Sofia Shakil

Sofia Shakil serves as The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Pakistan, with additional regional program responsibilities. An experienced policy economist, Sofia brings nearly 25 years of experience in the development sector, with a focus on human development, public sector policy, and governance reform. She has held several positions with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and international NGOs; and brings to this role her extensive knowledge of and passion for Asia’s economic and social development.

Sofia previously served in this role in 2017-18 and rejoined the Foundation in 2020. Prior to returning the Foundation in February 2020, most recently Sofia served as the Principal Knowledge Management Specialist for Innovations within the Asian Development Bank’s East Asia Regional Department. In this role, she led the innovation agenda for East Asia and promoted knowledge and partnerships with diverse clients and innovation giants, and stimulated innovation in program design and approaches. In her earlier role at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as senior education specialist, Sofia led project operations and policy research and advisory work in human development in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Mongolia. 

Sofia Shakil has spent a significant part of her career working in Pakistan and other countries across Asia, including as a senior education specialist for the World Bank, where she successfully designed and implemented an education sector results based financing program for Punjab education reforms and many projects in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Indonesia. She has also served as program development manager for Save the Children and program manager for Policy and Research for the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. She also worked as a freelance Education and Development Planning consultant.

Shakil earned her Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Politics from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.