Aleem Walji wants local communities to take the lead on development — and the Aga Khan Foundation USA that he now leads is ready to help. Appointed CEO in October 2015 after leaving the World Bank where he headed the Innovation Labs, Walji hopes to help build long-term institutions and opportunities through innovative finance.
Aga Khan Foundation USA is a “nondenominational organization” and part of the Aga Khan Development Network, which is active in over 30 countries with 90 percent of staff locally recruited. The foundation implements community-driven solutions and focuses on four thematic areas: rural development, health, education and civil society. Its work is “underpinned by the ethical principles of Islam,” but it “does not restrict its work to a particular community, country or region,” Walji told Devex.
According to Walji, the foundation’s work is especially crucial now, when tensions and conflicts are spreading throughout the Muslim world, where Aga Khan works most closely. “We work in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, East Africa, West Africa,” he said. These states’ and regions’ fragility and conflict “makes the work that we do more challenging but it also makes [it] more important,” he said.
About the author
Elena L. Pasquini@elenapasquini
Elena Pasquini covers the development work of the European Union as well as various U.N. food and agricultural agencies for Devex News. Based in Rome, she also reports on Italy's aid reforms and attends the European Development Days and other events across Europe. She has interviewed top international development officials, including European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs. Elena has contributed to Italian and international magazines, newspapers and news portals since 1995.
