Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women
Humaira Islam, Ph.D. oversees policy formulation, administration, and fund management as Executive Director. Her career in microfinance spans over 25 years. She holds an MA in Political Science, M. Phil Degree, and Ph.D. from Dhaka University. Her thesis was on women’s empowerment.
She founded Shakti Foundation as an institution for microfinance and gender issues, which provides services in financial empowerment and networking to the disadvantaged in partnership with financial institutions and banks, as well as leadership development, community development, and, enterprise development.
She is a Member of the Board of Trustees, Women’s World Banking (WWB), Executive Committee Member of INAFI, Asia Chapter, Member of the National Council of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (DAB) Executive Committee member of "Utsho Bangladesh", Member of Bangladesh University of Health Sciences (BUHS), Member of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, Member of National Caucus for Women’s Economic Empowerment Bangladesh, Founding Coordinator of Coalition of the Urban Poor (CUP).
Prior to founding Shakti Foundation, Dr. Humaira Islam worked at Manabik Sahajaya Sangstha (MSS) as Project Director; and at the Center for Integrated Rural Development Program for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) as a Research Associate. She began her career teaching English at Viqarunnisa Noon School and teaching English language and literature courses at Green Herald International School.
Dr. Humaira was an ASHOKA fellow and has received several awards including: Innovators for the Public 1994, Women’s World Banking ‘Excellence in Leadership’ Award, 2012 in Microcredit and Citi Micro Microentrepreneurship Award, 2011 by Citi Foundation.
This person is not in any teams
Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women
4 followers
Shakti Foundation was established by Humaira Islam, Ph.D., and a group of social innovators committed to the socio-economic empowerment of disadvantaged women through social and financial inclusion. Founded in 1992 as a non-governmental organization, our goal is to alleviate poverty and stabilize social security for underprivileged women across the country. Shakti initially launched a pilot microfinance program to provide small loans for income generation purpose to slum dwelling women in Dhaka. The program’s success led to similar microfinance programs in slums of other cities as well as rural areas across the nation. From there on our ambitions only grew. Shakti Foundation strongly believes in women’s potential to become decision-makers, leaders, and agents of change in their communities. Through its multiple programs, Shakti has set up branches across 55 districts in Bangladesh and provides services to over 424,318 members. Shakti Foundation is registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau Bangladesh under The Foreign Donations Regulations Rules 1978 and the Register of Joint Stock Company Ltd. under the Society Act 1860. Shakti Foundation has also received certifications through the Microcredit Regulatory Authority Act in 2007 to run its microcredit program.