Each year, the Acumen Fellowship in Pakistan brings together exceptional leaders working at the frontlines of poverty — across education, climate, healthcare, gender equity, justice, and livelihoods. The 2025 Pakistan Acumen Fellows represent a powerful and deeply diverse cross-section of the country's most determined/committed builders: rural innovators, public servants, social entrepreneurs, educators, climate leaders, and advocates for women and marginalized communities.

The 2025 cohort reflects not just professional diversity, but the many lived realities that shape leadership in Pakistan. Among the 18 Fellows is Saima, a physically challenged woman from Balochistan whose work challenges both geographic and ability-based exclusion; Ahmer, the Fellowship’s first-ever politician at the provincial level, bringing democratic leadership into the Acumen community; and Dr. Mudassar, a senior government official whose inclusion underscores the critical role of public sector leadership in systems change.

The cohort also reflects leadership across generations. Fellows like Sami and Misbah represent a powerful ripple effect. Inspired by Acumen alumni Ali Siddiq and Wardah, they have followed in their seniors’ footsteps, demonstrating how values-driven leadership compounds over time.

Importantly, this Fellowship class extends well beyond Pakistan’s capital cities. Four of the 18 Fellows — nearly 23% of the cohort — come from non-capital and often marginalized districts, reinforcing Acumen’s commitment to identify and nurture leadership where it is least resourced but most needed. The cohort also achieves perfect gender parity, with nine women and nine men, a milestone that reflects both intentional design and the growing pipeline of women leaders across sectors.

Selected through a highly competitive process, the 2025 Pakistan Acumen Fellows embody the moral imagination required to transform systems. From bridging the digital divide in Balochistan and providing free legal aid for women, to combating child marriage in Sindh and building green livelihoods in Muzaffargarh. Together, they demonstrate that when dignity is placed at the center, change becomes possible.

Over the course of the Fellowship, Fellows experience leadership in action through immersive seminars, peer learning, and leadership development grounded in Acumen’s values of humility, courage, and moral leadership. Upon graduating, they join Acumen’s global community of more than 1,800 alumni who become lifelong companions on the journey to solving problems of poverty around the world.

Join us in welcoming the 2025 Pakistan Acumen Fellows, who graduated from the Fellowship in December 2025.

Abdul leads operations at Amal Academy, an organization equipping university students from underserved backgrounds with the skills, mindsets, and exposure needed for career success. He has played a critical role in scaling Amal’s Fellowship to over 14,500 students nationwide, strengthening compliance, outreach, and program delivery. With a background in finance and an MBA from the University of the Punjab, Sami is driven by a mission to empower underserved youth to break socioeconomic barriers across Pakistan.. 

Aftab is the co-founder of WALI, a rural innovation lab working to bridge the digital divide in Balochistan. Through training in digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and climate resilience, WALI empowers youth and women to thrive in the digital economy. Aftab holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from Lasbela University and is committed to transforming rural communities through innovation and technology. 

Ahmer works at the intersection of governance and public service, supporting the Parliamentary Development Unit of the Punjab Assembly to strengthen legislative capacity. With experience across government, technology startups, and the civil service, he brings a systems-level approach to policy and advocacy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Administration from Western University, Canada, and is committed to protecting marginalized communities through strong legislative leadership.

Angel founded Irverde GoGreen to tackle Pakistan’s growing waste and environmental crisis. The enterprise provides waste collection, recycling, and sustainability solutions for urban communities and industries, diverting waste from landfills while creating green livelihoods. With experience in government environmental departments and climate networks, Angel is building circular economies that empower both people and the planet.

With more than 15 years of experience across climate change, disaster management, and social development, Ghaffar has led large-scale programs that strengthen communities and improve accountability. A published author and MBA graduate, his work focuses on inclusive growth, data-driven development, and long-term resilience for Pakistan’s most vulnerable populations.

Gulsher leads Sujag Sansar Organization, working to prevent child marriage, address gender-based violence, and equip vulnerable girls with the skills for economic independence. Operating in some of Pakistan’s most underserved areas, his organization enables girls who have escaped child marriage to reclaim their futures through education and livelihoods.

Madeeha works on poverty alleviation through workforce development and green livelihoods. Her projects bridge vocational training with real market demand, enabling women, youth, and marginalized groups to access dignified, sustainable employment. Her mission is rooted in inclusion, economic opportunity, and long-term resilience.

Misbah leads national and online tech education programs that equip young people with employable digital skills. Through xWave and her previous work with Future Pakistan, she has helped thousands of students access scholarships, training, and pathways to economic independence — especially in underserved regions.

A medical doctor and public health specialist, Dr. Mudasir designs healthcare programs that reduce poverty-driven health disparities across Balochistan. With expertise in field epidemiology and public health, he focuses on strengthening primary healthcare systems and lowering out-of-pocket medical expenses for underserved communities.

Sohaib founded SOPS to equip young people with practical digital and professional skills for the modern economy. With a background in engineering and IT, he brings both a technical and entrepreneurial vision to building scalable learning platforms that create pathways to employment.  

Saima, a person with disability herself and an avid champion for others, founded Raniya’s Collection to empower women with disabilities through skills training and income-generation. Her center provides dignity, confidence, and financial independence to women who are often excluded from the workforce in Balochistan.

Sarah has over a decade of experience in human rights, peacebuilding, and post-conflict recovery. Through community centers serving refugees and marginalized groups, she creates safe spaces for youth and women to rebuild their lives and strengthen social cohesion.

Saran supports entrepreneurs with limited resources to solve industrial challenges through innovation. His lab mentors founders to turn ideas into scalable solutions, helping build Pakistan’s next generation of impact-driven enterprises.

Sehrish leads an education initiative that provides free schooling to children of migrant and daily-wage workers. Serving over 450 students, Fareezah demonstrates how community-led collective action can end educational exclusion.

Suraya works to transform education systems by developing collective leadership among teachers, communities, and policymakers. Her work has impacted more than 200,000 students and 10,000 educators across Pakistan.

Wajahat leads Tabeer Ventures, a micro and social enterprise accelerator that supports youth in building sustainable, scalable enterprises through human-centered design. He works with early and growth-stage startups to scale impact and create economic opportunities.

Zara is a lawyer, social entrepreneur, and founder of LAWomen, Pakistan’s pioneering women-led legal enterprise. She is building innovative, tech-enabled legal solutions to close the gender justice gap and expand economic empowerment for women in South Asia. Through her work, Zara combines law, entrepreneurship, and social impact to reimagine how justice can be made more accessible and sustainable for marginalized communities. Zara is an experienced trainer and mentor, having designed and delivered programs for lawyers, paralegals, police officers, and civil society actors to strengthen gender-sensitive legal practices.

Zarene works on women’s economic empowerment through social innovation and policy engagement. With a background in social entrepreneurship and consulting, she designs programs that transform women’s skills into sustainable economic opportunities.

Together, the 2025 Pakistan Acumen Fellows are reaching hundreds of thousands of people across the country. Students are gaining access to dignified work, women are securing legal and economic rights, communities are accessing affordable healthcare, and youth are building livelihoods in places long excluded from opportunity. Their work spans classrooms, clinics, courtrooms, farms, startups, and government offices, demonstrating that systems change requires leadership at every level.

Through the Acumen Fellowship, these leaders gain more than skills and credentials. They become part of a global community of over 1,800 Acumen alumni from  more than60 countries, bound by a shared commitment to moral leadership, humility, and courage. This network offers lifelong peer support, cross-border learning, and the collective power to tackle poverty not as an abstract challenge, but as a human one.

At its core, the Fellowship invests in people; trusting that when leaders are equipped with values, community, and imagination, they can reshape systems from the inside out. The 2025 Pakistan Acumen Fellows embody this belief, carrying forward a legacy of leadership rooted in dignity and driven by impact.

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Interested in joining a future Pakistan Acumen Fellowship?
Keep an eye out as applications for the next cohort open soon: https://fellowship.acumenacademy.org/pakistan