Project) (c) WePOWER (World Bank) (d) Energy Transition etc. In 2021, Sohel has been nominated as a member of the High-Level Dialogue
Technical Committee on “Energy Access” of UN. Currently he is working as an active member of the Steering Committee of WePOWER, a forum of World Bank promoting women participation in power sector. In 2022, Sohel has received the “Individual Achievement Award” from WePOWER. World Bank platform.

Managing Director, Drik
Bangladesh

A Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2018 and National Geographic Explorer at Large, photographer, writer, curator and activist, Shahidul Alam obtained a PhD in chemistry before switching to photography. Alam’s documentation contributed to the ouster of autocratic general Hussain Muhammad Ershad. A chair of World Press Photo international jury, Alam has spoken at Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Oxford and Cambridge universities. He is Honorary Fellow of Royal Photographic Society, Visiting Professor of Sunderland University and Adjunct Professor at RMIT. His book “The Tide Will Turn” by Steidl, was listed in New York Time’s “Best Art Books of 2020”.

Founder and Executive Director, Integrated Development Foundation (IDF)
Bangladesh

Mr. Zahirul Alam, founder and Executive Director of Integrated Development Foundation (IDF), Bangladesh. His illustrious career in rural development began as an assistant to Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus at Rural Economics Program (REP) of Chittagong University, where the groundbreaking Grameen Bank model was conceived in the 1970s. Mr. Alam holds a Master's degree with honors in Economics from Chittagong University. He further honed his expertise as an Action Research Fellow at Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) and an economist at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He established IDF with the mission of replicating the successful Grameen Bank model in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a remote, challenging, and politically sensitive region of Bangladesh. Under his guidance, IDF has expanded its reach, implementing innovative programs and initiatives that empower rural communities. Mr.Alam is a  visionary leader who has played a pivotal role in advancing sustainable development in Bangladesh

Trustee, Albukhary Foundation
Malaysia

Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Sharifah Sofia is an economist who holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE). During her graduate study, Sharifah Sofia led her team to the regional round and qualified as one of the regional finalists of the Hult Prize 2016. During the same period, Sharifah Sofia was an external consultant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, examining methodologies to empower rural women in low income countries. Prior to that, Sharifah Sofia has worked at the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and interned as an investment banking analyst in Morgan Stanley, Singapore. Sharifah Sofia serves as a trustee of the Albukhary Foundation and is responsible for driving its educational initiatives. With 6 years of work experience in the private sector, focusing on corporate finance and strategy, Sharifah Sofia currently works in private equity. In parallel, she belongs to the inaugural cohort of Southeast Asia Next Gen Leaders at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (NUS).

Sharifah Sofia chaired the Scholarship Committee at the Albukhary International University since its inception, where she also served as a member of the University’s Board of Governors. She is a Founding Board Member of Philanthropy University and served on the Board of Pos Malaysia, DRB-HICOM and MMC Corporation.

She has a keen interest in international development, social entrepreneurship, and more specifically, exploring the role of education in promoting progressive change.

Founder & CEO, CARD MRI
Philippines

Member, 3ZERO Club
Philippines

Club ID-608-001-001

Director for Accounting, Finance and Insurance, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation
Philippines

Syrel Z. Aplaon is the Director for Accounting, Finance and Insurance of Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation.  She joined NWTF in 1998 as the first Audit Manager of the Foundation.  A year later she was seconded to the CASHPOR Network as the Finance Manager and concurrently as Auditor for partner Microfinance Institutions.  In 2004, she returned to NWTF as the Transformation Officer and worked on NWTF’s application to start a Microfinance Thrift Bank to the Central Bank of the Philippines, and was assigned to Dungganon Bank, Inc. when it started its operations in 2005.  After nearly 10 years at the bank, she moved back to NWTF to head the Accounting, Finance and Insurance Department.

President, Society for the Advancement of Professional Social Entrepreneurship (SAPSE)
Philippines

Rodmark Barriga is the co-founder and current CEO of the social enterprise, Palamigan Co., and the President of the non-profit called Society for the Advancement of Professional Social Entrepreneurship (SAPSE). He is also currently a Board Member of the mental wellness advocacy program of RockED Philippines, known as Project: Steady Asia, andan adjunct professor of the Master in Entrepreneurship for Social Enterprise Development Program of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. Rodmark advocates for the development and advancement of the marginalized through inclusive entrepreneurship.

Environment and Management Officer, Province of Negros Occidental Provincial
Philippines

Executive Vice Chairman, Grameen Shikkha
Bangladesh

Nurjahan Begum, currently working as Advisor to Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, has an outstanding career with Grameen since inception of the Grameen Bank in 1976. She was one of the earliest associates of Professor Yunus during the establishment of Grameen Bank. She served as Principal of Grameen Bank Central Training Institute, General Manager, Training & Special Program and Deputy Managing Director of the bank. She became Acting Managing Director of Grameen Bank soon after the bank’s founder Professor Yunus left the bank in 2011.

Ms. Nurjahan worked as Managing Director of Grameen Shakti – the largest off-grid solar energy company in the world. She also worked as Managing Director of Grameen Shikkha from 1997, the year Shikkha was established, to end of December 2016. She is serving as Chairperson of Grameen Distribution Ltd. and director of some Grameen companies like Grameen Trust, Grameen Kalyan, Grameen Agricultural Foundation, Grameen Knitwear Ltd., and Grameen Fisheries & Livestock Foundation. She is serving as director of Grameen Italia Foundation, Italy and Center for Mass Education in Science (CMES), Bangladesh. She also served Grameenphone Ltd., Bangladesh and Grameen Foundation, USA as director.

Ms. Nurjahan was awarded Susan M. Davis Lifetime Achievement Award 2008 by Grameen Foundation, the World Summit Millennium Development Goals Award 2009, and the Vision Award 2009. She received Outstanding Contribution to Education Award at Ed Leadership 7th International Roundtable 2014. She participated in the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit held in Los Angeles in 2007 and was appointed President to the Foundation for Justice Prize giving ceremony held in Valencia, Spain in 2007.

Assistant Professor and Visiting Expert at the Yunus Professional Masters Program, Asian Institute of Technology
Thailand

Dr. Tanawan experience in the medical technology industry spans more than 15 years, and it includes molecular diagnosis of the Human Papillomavirus, laboratory management, and biosafety, as well as HIV diagnosis and monitoring testing, mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and sexually transmitted illnesses.

She has been a co-author of the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand's Thailand National Guidelines on HIV/AIDS Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention since 2014. She thinks that social enterprise, particularly in low-resource areas, may enhance the current public health system and broaden access to basic care. She presently manages community-based social enterprise development projects and actively collaborates with partners and communities to bring primary healthcare to hard-to-reach places.

She has doctoral degrees in biomedical sciences from Chiang Mai University in Thailand and Sciences de la Vie et de la Santé from the Université de Tours in France.

President, China-United States Exchange Foundation
China

James Chau has served as President of the China-United States Exchange Foundation since 2023.

He joined the Foundation in 2018, working with Founding Chairman The Honorable Tung Chee-hwa, First Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, and developing the digital initiatives that have become an important part of its outreach.

At the United Nations, Mr. Chau is the World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goals, appointed by WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, and re-appointed by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Previously, he was a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador - the first person in China named to this role.

A long-time television news anchor, he has earned a special reputation for his interviews with world leaders including Nobel Peace Prize laureates President Jimmy Carter, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Professor Muhammad Yunus, as well as Christine Lagarde, Jane Goodall, and Madam Peng Liyuan.

Born in London, Mr. Chau studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music and graduated from Cambridge University and King’s College London. He completed an Executive Education course on Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Manager, Foundation for Yunus Social Business Taiwan
Taiwan

William has ten years of experience working in the NGO sector and possesses a strong passion for environmental education, youth engagement, and community involvement. He is also a 3ZERO Club member who initiated the Eat4Environment Challenge with 3Z Global Centre in 2022.He has conducted numerous workshops and open discussions, advocating for youth engagement in sustainable development across various settings, such as schools, communities, private sectors, and government agencies. Currently, he is the leader of the Resource Integration Department at the Foundation for Yunus Social Business Taiwan.

Professor and former Dean, School of Business and Economics, North South University
Bangladesh

Dr. Chowdhury is the current Professor and former Dean of the School of Business and Economics at North South University. Earlier, he served as the Vice-Chancellor of Primeasia University and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Eastern University. He also served as faculty at the University of Windsor, Canada, Northeastern University, USA, Islamic University, Bangladesh, and as visiting Professor at the Yunnan Normal University, China. He received MS and Ph.D. degrees from Northeastern University, Boston, USA. In 2002, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary, Canada. He has published more than 65 journal papers, two books and presented more than 75 papers at different international conferences.

Dr. Chowdhury has organized numerous conferences, seminars, workshops, lecture series, Business Plan Competitions, and prestigious events on Social Business (SB) including an International Conference in 2010; SB Forums in 2012 and 2013; South Asian Youth Leaders’ Summit on SB in 2012; SB Youth Convention in 2014; SB Academic Conclave in 2015; SB Country Forum in 2021-22 and led a project with HEC, France on SB (2010-14). He participated in the Global Social Business Summit (GSBS) in Germany (2010, 2015), Austria (2011, 2012), Malaysia (2013), Kenya (Hybrid-2021), and Italy (2022) and all SB Day events in Bangladesh and India. He served on different committees of the GSBS Academia Conferences and SB Day events from 2012-23.

Managing Director, Grameen Kalyan
Bangladesh

Moin Chowdhury pursued his MBA from Bayes Business School, City University, London, UK. Post MBA, he worked as a Principal Consultant for Frost & Sullivan, in its London office. He has 32 years of professional experience in various sectors including development sector.

Notable ones are that Moin was appointed as the Director of Finance for the Maxwell Stamp Plc- UK and worked for Department for International Development (DFID) projects for 05 years. Besides this, Moin has managed two more DFID funded projects in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh.

Moin joined Grameen Kalyan in November 2018. He believes in the ideology of ‘Equal Health Care for All’ and embraces this as a charter in the everyday work.  

Co-founded , Azimut Company
Belgium

Áine (onya) Clarke - Born in 1963 in Belfast Northern Ireland.
Graduated from University of Ulster in Environmental Physics 1987.

In 1991, they co-founded Azimut Company.
An award-winning independent production house to direct and produce international commercials and corporate films.
https://www.azimutcompany.be

Since 2016, they made the decision to work principally on film productions about social entrepreneurship.
https://www.aworldof3zeros.film/en_GB

Aiming to add a cinematographic and storytelling dimension to this valuable work of providing solutions to social and environmental problems for the collective good.

Author,
United States

Alex Counts is the author of Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind: Leadership Lessons from Three Decades of Social Entrepreneurship (Revised edition) (Rivertowns Books, 2021), a consultant to mission-driven organizations, and a professor at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

In 1997 he established Grameen Foundation with the support of Professor Yunus and ran the organization for its first 18 years.  

Counts’ other writings include Small Loans, Big Dreams: Grameen Bank and the Microfinance Revolution in Bangladesh, America and Beyond (2022 Edition). Counts has also been published in The Washington Post, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Times of India, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

FAO Food Coalition Coordinator, FAO
Italy

Vincenzo Cursio is the FAO Food Coalition Coordinator at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, leading a global alliance to act, accelerate, and transform Agrifood systems to address food insecurity and climate challenges. He joined FAO in 2016 to establish and coordinate the FAO Nobel Peace Laureates Alliance for Food Security and Peace. Vincenzo was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.

Vincenzo has held influential positions in the Italian government and international organizations, including serving as a Political Spokesperson and Vice President of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates Secretariat.

He possesses diverse expertise in disarmament, children's rights, conflict resolution, climate change, economic development, and social protection. Vincenzo has played a crucial role in facilitating peace negotiations, organizing international conferences, and contributing to peace processes in Iraq, Nigeria, and Syria. He has also been actively involved in nuclear disarmament efforts and is a part of Pope Francis's Covid-19 Task Force and the Vatican Foundation Fratelli Tutti, led by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the Vicar of the Vatican City.

With advanced degrees in Political Science and International Relations, as well as History and Religious Studies, Vincenzo's educational background reflects his dedication to his field.

As a renowned economist and social entrepreneur, Vincenzo collaborates with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, promoting social business and microfinance in Italy, and working towards establishing new Yunus Centers.

Vincenzo's commitment to children's rights is exemplified through his role as the co-Founder of the City of Peace for Children Foundation, presided over by Nobel Laureate Jody Williams. The foundation supports over 900 children through integration services and education.

He has participated in major international summits and curated exhibitions such as "The Kennedys" and "Posters of War: Spain 1936-1939, Art and Propaganda for Freedom." Vincenzo is actively involved in the prestigious Trento Festival of Economics, which brings together renowned economists and leaders.

As an Africanist, Vincenzo founded the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Centre Europe and curated the first Italian edition of "Africa Must Unite," written by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana and founder of the African Union. He is a distinguished analyst for respected Italian publications and delivers inspiring TED Talks.

CEO , myHarapan
Malaysia

Nurfarini is the CEO of myHarapan, a foundation fueling youth empowerment and positive social change since 2010. Leveraging 24 years of SB and startup development experience, including mentoring entrepreneurs, she honed her skills by contributing across industries. Nurfarini's leadership extends to a family-owned resort.

This Warwick University alumna boasts an INSEAD SE Program certificate and teaching credentials. She was also a DIVA-Ashoka 2022 cohort. Her dedication earned her the 2015 Social Innovation Leadership award and nominations for recognitions like Malaysian Great Women of Our Time. She also received an SE Research Academy Fellowship and Wiki Impact Top 100 honour in 2022.

Executive Director, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc.
Philippines

Member, Slow Food, 3ZERO Club
Philippines

CEO, Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) and India Humanity Foundation (IHF)
India

Biswajit Ghosh worked for two and a half decades in various senior leadership roles within the HSBC Bank Group globally before transitioning into the development sector. During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as the CEO of the Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM), spearheading several national literacy campaigns. Under his leadership, RILM emerged as the leading NGO contributor of eLearning content for 12 National PM-eVidya TV Channels of NCERT. He also led a nationwide Rotary campaign to provide free eyeglasses to over 25,000 children post-pandemic.

Biswajit Ghosh currently serves as a Senior Yunus Fellow at the Yunus Centre. He is also the Global Director of Partnerships for the Rotary Action Group for Community Economic Development (RAGCED), where he focuses on implementing economic development projects led by Rotary Clubs worldwide to support impoverished communities.

Additionally, Biswajit is the Managing Director of the Nabin Entrepreneurship Foundation in Bhopal, an organization dedicated to promoting Social Business and the 3ZEROs concept among Indian youth. He is also the Director of YSBC – Career College, Bhopal. Both organizations are at the forefront in India, developing an online global internship program that teaches Social Business and Social Entrepreneurship. This initiative is aimed at Indian college students and 3ZERO Club members worldwide.

Country Director, Yunus Environment Hub
Vietnam

Country Director – Yunus Environment Hub, Vietnam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tam-phan-hanh-6b7310199/

Tam is the Country Director of Yunus Environment Hub Vietnam, a registered social business with social and environmental commitments under Vietnam’s Law on Enterprises.  The purpose of Yunus Environment Hub Vietnam is to contribute to a world without poverty, unemployment and net carbon emissions ("a world with three zeros") in and through the environmental sector and, to this end, to promote directly and indirectly the implementation of the "social business" approach in the environmental sector at home and abroad. 

Tam comes from southern Vietnam (the Mekong Delta region) and has lived and worked in Ho Chi Minh City for the past 18 years. She focuses on humanities and socio-cultural developmental works. Her career journey has been a life-enriching constitution with over 15 years working in the business development, education, philanthropy and environmental sectors.

Yunus Environment Hub (YEH) is the global social business network creating solutions for the environmental crisis. Co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus, YEH supports and develops social business solutions addressing environmental issues in a financially self-sustainable way. Focus areas are solutions for improved waste management & sustainable plastic recycling, circular economy, carbon neutrality, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, access to clean water and clean energy.

CEO & Managing Director, Grameen Telecom Trust
Bangladesh

Mr. Md. Ashraful Hassan is working with Grameen Group for last 40 Years. Currently he is serving as Co-Chairman 2 of Grameen Group, Executive Vice Chairman of Grameen Telecom, Grameen distribution Ltd., Grameen Shamogree, Grameen Knitwear Ltd., Grameen Fabrics & Fashions Ltd. and also serving as CEO & Managing Director of Grameen Telecom Trust

He has extensive and diversified knowledge in various business and industrial sectors. He has profound knowledge in projects and business development, industry setup and management as well as wide exposure in the local and international market. He has extensive knowledge in the field of construction engineering.

He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of several enterprises in the fields of renewable energy, technology, education, health care, food & nutrition, construction, employment generation, information & communication technology and so forth.

Co-Founder, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF)
Philippines

Corazon “Cora” A. Henares, a psychologist and educator, is one of the founders of Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), which was founded in 1984. NWTF is one of the first replicators of the Grameen lending methodology in the Philippines. As Director for Operations, she led the organization to offer client responsive products. She has also been instrumental in training staff so that they adopted NWTF’s vision, values and understood the Grameen essentials. With her experience in microfinance, she was tapped to train other microfinance in the Philippines. Currently, she is the President of Dungganon Bank Inc., a subsidiary of NWTF catering to graduating micro and SME Clients.

Programs Coordinator, YY Ventures Limited
Bangladesh

Farhia Tabassum Hoque is a social entrepreneur with over six years of experience in building businesses and the startup ecosystem. As the Programs Coordinator at YY Ventures, she manages entrepreneurship support programs that benefits early-stage social entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, Uganda and Tanzania. She previously managed Shuttle for School to provide safe school transportation and co-founded CHAYA, a co-living startup in Bangladesh that provided housing to a largely underserved group; bachelors in Bangladesh, especially women. Farhia is also building Working Women Bangladesh, a resource-sharing community to empower women in leadership roles, and serves as the incoming Curator of Global Shapers Dhaka Hub, a World Economic Forum initiative

Chief Operating Officer, YY Ventures Limited
Bangladesh

Sadia Hossain is the Chief Operating Officer at YY Ventures Limited. Specialized in organizational strategy, business development, talent management, and operational excellence, she has worked on entrepreneurship development, youth leadership and education, livelihoods and food security, gender-based violence, climate change and sustainability, health and WASH for 13+ years.
 
Sadia excels at building high-performing teams and organizations, and delivering results by driving innovation through people-centered processes, structures, and systems.
 
Prior to YY Ventures, Sadia worked with Teach For Bangladesh, Concern Worldwide Bangladesh, and GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh. She holds a dual degree in Economics and International Business from Monash University.

Managing Director, Grameen Knitwear Ltd and Grameen Fabrics & Fashion Ltd.
Bangladesh

Mohammed Anwar Hossain is Managing Director of Grameen Knitwear Ltd and Grameen Fabrics & Fashion Ltd. He is a Textile Engineering graduated from BUTEX. Working with Grameen since 19 years. He is the pioneer of developed the sportswear and active wear at Bangladesh. Mohammed Anwar Hossain has 24 years’ experience about garments, textiles and fashions. During the pandemic he developed the quality standard PPE and produce a large no of PPE in Bangladesh. At textile sector to prevent the Carbon Emission he introduced various process for Fabrics production.

Dr. Betty L. Forest Dean and Professor , College of Nursing and Public Health
United States

Deborah Hunt is the Dr. Betty L. Forest Dean and Professor at the College of Nursing and Public Health at Adelphi University. She is an accomplished nursing leader, writer, educator, and scholar. She is a fellow in the New York Academy of Medicine and is the Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee at Bronx Community Board #10. She is passionate about international collaboration most recently with Bangladesh and India. She was honored to meet Professor Yunus and his team, and Susan Gibson (Ambassador and Liaison) to help facilitate the MOU between Adelphi University and Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing. She recently visited Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing in Bangladesh with two of her faculty colleagues to provide a Faculty Development Program.

Founder and Chair, Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES)
Bangladesh

Muhammad Ibrahim Ph.D. (Southampton)

Professor of physics, Dhaka University (retired). Professor and Head, General Education, ULAB University, Dhaka (retired), Adjunct Professor ULAB University.

Founder and Chair, Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES) a NGO working for 45 years in Bangladesh, dedicated to alternative education and technology-based livelihood for rural youth.

Author, Editor, Speaker, Television Presenter, mainly on latest science for all and future prospect of the world.

Affiliations: World Economic Forum (Social Entrepreneur); Ashoka for Public (Fellow), Caritas (award: Prix Caritas, Switzerland), Bangla Academy (Fellow, award: Bangla Academy Literature Prize).

Founder, YY Ventures
Bangladesh

Shazeeb M Khairul Islam is an Obama Scholar and the founder of YY Ventures, a social business company that incubates and invests in social businesses fighting poverty, unemployment, and carbon emission. YY Ventures has supported 60+ social entrepreneurs since 2016 who have impacted the lives of more than 150,633 people and created 1300+ jobs.

He is also a co-founder at Impact Hub Dhaka, part of the global Impact Hub Network mobilizing a vibrant community of entrepreneurs in Dhaka through inspiring space, meaningful content, and a diverse network to create a Bangladesh where everyone thrives. Shazeeb is also the CEO at 3Z Global Centre, a one-stop help centre for all 3ZERO Clubs, Circles, 3Z Support organisations, and YSBCs, and facilitates networking among all Clubs and associated organisations.

Shazeeb is a member of the Board of Trustees at Grameen Trust, a non-profit and non-government organization founded in 1989 by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus that supports, promotes and implements poverty-focused microfinance, and social business and other programs around the world.

Shazeeb has working experience with YGAP, Give2Asia and the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and has studied at the University of Dhaka and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Co-founder & Managing Director , Yunus Environment Hub
Germany

Christina co-founded Yunus Environment Hub (YEH) together with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and his Creative Advisor Hans Reitz. YEH develops social business solutions that tackle the environmental and climate crisis. The expertise of the global YEH network covers waste & plastic management, circular economy, carbon neutrality, biodiversity, afforestation, sustainable agriculture, clean energy and access to clean water.

Christina was appointed to the Commission on Sustainable Business, Trade and Finance of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation & Development and serves as cochair of the ministry’s PREVENT Waste Alliance. She is part of the advisory committee of the
Circular Action Hub, a board member of the Circular Economy for Africa association, a Responsible Leader of the BMW Foundation World Responsible Leaders network and has received a Social Impact Scholarship of KfW Foundation. She has lectured at several universities and speaks regularly at high profile events. In 2016 she co-founded “Circular Economy Rhein Main” and in 2019 “Colombia Circular”, platforms to develop a circular economy in Rhein Main metropolitan region and Colombia respectively; in 2016 she cofounded “The Plastic Lab”, a creative laboratory to keep plastics out of nature.

Executive Board Member, IOC
Philippines

Career

Board Member of Green Earth Movement (1991-1996); Commercial Endorser (1991-); President of the Provincial Youth Government of the Province of Tarlac (Philippines) (1992-1996); Provincial Board Member of the Province of Tarlac (1993-1996); TV, Movie Stage Actress and Host (1994-); Director of the Asian Center for Foreign Languages (2000-); Commissioner of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (2001-2005); Volunteer of the Gawad Kalinga Foundation for Nation Building (2003-); Member of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (2004-2007); Spokesperson of the AnakTV Foundation for Child Sensitive Television (2004-); Child Rights Ambassador for Plan-International (Philippines) (2008-2012); Adopted Member of the Philippine Military Academy, Class of 1992 (2011); Adopted Member of the Philippine National Police Academy Kapanalig, Class of 1997 (2011); Treasurer of Zlota Incorporated (2012-); Earth Hour Ambassador for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines (2012-); Climate Solutions Steward for WWF Philippines (2013)

Sports practised

Equestrian, basketball, golf

Sports career

Gold medallist for the jumping individual competition and silver medallist for the jumping team competition in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan (Republic of Korea); Chef d’Equipe and Coach of the Philippine Jumping Team to the 2005 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney (Australia); Gold medallist in the Team Jumping Competition at the 2005 South East Asian Games in Manila (Philippines); Team Manager of the Team Jumping Competition at the 2011 South East Asian Games in Jakarta (Indonesia); Champion of the 2011 FEI World Dressage Challenge in Elementary for FEI Zone 9 (FEI / International Equestrian Federation)

Sports administration

Director (1999-2006) and Secretary General (2003-2006) of the Philippine Equestrian Federation; Athlete Ambassador for the 23rd South East Asian Games (Philippines) (2005); Corporate Secretary of the Equestrian Association of the Philippines (2006-2014); Member of the Organising Committee of the 2013 Asian Games Centennial Festival (2011-2014); Member of the Athletes' Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) (2011-)

Awards and distinctions

Philippine Sportswriters Association Sportswoman of the Year (2002); Parangal ng Bayan (National Honor) Award for Excellence in Sports (2003); Ateneo de Manila University Alumni Association Hall of Fame Citation for Excellence in Sports (2003)

IOC History

Member of the Executive Board (2020- ); Member of the following Commissions: Coordination for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020 (2014-2021), Women and Sport (2014-2015), Olympic Channel (2015-), Communications (2015-), Olympic Education (2015-), Evaluation for the Games of XXXIII Olympiad in 2024 (2016-2017), Coordination for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024 (2017-), Coordination for the Games of the XXXV Olympiad Brisbane 2032)

President and CEO, Grameen America
United States

Andrea Jung is the President and CEO of Grameen America. She is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products, Inc., where she served as CEO from 1999 to 2012, and as Chairman from 2001 through 2012. Throughout her career, Ms. Jung ranked consistently among the top leaders on lists including Fortune's "Most Powerful Women in Business," Forbes’ "Most Powerful Women in the World," and the Financial Times' "Top Women in World Business." Ms. Jung is a graduate of Princeton University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., Unilever, Rockefeller Capital Management and Wayfair Inc. She previously served on the boards of General Electric and Daimler AG.

Sun Microsystems, Co-founder
India

Vinod Khosla (born 28 January 1955) is an Indian-American billionaire businessman and venture capitalist. He is a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and the founder of Khosla Ventures. Khosla made his wealth from early venture capital investments in areas such as networking, software, and alternative energy technologies.He is considered one of the most successful and influential venture capitalists.[3]

In 2014, Forbes counted him among the 400 richest people in the United States. In 2021, he was ranked 92nd on the Forbes 400 list. As of March 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$6.8 billion.


Khosla was born on 28 January 1955, to a Punjabi family in Pune, India. Khosla's father was an officer in the Indian Army and was posted at New Delhi, India. His father wanted him to also join the army. He attended Mount St Mary's School for elementary school. Khosla became interested in entrepreneurship after reading about the founding of Intel in Electronic Engineering Times as a teenager, and this inspired him to pursue technology as a career.[10] According to Khosla, he was inspired by Intel co-founder Andrew Grove, a Hungarian immigrant that got funding for Intel in Silicon Valley, when it was a startup.

From 1971 to 1976, Khosla attended IIT Delhi where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He started the first computer club in any IIT to do computer programming and operated the school's computer center while the operations staff were on strike. He also wrote a paper on parallel processing as a teenager before the concept was adopted by the IT industry, and helped to start the first biomedical engineering program in India. In 1975, Khosla attempted to start a soy milk company intended to provide a milk alternative to Indian consumers that do not have refrigerators to preserve cow milk.

Khosla received a master's in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University on a full scholarship.[12] He applied to Stanford University's MBA program but was rejected for lack of work experience. He had two full-time jobs while finishing his master's for the two years of work experience, but was rejected a second time. Three weeks into starting at Carnegie Mellon for his MBA, Khosla convinced the admissions staff to accept him into Stanford Graduate School of Business and received an MBA in 1980.

Microfinance Project Lead , Yunus Foundation
Thailand

Managing Director, Urban Youth Academy, Asia Pacific Youth Exchange
Korea

Founder and President, Makesense Asia
Philippines

Léa Klein is the Founder and President of Makesense Asia. In 2015, she established the Asian chapter of Makesense in the Philippines, an international non-profit organization dedicated to equipping individuals with the tools and resources needed to actively participate in global societal and ecological transitions, fostering self-determination and a sustainable future for all. Under her leadership, Makesense Asia has been instrumental in nurturing the growth of over 30 social startups and building coalition movements that engage 45,000 citizens and over 200 institutions to address pressing social and environmental challenges in the Philippines.

In 2023, Léa and her team expanded Makesense Asia by opening a second office in Singapore, aiming to significantly enhance citizen engagement across the region. This expansion is supported by two flagship programs: Jobs_that_makesense Asia, a job portal for impact careers, and The Good Chat, an incubator for social media influencers to mobilize their audiences for the region's energy transition.

Co-founder, Managing Director & CEO, Yunus Social Business Fund Benglauru
India

Suresh has over 25 years of experience in social business, microfinance & working with low income households.. He was the Managing Director of CreditAccess Grameen, India's largest NBFC-MFI, for over 15 years. He is passionate about social businesses, micro housing, financial literacy, and livelihoods for the poor. He has studied international microfinance models and strategies from several reputed institutions.

Few highlights of his career:

• Managing Director of CreditAccess Grameen (1999-2015)
• Co-founded Microfinance associations in India – AKMI & MFIN
• Co-founder & Managing Trustee of Navya Disha Trust – A NGO supporting youth in self employment, Chairman of Buzz India – a NGO working on women empowerment
• He served as Director of Mifos.org, BinaArtha, SMILE Microfinance, Centrum Microfinance, Sudhanand Healthcare, Sadhana Innovative financial services etc.,
• Currently he serves as Independent Director of Sanghamitra Rural Financial Services, Grameen Foundation for Social Initiatives, Waste Ventures P. Ltd., Child Fund India
• Studied international microfinance models and strategies from several reputed institutions like Harvard Business School, Bankakademi, Institute of Rural Management, etc.
• Alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), Bengaluru (India)

Co-founder and Group CEO, BagoSphere
Singapore

Zhihan is the co-founder and Group CEO of BagoSphere, a school that develops frontline workers with mindsets, skills & human capabilities. Before BagoSphere, Zhihan worked at a medical-tech start-up in Stockholm before venturing into rural India to work with a social enterprise involved in rural IT outsourcing. Zhihan is an Ashoka Fellow, leadership coach and budding meditator.

Board of Directors, Flourishing Co-Lab
Philippines

Erwin Lizarondo, M.A., M.P.P., is active in Asia's social innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. As a sought-after speaker and trainer in Southeast Asia, he excels in Social Innovation, Impact Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Marketing, Sustainability, and Project Management. His previous roles include working at Nitro Tech-Business Incubator and Small Biz Silver Lining in New York. An HEC Social Business Creation Program 2021 alumnus, he now coaches and judges the program. Erwin is the fi rst Filipino certifi ed in Gamifi cation and Experiential Learning in Social Entrepreneurship Education. Recently, he joined the Working Board for the Flourishing Co-Lab in Toronto and collaborates with an environmental startup. He guides Global Resolution Fellows with the Resolution Project in New York and serves on the board of three organizations. As a Business Development Specialist for an Environment-Tech Startup, he also teaches at Enderun College and the Asian Institute of Management. He holds a master's in public policy from Yeungnam University, South Korea, and was a fellow at GSIH University of Pennsylvania.

Founder and President, RestartME
Philippines

Co-founder and Managing Director, Yunus Thailand
Thailand

Callum Mackenzie is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Yunus Thailand. He also sits on the Steering Committee for the Yunus Professional Masters in Social Business & Entrepreneurship and teaches on the Yunus Practicum. Callum has a diverse range of experience from working in the social business and international development sector in +10 countries around the world with organizations such as the World Bank, USAID, ActionAid, the European Institute for Cooperation and Development, and the UK Government. Callum holds a Masters Degree in International Development from Sciences Po Paris and a Bachelors with Honours from the Queen's University Belfast in Conflict Studies.

CEO , Grameen Yemen
Yemen

Ahmed Al Mahfadi is the Chief Executive Officer of Grameen Yemen Foundation and a co-founder. He holds a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from Multimedia University in Malaysia. Ahmed played a pivotal role in establishing the foundation's organizational and legislative frameworks. As a committee member for the Comprehensive Transformation Towards a Real Economy at the Central Bank of Yemen, Ahmed has participated in numerous financial and economic conferences and seminars both domestically and internationally. Additionally, he has presented several working papers on economic empowerment mechanisms at the government level and for local and international organizations operating in Yemen.

Director, Innovation Programs , Foundation University
Philippines

Mr. Cyril Mapula, Director, Innovation Programs at Foundation University, Philippines

Role in AD: Speaker
Panel session: 3 Zeros from the Campus


Cyril  comes from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines.

He works at the intersection of academia and social innovation to empower youth to become the next wave of changemakers, social business founders, and community movers. In 2020, together with fellow teachers, he led the development of an idea generation and validation course called TEE (Technology, Environment, and Entrepreneurship). The program integrates social business education into the university curriculum. Currently, he serves as the Director of Innovation Programs at Foundation University. His office actively provides opportunities and a safe space for students to innovate and create solutions to today's problems. The incubation program he manages introduces and instills social business model innovation concepts in aspiring founders.

Ashoka Fellow, and Founder Philippines Accessible Disability Service (PADS), Adaptive Dragonboat Racing Team
Philippines

Managing Director, Danone Communities
France

Valerie Mazon is the Managing Director of Danone Communities, the impact investment fund of Danone, which invest in businesses which address the issues of low incomes population on access to safe drinking water or access to nutritious diet.

Valerie has more than 30 years of business experiences in Health categories, in mature and developing countries, 6 years ago, she decided to join Danone Communities to support Social Businesses on their journey to impact at scale.

She has been the General Manager of Grameen Danone in Bangladesh, experimenting the power and the complexity of impacting low incomes population through business.

She is a strong believer of, the power of business mechanisms to drive long lasting impacts and the strength of partnership to tackle world’s toughest challenges.

Founder, Women’s Development Bank
South Africa

Co-founder and Director of the Centre for Social Impact (CSI), Payap University
Thailand

Mr. Michael Meallem is the co-founder and director of the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) at Payap University. The Center, established in 2019, brings expertise from across the different university faculties to provide advocacy, training, consulting, information resources and academic services for policymakers, practitioners, funders, and the academic community in Thailand and the wider ASEAN community and is currently working with partners across 16 countries in Asia and Europe.

In addition to his role at the Center for Social Impact, Michael is the co-founder of the recently approved Yunus Social Business Center at Payap. The YSBC will serve as a hub for the promotion of social entrepreneurship and the Yunus social business model in Northern Thailand.

Previous to his role at the center, he was the department chair for the International Business Management program at the university’s International College.

President, Asia Pacific College
Philippines

Dr. Maria Teresita Pastor-Medado is the President of Asia Pacific College (APC), an educational partnership between SM Foundation and IBM Philippines. She joined APC in 1994 and assumed the role of President in 2018. Dr. Medado led innovations in teaching and learning challenged by the progressive change in the workforce in a highly technology-enabled industry.

Beyond her responsibilities at APC, Dr. Medado actively participates in leadership roles in philanthropic organizations. She serves as a Board Member of ARISE – Philippines, and the Convenor of the Women International Network in Disaster Risk Reduction Philippines.

Furthermore, she holds board membership in other educational institution, such as the MFI Polytechnic Institute, Inc., and a member of the Advisory Board of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA).

Dr. Medado was honored with the Outstanding Leadership Award at the Summer Edition of the Education 2.0 Conference held in Las Vegas, USA in July 2023. She also served as a resource speaker in the second edition of the QS Higher Ed Summit Americas 2022 sharing among higher education professionals, tools and knowledge for educational innovations.

As technical expert in Alternative Learning System, Dr. Medado holds several notable positions in this field. She continuous to serve as the Head of the Technical Committee on Alternative Learning under the Technical Panel on Teacher Education of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Additionally, she has been commissioned by UNESCO Jakarta in various research and development programs on Alternative Learning in the past five years.

Dr. Medado earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management from De La Salle University-Manila and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from the University of the Philippines. Her multifaceted contributions underscore her commitment to educational leadership.

Director and Chief Warden, Virunga National Park
Congo

Emmanuel de Merode was born in North Africa and spent his childhood in Kenya. He arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1993 and, in 2008, was appointed Director and Chief Warden of Virunga National Park in eastern Congo – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Africa’s oldest national park.  The park is famous as a last refuge for the Mountain Gorillas, but also lies at the heart of a region that has suffered 30 years of armed conflict. Over the past 15 years, Emmanuel has overseen the work of the Virunga Alliance, an ambitious development programme designed to foster peace and prosperity through the responsible economic development of the Park’s natural resources.  Through the combination of electrification and financial services, over 21,000 jobs have been created in the local community, of which over 2,000 are estimated to be young men and women who have left the armed groups to re-integrate their communities, offering a unique  approach to environmental protection and peace-building.

CEO and Founder, The Academy of Entrepreneurs
Australia

An award-winning Edu-Entrepreneur and Diplomat who built the bridge between the gap of education and businesses. Paula Mills started her first business when she was 9, and is now 20+ years later the CEO and Founder of the Academy of Entrepreneurs, the world’s go-to entrepreneurial business school.

With a strong drive and a vision to greatly empower students with entrepreneurship skills and networking that transforms students into LEGENDS, the Academy of Entrepreneurs has been dedicated to developing curriculum, mentoring, empowering, and incubating millions of students from 130+ nationalities.

Throughout the journey of the Academy of Entrepreneurs, Paula has worked, taught, and presented for & with notable partners from the United Nations, Google, Salesforce, Amazon, Wix, and several Ministers around the world.

Before becoming an Honorary Consul, Paula had run thousands of Masterclasses in Entrepreneurship & Social Impact for over 100 countries around the globe.

Paula has a heart for purpose and positive impact. This led her to create one of the most practical & industry-focused social entrepreneurship organisations in the world, her most beloved project: The Academy of Entrepreneurs.

Associate Professor and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Albukhary International University
Malaysia

Executive Director, Yunus Centre
Bangladesh

Lamiya Morshed has been serving as the Executive Director of Yunus Centre since its establishment in 2008. Yunus Centre is a global hub for social business, founded by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. With a remarkable tenure of 12 years, Lamiya previously held the position of Director, Development at Grameen Trust, an organization dedicated to implementing microcredit programs worldwide.

In addition to her role at Yunus Centre, Lamiya Morshed holds various leadership positions within the Grameen network. She serves as the Managing Director of Grameen Healthcare Trust and is a member of the Board of Trustees for YY Foundation. Lamiya is also a board member of Grameen Healthcare Services, Grameen Creative Lab, Yunus Social Business, Grameen Intel, Grameen Trust, Grameen Euglena Ltd., and Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing. Furthermore, she holds the position of Chairman at YY Ventures.

Lamiya Morshed is recognized as an esteemed speaker at numerous international conferences and summits focusing on microcredit and social business. Her expertise and insights have been sought after globally, and she consistently contributes as a judge for prestigious social business competitions.

Founder, Brotee
Bangladesh

Principal , Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing
Bangladesh

Ms. Niru Shamsun Nahar has been working at Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing since 2010. She joined as a Vice Principal and got promoted to be the Principal in 2015. Previously she worked for both government and non-government organizations at home and abroad. She had her Diploma in Advanced Nursing & MSc. in International Health from Queen Margaret University in Edinburg, Scotland. She has long been contributing in the development of Nursing education in Bangladesh by actively sharing her knowledge and helping others. She is actively involved in promoting social business.

Seaweed Social Business - Project Manger, Yunus Foundation
Thailand

Co-founder and Director, Yunus Sports Hub
France

Yoan Noguier is the Co-founder and Director of the Yunus Sports Hub. Formerly Procurement Manager for Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Yoan met Prof Yunus at the beginning of 2017 while advocating about the potential social outcome of sporting events. After a first successful collaboration resulting in the signature of an agreement with Paris 2024, the Yunus Sports Hub was created. Yoan grew up in the south of France, speaks 4 languages and played rugby at the french federal level. Yunus Sports Hub is the global social business network creating local solutions in and through sport.

Co-Executive Director, Yunus Social Business Brazil
Brazil

Túlio Notini is Co-Executive Director of Yunus Social Business Brazil leading the efforts to advance YSB's mission of using the power of business to create the world of 3 zeros. He joined YSB in 2016, with the main focus to structure the corporate social innovation strategy locally. Currently, he is responsible for the strategic vision and growth of the business in Brazil and LATAM and, therefore, to scale its social and environmental positive impact. With a holistic, collaborative and systemic approach to solve complex problems, Tulio has a career spanning more than 12 years working with social impact, innovation and strategic planning projects with diverse stakeholders.

Program Manager, Yunus Foundation
Thailand

Co-CEO, Grameen Euglena
Japan

Shiori Onishi is the Co-CEO of Grameen Euglena. She is currently based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and responsible for developing social business on agriculture and nutrition in the country. Before joining Euglena in March 2022, she worked at Mitsui & Co., Ltd (Japanese trading house), the World Bank, PwC, and CROWD CREDIT, Inc., and was engaged in rural finance, microfinance and infrastructure projects in emerging countries. During her assignment at the World Bank, she was based in India and Afghanistan and led field implementation of PPP and financial sector development including microfinance. She has got her education in Japan, the UK and the Philippines, and holds the MSc of Development Finance from the University of Manchester.

President, Landbank of the Philippines
Philippines

Project Technical Officer, International Labour Organization
Indonesia

Specialties: Green Jobs, Industrial Relations & Workplace cooperation, Sustainable Development Strategies, Environmental Management of Industries and Industrial Parks/Zones, Eco-Industrial Development, Industrial Ecology, environmental compliance, public-private partnership, industry partnerships, development cooperation, conference & learning/training event design and management, project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation, facilitation

Head of International Projects, Yunus Centre
Bangladesh

Shihab Quader helps social businesses with strategy design and execution at all stages of their life cycle. With over 14 years of international development experience, managing $900M in 4 continents, he is currently handling a diversified portfolio of international projects at the Yunus Centre including Muhammad Yunus's global campaign to "Make the COVID-19 vaccine a Global Common Good". Shihab completed his MBA from the University of Massachusetts and is a currently based in Dhaka.

Managing Director, Grameen Trust
Bangladesh

Ms. Tasmina Rahman, practitioner of microfinance and social business joined Grameen Trust (GT) as the Managing Director of Grameen Trust on January 1, 2023. Since 1994, she has been working with Grameen Trust which has helped implementation of 155 Grameen Replication Programs in 44 countries and provided equity support to more than 38,000 new entrepreneurs by April 30, 2024. She has the opportunity to work with Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus at different levels of Grameen Trust.

Ms. Tasmina Rahman has a wide range of experience on GT’s worldwide replication programs following Grameen Bank Approach (GBA). She has participated at different workshops and training programs on various issues on Microcredit and Social Business in different countries as well as monitoring and evaluation visits to the microcredit projects run, and/or managed by GT worldwide. 

She serves as the member of Boards in different microfinance organizations and Social Business entities in Bangladesh, China, France, Italy, USA and Yemen.

Director, Yunus Social Business Centre, Kasetsart University
Thailand

Bordin Rassameethes is the former Acting Deputy Secretary-General of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre and an Associate Professor in the Department of Technology and Operations Management, He is a former Vice President of Kasetsart University and a former Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration. He is also a former advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and cooperatives and a former advisor to the Deputy Minister of Transport

He received his Ph.D. in Management of Technology from Vanderbilt University in the United States.  He holds an MS degree in Management from North Carolina State University, USA, and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Miami, USA.

He has been working in technology management, electronic commerce, information technology, rural informatics, supply chain management, and social business for the past 30 years.

Founder, RestartME
Philippines

Research and Policy Lead , Yunus Foundation
Thailand

Director for Strategic Projects & Administration, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc.
Philippines

Raymond is the Director for Strategic Projects & Administration at Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), which is one of the first Grameen Bank Replication in the Philippines.  In this role, he oversees Human Resource, I.T. and various Social Business Projects & Advocacies of the foundation.  He also oversees NWTF’s subsidiary, Dungganon Bank, which caters to MSME clients and is currently working with various groups in the country to tap local capital to fund social businesses in the country.

Project Manager, Yunus Foundation
Thailand

Head, Development Management & Director Yunus Center, Asian Institute of Technology
Thailand

Professor Faiz Shah has led the Yunus Center at the Asian Institute of Technology (YCA) since 2012. He is a member of the AIT Management Team, and has faculty affiliation with the School of Management. Since 2023, as Professor at the Albukhary Centre of Excellence in Socio-Economic Development & Innovation (ACE-SEDI), he heads the emerging interdisciplinary graduate program focused on  Social Business. In a 40-year international career as educator, entrepreneur, and development professional, Professor Shah has overseen over 300 projects and trained over 3,000 grassroots changemakers from over a dozen countries. He is lead author of “Responsible Business Guide - A Toolkit for Winning Companies” (CIPE-RBI-ACCA, 2010).

Prof. Faiz Shah continues to lead the design and implementation of the Yunus Masters, the Professional Masters in ESG, and the Masters in Social Buainess, guided by Professor Yunus and supported by colleagues within AIT. He is at the helm of the Social Business Academia network and serves as the President of the Yunus Thailand Foundation (YT). As Visiting Professor at the College of Innovation at  Thammasat University,  the Faculty of Management at Kasetsart University, Bangkok, he guides young women and men to formulate their own independent pathways to contribute to society.

Barrister, Advocate,, Bangladesh Supreme Court
Bangladesh

I have been providing legal advice to various social business companies in Bangladesh for more than a decade. In particular, I have assisted companies to structure their constitution and business in a manner that complies with the social business principles. I have assisted foreign investors, such as Intel, Danone and Veolia, who were joint-venture partners in social business companies in Bangladesh. I have also acted pro bono for social business enterprises in the context of regulatory issues and disputes. I am a member of the general body of Grameen Kalyan, which is a forerunner in the field of social business.     

Chairman, Centre for Self-help Development (CSD)
Nepal

Mr. Shankar Man Shrestha has been involved in the microfinance sector for more than 50 years. He is the promoter and advocator of the clean microfinance campaign in Nepal and the Chairman of Centre for Self-help Development (CSD), a pioneer MFI in Nepal. He is also one of the nine promoters and the founder Executive Director of CSD. He also served as the Chairman of the Centre for Rural Technology (CRT) Nepal and was also a member of advisory committee of Samriddha Pahad, UK and Samriddha Pahad Company Nepal. He had also served as the Board Director of Nepal Banking Institute (NBI) since its inception to April 2014. In his early career he worked in the Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. where he was involved for more than 25 years in various capacities such as Director of Agricultural Credit Training Institute, Chief of Credit Department, Regional Manager and the latest being Deputy General Manager. He was a member of the Evaluation Team for the prestigious AGFUND International Prize 2018. He has an M.A. Degree in Economics from Tribhuvan University and was a special student of Agricultural Economics at the Texas A&M University, USA. Mr. Shrestha has attended the HBS-ACCION Program on Strategic Leadership at Harvard Business School, USA. Mr. Shrestha has long and rich experience of organizing and facilitating microfinance seminars, conferences, summits, workshops and training programs. He has delivered sessions at several seminars and conferences as guest speaker both at home and aboard. His articles and research papers covering both national and international topics and issues have been published in coveted newspapers, journals and magazines around the world.

Chief Executive Officer of Grameen, Grameen Digital Health
Bangladesh

Dr. Ahmed Armaan Siddiqui brings over 20 years of experience in the world of telecommunication being a maestro of mayhem. He recently joined as Chief Executive Officer of Grameen Digital Health under Grameen Telecom Trust, Bangladeshhttps://brandpractitioners.com/armaan-siddiquiappointed-ceo-of-grameen-digital-health/ . Grameen Telecom Trust (GTT) is the flagship entity http://gtctrust.com/ responsible for implementing and facilitating Social Business Ideas as per the vision of Professor Muhammad Yunus Nobel Peace Prize Recipient 2006, US Congressional Gold Medal Winner 2010. Mr Armaan is now working towards implementing the vision of Prof Yunus Leading the digital health care business facilitating social business focusing to achieve zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero carbon emission.

Prior to joining at Grameen group, Dr. Siddiqui was the EVP- Digital VAS and New Business Robi Axiata Limited, the second largest Mobile Telecommunication Service Provider in Bangladesh. He also sat in the Board of Directors of Red Dot Digital Limited. Robi Axiata is a subsidiary of Axiata Group, an MNC with its Head Quarter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Dr. Siddiqui has been working in the field of new business development, VAS and Innovations and has been into revolutionary new core services in Bangladesh and beyond. Prior to joining Robi Axiata, Dr. Siddiqui has worked for Citycell and was part of SingTel innovation work group as a shared resource as well as SingTel SMG resource, he also served Grameenphone briefly heading the data business. He set up nation’s first TowerCo “edotco Bangladesh Ltd” another SBU of Axiata Sdn Bhd as the Director, Sales and Business Development and after successful establishment of the company he was seconded in Axiata headquarter in KL, Malaysia to overlook Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Cambodia and Bangladesh operations as the Head of Product Development of edotco Group Sdn Bhd. As a transformer and change management experts he is keen to hone his career and life towards more creativity, fun, building the nation and agility for Digital Transformation. Some of his core contributions as the corporate are to offer nation’s first mobile wireless internet service Zoom, first MFS launch Bkash, nation’s first M-health service Milvik, Big Data analytics projects, first block chain-based solution offering, first triple play OTT service Binge, first TOWERCO operations and so on. He has won multiple local and international awards such CommunicAsia, GLOMO awards, Bangladesh Brand Forum awards and so on.

He is a regular speaker of various local, international and digital events. After completing his graduation from Independent University of Bangladesh in 2002, he worked in all the major telecommunications of this territory home and abroad and meanwhile, He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David after a seven years of extensive research work post submission of the thesis on organisational transformation. He has done his MBA from Cardiff Met University, UK, ATL ASL Leadership program from Harvard business school, executive education on transformation in Digital Age from INSEAD and Digital transformation expedition from IMD, Asia.

He runs a leading youth foundation MFJF (www.mfjf.xyz) in his village at Shitakundo which also brought him international recognitions worldwide. His passion is to bring the best for the country and for the nation through his academic, professional and Philanthropic activities.

Senior Lecturer and Assistant Dean for Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics and Management, The National University
Malaysia

I am Dr. Farhana Sidek, a Senior Lecturer and Assistant Dean for Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics and Management, The National University of Malaysia. Having served the university for nearly 18 years, I am responsible for teaching entrepreneurship courses for undergraduate and masters programs at the faculty and the university. I also served as the Head of Program for the Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for 3 years prior to my appointment as an Assistant Dean. As an Assistant Dean my role basically is to oversee all the students' entrepreneurship activities at the faculty.

Partner, McKinsey & Company, Inc
Germany

Tobias Silberzahn is a trained biochemist and immunologist and works as a Partner at McKinsey where he is a member of the Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice. The focus areas of his work are healthcare innovation and digital transformation of healthcare.

Tobias leads the global Health Tech Network, a community of >1900 health tech CEOs/Founders, 400 healthcare organizations and 400 investors. As part of his work, Tobias also publishes the "eHealth Monitor Germany", an annual book about the digitization of the German health system.

Founder, Tambanokano Aqua Farm
Philippines

A digital marketer turned visionary social entrepreneur, Orange Silverio is the founder and driving force behind Tambanokano Aqua Farm, a pioneering sustainable aquaculture enterprise. With a passion for environmental conservation and community empowerment, she is helping to revolutionize the crab industry through innovative urban farming solutions. Her profit-sharing model and strategic partnerships have created economic opportunities for coastal communities, empowering women and promoting food security. A thought leader in regenerative aquaculture, her unwavering commitment to social and environmental impact has reshaped the industry, inspiring change lives, one crab condominium at a time.

Founder & CEO, Gutenberg
United States

Harjiv is an award-winning marketer, branding expert and entrepreneur passionate about building great brands.  Since founding Gutenberg, he has advised clients and brands across US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. His deep understanding and interest in the intersection of marketing, technology, and geopolitics makes him a trusted advisor to CEO’s, CMO’s, Boards and leaders in business, government, academia and non-profit sectors. He has conceptualized, crafted and led award winning marketing campaigns for some of the most recognizable brands in the world.

A frequent commentator in the media, Harjiv has quoted in leading global media outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, and BBC.

Since 2006, Harjiv has been a Trustee of The Loomba Foundation, a UN recognized charity, advocating the cause of 265 million widows globally. He also serves on American India Foundation’s (AIF) advisory board since 2016.

Harjiv is an Executive Fellow at Cambridge University’s – Cambridge Central Asia Forum. He received his master’s in international Affairs in Economic Policy Management from Columbia University.  He also has an MBA in Marketing and a bachelor’s in finance from The New York Institute of Technology. He also attended the Stanford SEED program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business

Executive Vice Chairman, Grameen Communications
Bangladesh

Ms. Nazneen Sultana has been serving as Executive Vice Chairman of Grameen Communications.  She served as Managing Director of Grameen Communications since its inception in 1997. At Grameen Communications, she led various projects for reaching ICT to the remote villages, development of world’s first & complete micro banking software which is being used by most of the micro finance organizations including Grameen Bank.
She was also actively involved in formation of some social business companies, Grameen Euglena is one of them.

Now, She is also serving as a country manager of Euglena corporation Japan, liaison office of Bangladesh.

Having completed BS and MS in Applied Mathematics from University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, she started her career at Grameen Bank and established the ICT wing of the Bank. Meanwhile, she achieved a diploma in Management Information Systems from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Having experience in the IT field for more than 30 years, she has been serving as Director of different IT companies including Accenture Bangladesh. Moreover, she serves as an executive member of NGOs that deal with gender issues, affordable healthcare for the poor, women empowerment and ICT for development.

Vice Chancellor & President, Albukhary International University (AIU)
Malaysia

The Vice-Chancellor and President’s Office assists the Vice-Chancellor and President to carry out official  leadership, academic and administrative duties for the whole of Albukhary International University (AIU). The Vice-Chancellor and President’s Office is responsible for ensuring that the policies, strategic directions, and development are in line with the aspiration of the University based on the AIU philosophy, AIU core values (5As – Aqidah, Akhlaq, Adab, Amanah, and Amalan), AIU mission, and vision. The Office is also responsible for the maintenance and development of the University’s corporate governance framework including ensuring regulatory and legislative requirements placed upon the University’s Governance structure are fulfilled.

Founder , Sinaya Cup
Philippines

Audrey Tangonan is the founder of Sinaya Cup, one of the leading social enterprises in the Philippines focused on women's health and sustainability. Under her leadership, Sinaya Cup has significantly contributed to reducing menstrual waste and promoting health education by providing eco-friendly menstrual solutions. Audrey is passionate about creating impactful social changes and is committed to steering society towards sustainable and ethical practices. Her work emphasizes innovation, community engagement, and the empowerment of women.

Co-founder and CEO, Villgro
Philippines

Priya is an entrepreneur, investor and gender advocate working across South and Southeast Asia. She is the co-founder and CEO of Villgro Philippines, an early stage impact incubator that funds, mentors and nurtures social entrepreneurs. She also co-founded Unlock Impact, a social impact advisory firm focused on scaling inclusive solutions that tackle gender and climate across the Asia Pacific. Priya is the Co-Chair of the ANDE East and Southeast Asia Steering Committee. She is the host of the podcast Talk Impact, a show for and about leaders at the frontlines of social change in Asia. Priya is a passionate advocate for gender equity with a focus on unlocking capital to fuel ambitious women entrepreneurs. She co-founded and runs the Nüshu Network, an award winning platform for women entrepreneurs across Asia to connect to capital, coaching and community with 600+ members. In 2020, she was recognized as a Youth Gender Champion by the UN Women WEPs Awards.

Associate Profesor, Director of Social Business Creation, HEC Montreal
Canada

Mai Thi Thanh Thai is the founder and director of Social Business Creation that uses gamification to teach university students social entrepreneurship and social business models that use market mechanisms to solve social issues. At HEC Montreal, she teaches social entrepreneurship, new venture creation, strategies in emerging markets, and qualitative methods. Her research focuses on the link between entrepreneurship and its socioeconomic, cultural, and political contexts. She was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship from 2015 to 2020, during which the journal experienced unprecedented growth in terms of full-text downloads, manuscript submissions, and journal rankings. She has published many articles in peer-reviewed prestigious journals, contributed several book chapters, edited two books, and made presentations at numerous academic conferences. She is a lifetime member of the Beta Gamma Sigma AACSB-Honor Society. Mai Thai has won many local and international awards for her performance and commitment in her different roles as a researcher, teacher, and entrepreneur throughout her career.

Managing Director, Japan Automechanic Limited
Japan

Has over 30 years of experience in financial/asset management industry. Assumed many managements role of Private Banking marketing group, dealing with wide range of Ultra High Networth individuals in Japan. After meeting Professor Yunus in 2010, besides serving at financial industry, started to construct/implement social business in Bangladesh and Japan. Japan Automechanic Ltd. is a joint venture project, having Professor Yunus as Chairman of the company. Currently started Japan Action Tank to further contribute to the awareness and creation of the Social Business in Japan.


Reference:
1990～2005　Ｍanaging Director, CITIBAK N.A. (Japan)
2005～2016  Managing Director, UBS A.G. (Japan)
2016～2021  Japan Head, CREDIT SUISSE PRIVATE BANK
2021～　　　Vice Chairman, NPO SK Dream Japan
2023～      EY STRATEGY AND CONSULTING (Japan)

Director, Naturland
Philippines

Medical Advisor to the Chairman, Grameen Telecom Trust
Bangladesh

Md Jalal Uddin is a Bangladeshi medical professional. After MBBS, he received Masters in Medical Administration from Dhaka University. He served as commandant of post graduate medical institute, director of medical college hospital, principal of medical college from various responsibilities of the ranks of captain to Brig Gen in 33 years of service in Bangladesh Army up to 2021. He also held responsibilities as the member of senate and syndicate of public university. He has various research publications in Medical field.

Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific, Grameen Foundation
Philippines

Christine is the Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific for Grameen Foundation. She is responsible for strengthening the pipeline for strategic collaborations related to innovations for agriculture, women economic empowerment and & financial services. In 2020-2021, she supported COVID-19 response projects, including the Celo Social Dividend Campaign, reaching micro-entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers. In 2016, Christine led Grameen’s Community Agent Network Program with the goal of establishing a shared agent network that allowed end-users to conduct financial transactions within their villages. As an experienced manager, she holds more than a decade of experience working in the development sector or civil society organizations. She holds a Masters in Development Economics from the University of the Philippines- Diliman.

CEO, Foundation for Yunus Social Business Taiwan
Taiwan

Juno Wang is a visionary leader with an impressive track record. Currently the CEO of the Foundation for Yunus Social Business Taiwan, Juno also serves as President of Unistaate Intl. Trading Enterprises Inc. With extensive experience in enterprise management, Juno is Chairperson of Master Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and Vice Chairperson of the Chinese Association for Corporate Transformation, Innovation and Advancement. They have been honored with prestigious awards, including the 11th Golden Summit Award of Outstanding Manager and the 11th Asia-Pacific International Honesty Enterprise - Keris Award. Juno's relentless dedication drives positive change in both business and social realms

Founder and Secretary-General, Youthink Center
China

The Youthink Centre is one of the leading Chinese youth think and do tanks focusing on global challenges and opportunities. Founded in 2009, Youthink Center had the vision to build an eco-system to support young leaders to learn, advocate, and take action on various topics such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change and Social Business. Youthink has partnered with 50+ media outlets and 110+ organizations, maintaining a network of 1000+ youth organizations/associations in China.

Alex was the initiator of the Chinese Youth Delegation to UN Rio+20 and then he led Chinese Youth participation on global development agenda and actively participated in UNGA and UNFCCC COP and UN DPI NGO Meetings. Prior to Youthink, he worked as Director of International Cooperation and Business Development in China Foundation Center,  led GrantCraft Chinese Project, and served as Secretary-General of Chinese Foundation High-level Leaders’ Delegation to Harvard University in 2012.

Consultant, Private Institute for Social Business Innovation
Germany

Michael Wirtz has studied managerial economics and sociology. He worked for the Wuppertal Institute of Climate, Enviroment and Energy and for the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the University of Wuppertal. He taught students how to write a social business plan and developed social projects with them supporting the local enactus team as a University Advisor.

In 2018 he completed a cumulative PhD titled “Social Business Innovations” containing four studies in the field of social business (open access). Since then he worked as a consultant with a focus on sustainabilty and founded the Private Institute for Social Business Innovation in 2022.

Member, 3ZERO Club
Malaysia

Club ID-458-021-013

Professor, Accounting Information Systems & Advisor of Yunus Social Business Center, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology
Taiwan

Prof. Lin, Ying-Shing, (AKA, Star),  is currently the Advisor of Yunus Social Business Center (YSBC) and Professor of Accounting Information Systems at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST).  He received education in both Taiwan and the USA, with a Master degree from Georgetown University and a Doctoral degree from Pace University in New York.  He had extensive international working experience in industry, journalism, government, as well as academia.  He participated in numerous negotiations related to the USA and WTO forum on trade and investment issues.

Chairman, Yunus Centre,
Bangladesh

Professor Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Laureate, is renowned as the pioneer of Social Business and Microcredit. He is the esteemed founder of Grameen Bank and has established over 50 other companies in Bangladesh. Professor Yunus has been recognized by Fortune Magazine as "one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time" due to his unwavering innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

In 2006, Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their remarkable contributions. He has been conferred with 61 honorary degrees from universities across 24 countries, demonstrating the global recognition of his work. Moreover, he has received an astounding 136 awards from 33 countries, including prestigious state honors from 10 nations.

Professor Yunus holds a unique distinction, being one of only seven individuals to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the United States Congressional Gold Medal. He has appeared on the covers of renowned publications such as Time Magazine, Newsweek, and Forbes Magazine.

Co-founder, Grameen China
China

Before joining Grameen China, Gao Zhan served as a journalist of the National Development and Reform Commission’s internal references “Reform Internal Reference” and “China Reform”, deputy director of the journalism department of the National Development and Reform Commission. Grameen China is dedicated to helping the low-income people especially women who live in poverty, build their small businesses, get out of poverty and live better life, through replicating the Grameen microcredit model in China. Gao Zhan also serves as the Secretary-general for Foundation for Yunus Social Business China, promoting Social Business in Greater China. Gao Zhan is also Director of Asian Financial Cooperation Association, and Expert Member of China Micro-credit Companies Association.