Wajiyya is a second-generation global development professional with 10 years of mission-driven technical and management experience across four continents. She has lived in countries such as Malawi, Pakistan, the Cayman Islands, and the UK, working with donors like the World Bank as well as a range of charity, non-profit, and for-profit implementers. An experienced entrepreneur who launched her first social enterprise – a successful clothing-design venture to empower poor female seamstresses in rural Pakistan – as a college student, she brings first-hand expertise in strategy and operations for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including recently serving as Operations Lead for ICA Global. She has managed donor-funded programs and research studies in complex environments such as Pakistan, where she helped set up a USAID grant-funded language and literacy center for SOS Children’s Villages. She has worked extensively with charities such as Developments In Literacy, helping to optimize fundraising strategy, expand and diversify donor bases to grow revenue, and implement fundraising campaigns and events. Formerly a researcher at the International Finance Corporation, Wajiyya has focused in recent years on the US federal funding industry, writing proposals for USAID and Department of State grants and contracts, managing USAID funded program implementation, and navigating programs and companies through the maze of regulatory and contractual compliance. She holds a BS in Finance from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Regents University of London.