Experience

Market Development Facility (MDF)

• Australia
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• • Jun 2022 - Present

  Leading country team in developing and managing agriculture portfolio consisting of partnerships in coffee, cocoa, vanilla, fresh produce, honey, and livestock. The role includes stakeholder, technical and operational management of the country program.

• • Jul 2020 - Jul 2022

  Leading country program in developing and managing agribusiness portfolio consisting of partnerships in high-value coffee, cocoa, vanilla, fresh produce, honey, and livestock. The programme is expected to benefit more than 13000 smallholders.Leading country program: Supported country director in providing strategic and operational leadership including setting program goals. Operational activities include hiring, procurement, and personal management. Managed budget for technical activities, including forecasting and updating it to reflect program spending on technical activitiesImplementing portfolio: The country portfolio has more than 14 active partnerships. Worked with the country team to develop strategy and portfolio for sustainable and high-grade coffee and value-added cocoa/vanilla. Designed and managed financial solutions including an impact fund for SMEs. Ensured that partnerships are in line with CommonWealth policies and procedures. Conducting monitoring and evaluation to measure the impact of interventions.Managing stakeholders: Managed relationships with key partners including donors, partners, and govt officials. Show less

• • May 2019 - Jul 2020

  Responsible for providing strategic guidance to MDF PNG management team on the PNG portfolio and developing capacity of the PNG country team in market systems. Main focus areas: sustainable coffee,cocoa and vanilla. Strategic Guidance: Collaborated with team identifying gaps in local agri-markets, which are stalling growth, innovation and inclusion of smallholders. Worked with leading private sector partners to strengthen market systems for high grade sustainable coffee, sustainable and value-added cocoa, locally processed honey and local fresh produce. Intervention Designing and Implementation: Led the team in developing interventions, addressing market failures in coffee, cocoa, honey and fresh produce. This include working collaboratively to identify market gaps, designing intervention, negotiating with partners, writing feasibility, partnership agreement, and working with team and partners to implement intervention activities.Monitoring and Evaluation: Worked with monitoring and evaluation team in assessing the impact of the interventions. It includes formulating intervention guides, developing assessment plans, conducting assessments and evaluating pro-poor impact. Capacity Building: Mentored team to conduct market system analysis & mapping, design interventions, gauge financial feasibility, write compelling justification and precise agreements. Show less

• • Sep 2017 - May 2019

  Intervention Designing and Management/ Business strategy/ Financial & Impact Analysis/ Pro-poor growth strategies/Strategic Deal Making and Negotiations/ Results Measurement/ Innovation Management/ Partnership Management /Agribusiness/ SME Development/ Complex Problem Solving.MDF is one of the biggest market systems development (M4P) programs in the world. It operates in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. It addresses market failures by fostering innovative solutions. I have been working with MDF for two years. I plan and manage interventions, triggering innovations, unlocking pro-poor growth opportunities. These interventions address barriers restricting poor and marginalized communities’ access to products and services. Every intervention/partnership is a potential problem solving initiative, which makes markets inclusive and increases poor communities well being. I identify public/private sector players, design and negotiate strategic partnerships, and implement change steps, addressing drivers of social and economic depravation. I ensure interventions are sustainable, inclusive and eventually scalable, generating pro-poor impact. Accomplishments: ➢ I designed strategic intervention/partnership with leading coffee exporter to strengthen partner's supply chains. Partnership will train and certify smallholder coffee farmers, so growers can sell coffee at premiums. Intervention addresses skills, information and market access barriers. ➢ I devised strategic partnerships to promote adventure/niche tourism in PNG. Interventions will provide economic opportunities to remote communities and offer incentive for the land owners to preserve their land sites. Learning:➢ Capacity and will of partner are the most important precursor for successful implementation for change. ➢ For successful negotiation and implementation of partnership, relationship with the partner is the key. Show less

• • Sep 2016 - Aug 2017

  Strategic Partnership Management/ Value Chain Development/ Inclusive growth/ Monitoring and Evaluation/ Negotiations/ Innovation/ SME development/ Problem Solving. I analyzed and mapped horticulture markets, identifying problems limiting smallholders from benefiting from market activities. I approached private sector players, strategically placed to address market constraints for growers. I designed partnerships, keeping innovation, sustainability, scale, inclusivity and impact in view. Partnerships incentivized private sector to engage smallholders, offering innovative solutions, which provide growers greater access to information, inputs and market access. After signing, I followed up with partners, ensuring implementation, which includes reimbursements, updates, data collection, maintaining intervention guides and conducting results measurement/ monitoring and evaluation activities. Accomplishments:➢ Designed and managed intervention with a leading national retailer, strengthening its supply chains, and enhancing its ability to aggregate fresh produce decreasing farmers transaction cost.➢ Designed and managed intervention enhancing input supplier’s small holders contract farmers ability to produce better quality seed. ➢ Collaborated with team in designing partnership with an international inputs provider, aimed at improving input for smallholders in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.Learnings: ➢ It's important to understand key factors determining beneficiaries’ behavior. Sometimes an overlooked is critical determinant of beneficiary behavior. ➢ In agricultural markets, intervention managers should take in account consumer preferences because buying behavior shape the incentives and motives of the up-stream actors. ➢ Before introducing innovation, it is important to gauge where innovation fits into industry life cycle. ➢ Innovations should be targeted to prepared and receptive group of actors. Show less



Conscience VC

• United States
• Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
• 700 & Above Employee

• Portfolio Manager

  • Aug 2016 - May 2019

  Financial investments/ Economic and Financial Analysis/ Business Model and Growth Analysis/ Economic sector Analysis: I manage a personal investment portfolio comprising of bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and land. The stocks range from different sectors such as energy, chemicals, fertilizers, banks, automobiles, textiles and consumer goods. Investment allows me to follow global economic trends that effect national and international economies. Accomplishments: ➢ Developed discipline to pick stocks without getting influenced from short term market trends. This discipline also helped me in designing interventions for impact and not governed by vagaries of development fads. Learnings: ➢ Asset’s correct valuation of the asset is critical. ➢ Investor makes money when he buys the asset. ➢ A company with a solid past record and good management team are key factors investor should considered while investing. Show less



Hashmi Enterprises

• Lahore, Pakistan

• Project Manager Off-Season Horticulture

  • 2012 - 2016

  Supply Chain Management/ Sustainable Agriculture/ Horticulture/ Project Design and Management/ Agribusiness In Pakistan, during off-season, there is a gap between demand and supply of high value horticultural products, creating lucrative opportunity for off-season horticulture initiatives. I designed and managed a for profit off-season horticulture project. The project exploited off-season opportunities by growing fresh produce using latest available horticulture technology. I procured equipment, hired staff and consultants, established green house, developed logistics, storage, and arranged sales and marketing, exploiting price differential in different markets due to information asymmetry. In essence, I developed an entire supply chain connecting farm to buyer. Learnings: ➢ Local market development determines the success of projects that strengthens value chains supply side. Accomplishments: ➢ The projects yield was five times yield than conventional crop technology. ➢ The project was first of its kind in the area, presenting to farmers alternatives to conventional crops. ➢ The project created additional income for local small holder labour that depend on bi seasonal income. ➢ Project ROI brought about enough revenue to cover fixed and variable costs. Show less



Hashmi Enterprises

• Lahore, Pakistan

• Project Manager Rehabilitation of Saline Envoirnment

  • 2011 - 2016

  Project Management/ Environment Conservation/ Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture/ Land Reclamation/ Agribusiness Restoring degraded natural resources provide an opportunity to turn sterile resource into a productive asset and conserve environment. I led a project in Southern Punjab, reclaiming land undergone degradation due to rising water tables. I raised investment for saline land reclamation project. I developed business plan, employed traditional and new technologies to restore soil fertility, turning non-productive land sustainable and productive. Investors leased the land to smallholders for cultivation. The project generated return on investment for investors, provided livelihood opportunity for smallholders, and conserved environment. Learnings: ➢ Instead of spreading resources thin, it is prudent to concentrate resources on a solution that creates maximum impact. ➢ Best solutions are simple solutions. ➢ Its wise to look for local solutions of local problems. Accomplishments: ➢ Reclaimed land is used for paddy cultivation. ➢ Land which was not giving any revenue started generating cash flow. ➢ Land detrimental to environment is converted into sustainable agricultural asset. Show less



Daily The Nation

• Newspaper Publishing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Op-ed Contributor

  • 2011 - 2015

  Media and Communications / International Politics/ International Economy and Trade/ Agriculture/ Environment/ Water and Power. I wrote op-ed on issues ranging from politics to environmental challenges etc. I analyzed the issues, identified root causes, tracing them through structural configurations of system begetting systemic outcomes and trends. I highlighted problems facing agriculture in Pakistan and how environmental challenges and public policy are shaping Pakistan's agricultural sector. Show less



Express News

• Pakistan
• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Senior Associate Producer

  • 2008 - 2011

  Media and Communications/ International Politics/ International Economy/ International Business. I worked on the international desk covering developments in international affairs. I followed feeds and stories. I developed news, and packages, remaining informed with developments in international politics and economics. Media and Communications/ International Politics/ International Economy/ International Business. I worked on the international desk covering developments in international affairs. I followed feeds and stories. I developed news, and packages, remaining informed with developments in international politics and economics.



Univerco Chemicals

• Turkey

• Assitant Manager International Marketing

  • 2007 - 2008

  International Marketing/ International Trade/ Import & Export / International Supply Chains/ Marketing Plan and Implementation. Univerco was a start-up, exporting chemicals to markets across North Africa and Middle East and Europe. I worked with sales and marketing team to develop a marketing strategy, generate and qualifying leads and close sales. I also managed relationship with customers ensuring greater sales turnover through customer retention. Learnings: ➢ Best product features do not guarantee products market success. Accomplishments: ➢ Learned about international trade and how export is conducted. Learned about how it is important to know about customer preferences. ➢ In the first year of operations closed deals that led to sale of chemicals with impressive returns for the company. Show less