Business & Entrepreneurship

Ayesha Khan

Development Economist | Governance Advisor | Sustainable Development Specialist

Synercon Group, Adam Smith International

Islamabad · English, Urdu, Pashto, Other

Biography

Ayesha Khan is a development economist, entrepreneur and sustainable development specialist based in Islamabad. She serves as Governance Advisor on Economic Reforms with Adam Smith International, with experience spanning development agencies, academia and enterprise.

Her work covers climate change and resilience, institutional development, microfinance, entrepreneurship, agriculture and the circular economy. She has established seven social enterprises and three startups, combining sustainable business models with innovative project design and capacity building. She has taught at universities in Islamabad, including as Professor of Practice at Bahria University, and has delivered business and microfinance training in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

She is Co-founder and Director of the Digital Agriculture Network, chairs the Sustainability Committee on the Board of Hashoo Group, and serves as an elected board member of Climate Action Network South Asia. Her sustainability initiatives include SMaRT Village — Sustainable Methods and Resilient Technologies — a climate-resilient livelihoods model connecting local economic growth with low-carbon technologies. She presented SMaRT Village at Harvard University in 2025 as a case study in sustainable development. She also volunteers on youth-led climate action and child rights.

Areas of expertise

• Climate change and resilience
• Sustainable development and circular economy
• Social enterprise and entrepreneurship
• Economic reforms, institutions and governance
• Microfinance and inclusive livelihoods

Key achievements

Established seven social enterprises and three startups; developed sustainable business and project models and capacity-building programmes; presented the SMaRT Village climate-resilient livelihoods model at Harvard University in 2025; contributed to policy discussions on microfinance and child rights.

International experience

Asia · Africa · Australia / Oceania

With the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in USA, UK, India, Bangaldesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan; with IFC-WB in Afghanistan, With UN in Afghanistan, with ICIMOD in Nepal, with Hashoo Foundation, in Turkey, Spain and Gernany,

Engagement interests

Speaker · Panelist · TV / Radio · Podcast · Mentor · Training

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