PARASHU R. NEPAL

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Parashu Ram Nepal is an experienced training and executive education expert. He has founded a training organization, International Development Institute (IDI) to cater capacity building and institutional strengthening needs of private and public sector agencies in developing and emerging economies.

The primary focus areas include financial sector reform, private sector development, trade policy, rule of law and good governance. Previously, Mr. Nepal worked as project manager administering global projects for a wide array of multilateral agencies, including the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, USAID, and the World Bank. He served as a Project Manager for International Law Institute in Washington, D.C., providing project management and business development support to ILI’s technical advisory projects and executive education programs in the areas of banking, finance, capital markets, pension reform, trade policy, anti-corruption, procurement. Prior to joining ILI, Mr. Nepal served as a Project Coordinator for the Intrados Consulting Group in Washington, D.C., providing management support to an various donor funded projects in the areas of finance, trade and privatization. Responsibilities included managing all aspects of the business development, proposal preparation and project management. Before joining Intrados, he worked as a manager at Standard Charted Bank in Kathmandu, Nepal where he was responsible for reporting branch performances to its head-quarter and he established two bank branches in western Nepal. Mr. Nepal has Masters in International Management (MIM) from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. He has an Undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Strayer University in Washington DC. He also has Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from Tribhuban University in Kathmandu, Nepal.

SUMAN R TIMSINA

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CONSULTANT & FACULTY

Suman brings over 30 years of experience working in the private and public sectors, managing small to large projects with donor agencies. He is also an STC with the World Bank. He has led  projects of all sizes with World Bank, ADB, USAID, GIZ and Swiss Contacts. He has worked in South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa in disability and education. He played a major role in incorporating inclusion in Nepal’s education, local governance, and tourism policies. He was the Co-Chair of an International Conference on Accessibility in Nepal in 2018 and has been invited by several Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs) and the government to speak on inclusion.

Prior to joining IDI, he was a Vice President at Bank of America. His areas of interest have been innovation, entrepreneurship, mentoring, diaspora study, community development, education and health care. He is a Fulbright fellow and has studied at the University of Pennsylvania (USA) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (India).

SAKIL MALIK

PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT AND ADVISOR- EDUCATION

Sakil is a Senior Global Education Consultant.  A native of Bangladesh, Malik began his career in international development with BRAC, one of the largest nongovernmental organizations in the world. He is a great advocate of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In 20+ years, he has worked as an education consultant in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and Timor-Leste.

Malik also served as World Learning’s Vice President for Global Development. He served as Director for the Reading within Reach Project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, and led the Global Reading Network Community of Practice to improve the literacy of primary school children around the world. He has also served as a Project Director for Creative Associates, managing literacy and education programs.

He has led many initiatives to strengthen the provision of high-quality, inclusive education for children and youth around the world. He has worked together with educators, policy makers, communities, and stakeholders to implement local solutions, borrowing and building on ideas and innovations from across sectors and working to understand education systems. He worked in Pakistan and worked with local organizations to mobilize millions of people in a successful grassroots campaign to advocate education for all.  Sakil has earned a Masters in International Education Leadership from University of Maryland.

DAVID BAXTER

SENIOR CONSULTANT- PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP)

Mr. Baxter is a South African who lives in the USA.  He is currently a Senior Advisor to the International PPP Resilience Center (IPPPRC) in New Orleans which is affiliated organizations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).  Additionally, he advises the Afghan PPP Hub located Kabul and the Istanbul PPP Center of Excellence. As a freelance consultant in international development, procurement, and Public-Private Partnerships he works all over the world on projects, primarily with the public sector.

He has provided capacity building programs and infrastructure procurement consulting services to many international clients located in Africa, North and Central America, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.    Many current and past client projects are sponsored by development/donor agencies including USAID, MCC, ADB, the Dutch Foreign Ministry, the African Development Bank, and the World Bank.

He has also lead alliance-building initiatives with institutions around the world that that have included the UNECE PPP Center of Excellence in Geneva, the African Development Bank, the PPP Center of Excellence in Istanbul Turkey, the Monterrey Institute in Mexico, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

He is an internationally recognized PPP thought leader and has contributed to publications distributed by the World Bank and The Global Infrastructure Hub.  He is a prolific writer of opinion pieces on PPP best practices.  His insights can be read on LinkedIn

DR. ARUN R. JOSHI

PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT & FACULTY- LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Arun R. Joshi is Founder of Leadership Academy Nepal (LAN) and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is also an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University, Washington D.C. He worked at the World Bank, Washington D.C. for over two decades. His experience spans education policy reform and program development in a diverse range of countries in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. He has a master’s degree in international education policy and a doctorate in human development from Harvard University.

ROSHAN GHIMIRE

COUNTRY DIRECTOR – NEPAL

Roshan is a country director of International Development Institute (IDI)  and a highly accomplished project portfolio and technical program management professional with seven years of extensive experience in program and project planning, execution, and evaluation across diverse industries and sectors. He has conducted several research studies, focus groups, and provincial workshops to study the impact of COVID-19 on SMEs, education, agro-businesses, and women entrepreneurs in Nepal. He has previously managed and operated several projects in Nepal, the United States, Dubai, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Nigeria and is working closely on IDI’s project with the federal ministry of education and the provincial and local governments.

Roshan holds a master’s in business administration from Southwest Minnesota State University, Minnesota, and a University (USA). He also completed a program on Mass Media from Northern Kentucky University (USA)

ASAD HOSSAIN

COUNTRY COORDINATOR – BANGLADESH

Mr. Asad Hossain is a veteran development practitioner in the area of project management, monitoring and evaluation, capacity development and contract management. He brings his experience in education and it’s subsectors reform – primary, secondary, tertiary, TVET and non-formal. He worked under direct contract with different bilateral and multilateral development organizations including World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Mr. Hossain provided support to design and implement major donor funded projects in Bangladesh. He supported donor task teams to prepare PAD, DPP and TPP documents. On behalf of the task teams and also supported executive agencies to develop their capacity on project implementation.

Mr. Hossain also has decades of experience in commercial consulting industry. He developed project concepts and prepared project proposals for different donor funded projects. He has clear understanding about the procurement methods of different governments and donor organizations. He has worked in Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, India, Philippine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Indonesia, Georgia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Bhutan, and Viet Nam.

ABINA ROTIMI

COUNTRY COORDINATOR- NIGERIA

Abina Rotimi has been a Country Coordinator of IDI Nigeria since 2013. His areas of expertise include but not limited to the following: Research & Analysis; Organizational Strategy & Strategic Development; Learning & Development; Concept Note Development; CSR Project Initiation & Implementation; Ideas & Innovation; Data Collection; Quantitative & Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques; NGO Management, Project Monitoring and Evaluation; Capacity Building; Training Needs Assessment; Feedback Analysis and Report Writing Skills. Rotimi have also worked on several capacity development programs locally and internationally (Countries experience include; United Arab Emirate, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Gambia, Uganda, Namibia and South Africa) he has worked with a team of research consultants on African Development Bank Projects in Oyo and Taraba States.

Rotimi is trained as an economist and attended University of Ado-Ekiti for his first degree where he graduated with a second-class (upper division) in Economics. He is experienced in the areas of strategic development, research, program/concept note development and training (learning and development) both locally and internationally. Rotimi is also a member of of the Institute Chartered Economists of Nigeria (ICEN), Microfinance Management Institute, Nigeria and also a registered member Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (Intermediate II).

Ahmed Abdelhakim Hachelaf

COUNTRY COORDINATOR – ALGERIA

Ahmed Abdelhakim Hachelaf is an Educationalist and Civic Engagement Specialist. Hachelaf’s work focuses on capacity building and making impact on youth education and engagement. He is also a teacher trainer at Ecole Nromal Supérieure in Algeria. He is a former Research Fellow at the Moynihan Institute at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He previously worked as the Director of Studies at Bridges Institute where he co-designed syllabuses and managed academic affairs of the institute. He has also worked for national Algerian NGOs and supervised a nationwide active-citizenship program as well as the training of local NGO leaders on community service and leadership in three Algerian provinces.

Finally, Hachelaf founded an initiative that fights 21st-century illiteracy by teaching IT skills to women. This project allowed marginalized segments of society to benefit from access to technology and widened their opportunities.

Ahmed is also a frequent presenter on civic education and democratic schooling in the Middle East and North African region. In 2012, Ahmed was chosen as a Leaders for Democracy fellow and subsequently was chosen to be the delegate of Algeria in a UN event in New York and most recently as a Caux Scholar in Switzerland. His work has appeared in Revolution by Love, where he spoke to issues of social change through education.

Amaka Agbakoba

DIRECTOR- PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Amaka is an established program/project manager and policy specialist with 20+years of experience in multi-sector innovation, strategy development, risk management, change management, and policy development. She brings very strong project management skills and experience in the development sector. She has excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills. She has a proven ability to convene key stakeholders and facilitate buy-in. She has managed technology, agriculture, education, healthcare, gender equity, disability inclusion, and fashion. She has worked in the World Bank Group and micro-financing companies in the USA, Canada, and Nigeria before joining IDI.

Amaka is currently managing a number of programs in Africa region, and Myanmar. and She has an MBA from the Kogod School of Business at American University (USA).

Dr. Laxmi Bilas Acharya

HEALTH PRACTICE LEAD

Dr. Laxmi Bilas Acharya brings extensive experience in the disease management area as he has worked as a Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation lead at FHI360, Nepal Country Office, for about a decade. He was one of the active members of the infectious disease control team formed by the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control, Department of Health Services, Ministry of Health, and Population of Nepal. He successfully designed and implemented research studies in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal among the migrants population, particularly addressing the border issues related to managing HIV, STI, Hepatitis, and other infections. He has also worked as an epidemiologist at SEARO, WHO in New Delhi, where he coordinated between South and Southeast Asian countries to manage infectious diseases. He has published research articles in public health, including on migrant issues.

Dr. Acharya is currently contributing to public health projects and post-pandemic initiatives. He has a Ph.D. in Medical Demography from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London University, U.K., and an MPhil in Demography from Cairo Demographic Center, Cairo, Egypt.

Avijat Niroula

DIRECTOR- MARKETING

Avijat is a Director of Marketing in Nepal office. He is a seasoned marketing and product development professional and works with cross section of clients worldwide. He has worked for Yunnus center in Thailand, SDG 2 (zero hunger). He is focused on marketing and business development in tourism, banking sector, insurance sector, education, public finance management, public procurement, and supply chain management. He is also leading an effort on online education.He has MBA from Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok.

Ameen Habibi

DIRECTOR & FACULTY- SOUTH, CENTRAL ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST

Ameen Habibi served in many capacities in the government of Afghanistan including Acting Deputy Minister for Policy and Director General for Policy, Coordination and Program Implementation at the Ministry of Finance and Co-chaired the Asset Transfer Commission, which oversaw the transfer of military bases/Provincial Reconstruction Teams from International Security Forces to the Government of Afghanistan. Mr. Habibi has more than a decade’s experience of national level policy-making, programs and projects management, preparation of strategic papers, donor relations, fund raising and stakeholders (international financial institutions, civil society, academia, etc.) coordination, and leading organization of international pledging events. As part of Mr. Habibi’s last assignment in the Government of Afghanistan, He successfully organized and managed, the Brussels International Donors’ Conference on Afghanistan on October 5, 2016, where $ USD 15.2 billion were pledged to Afghanistan for the years of 2017-2021. Prior to that Mr. Habibi organized and managed the Tokyo and London International Donor Conferences on Afghanistan in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Mr. Habibi was the main negotiator from government of Afghanistan side for many of the aid effectiveness mutual accountability mechanisms introduced by the international community in Afghanistan, individually or collectively. These included the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (which in later avatars is now called SMAF (Self-reliance through Mutual Accountability Framework) and New Development Partnership of USAID. In addition, Mr. Habibi led the technical teams, which drafted the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework, the five-year national development plan of Afghanistan and preparation of National Priority programs.

Matthew Uzukwu

DIRECTOR AND FACULTY- AFRICA PROGRAMS

Matthew Uzukwu is an Adjunct Professor of Healthcare Administration at the Newport News Virginia Center of Saint Leo University. He was an Adjunct Professor of Production and Operations Management at Bowie State University, Maryland, USA for several years.

Dr. Uzukwu earned his MBA from Howard University and his Ph.D from Walden University. He has published several books, book chapters and scholarly articles. His doctoral dissertation on HIV/AIDS was published as a book by Lambert Academic Publishing in 2012. Dr. Uzukwu’s recent scholarly article “ Issues Of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) in Southeastern Nigeria: A Study of Patients On Dialysis,” co-authored with Dr. Obi Ekwenna, Transplant Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Urology and Transplantation at the University of Toledo Ohio, was accepted for publication in the International Journal of Public Health and Safety in May 2018. Dr. Uzukwu’s research interests are in healthcare/hospital management, healthcare policy, healthcare access in developing countries, and the applications of Six Sigma to achieve hospital management cost reductions and continuous healthcare quality outcomes. He has trained various staff of several organizations. Dr Uzukwu is a Six Sigma Black Belt and has the capacity to lead Six Sigma organizational turn-around projects. He is a certified instructor of CPR/AED/BLS.

Sukriti Adhikari

DIRECTOR – SCHOOL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

Sukriti Adhikari joined IDI as a business analyst and now works as a Communication Coordinator.  She is responsible in direct communication with clients, preparing brand materials and playing a major role in business development. She has been playing a major role in leading STEM, Cooperative Leadership and other programs. She played a very active role in International Conference on Accessible Tourism and leads STEM program..

Sukriti is very well travelled and a graduate of James Madison University with major in International Studies.

Nripa Devkota

PROGRAM COORDINATOR- PROJECTS

Nripa is a seasoned development professional with more than five years of experience working as a program officer and research assistant in several research projects in education, disability, health (COVID-19 pandemic), Financial Institutions (FIs), and livelihood. She has led efforts in training 100s of enumerators, designing survey tools, conducting data collection, literature review, data management, focus groups, KII, report writing, and communication. She has worked on a number of donor-funded market research or program implementation with the World Bank, GIZ, and private foundations.

Beside her professional responsibilities, she also keeps keen interest on inclusion of persons with disabilities and loves doing sign language interpretation for the deaf community based in Nepal. She is a Development Studies graduate from Kathmandu University .

Elizabeth Kasonde

PROGRAM COORDINATOR – TRAINING

Ms. Elizabeth Kasonde brings an unique and diversified experience in rural agriculture development; Foreign Direct Investments; human rights, and peacebuilding. She brings an excellent project management, customer service and communication skills. She has designed new training products, conducted training need assessments, and successfully managed many global virtual and in-person training programs for executives.

She has earned master’s degree in Globalization and Development from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and a master’s degree in International Development from Eastern University in the United States. She has coordinated and administered number of training programs.

Madhu Lamsal

FINANCE MANAGER

Madhu joined IDI as a Finance Manager. She provides financial oversight in IDI. She has over five years of experience working in different research activities with NGOs, INGOs, and research firms. She has over five years of experience in accounting and providing financial oversight in NGOs and donor funded projects. Madhu has extensive knowledge and experience in data analysis. She also brings her experience in using SPSS for data analysis in a project funded by the World Bank at National Institute for Research and Training Pvt. Ltd. (NIRT). Her previous tenure at “Karkhana” has helped her gain experience in research activities in the field where different maker spaces and prototypes are made for students to learn their school’s subject.

Madhu holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Tribhuvan University (Nepal).

Jamal Boubakri

BUSINESS PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Jamal Boubakri is passionate about International Affairs, Trade, Economics, IT, Business, Finance and Investment. He earned his Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Stratford University in Falls Church, Virginia.   Mr. Boubakri obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the Intercontinental University –Sup Management School- in Fez, Morocco. He also holds an associate degree in IT & Business Management from the University Of Fez (E.S.T). Throughout his career, Mr. Boubakri had worked for well-known companies in Morocco such as the National Office of Electricity. After receiving his MBA, Mr. Boubakri joined the International Development Institute in Washington, DC as a Business Consultant in 2010. He co-founded an IT and Marketing agency in his home country. Mr. Boubakri is a member of the Internet Society – a global institution that ensures that the Internet continues to develop as an open platform. He’s a blogger, social media specialist and an independent International Affairs writer for “Moroccoworldnews.com” and other websites. He lives in Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Suzana Kansakar

PROGRAM OFFICER

Suzana Kansakar is a seasoned professional with experience in the development sector of Nepal. She has primarily worked in agriculture, education, gender empowerment, entrepreneurship, and other economic development issues. She has worked on research, monitoring and evaluations, and program implementation. Before joining IDI, she worked as a research coordinator with Daayitwa in the SNV women’s WASH entrepreneur project. She has earned a bachelor’s in Social Work from Kathmandu University (Nepal) and a master’s in Gender and Development Studies from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT, Thailand).

Krisha Shakya

PROGRAM OFFICER

Krisha Shakya is a development professional with a strong focus on enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of civil actors and local governance entities. In her role as a researcher and Program Coordinator at the Nepal Economic Forum, she conducted comprehensive research aimed at assessing and improving the capacity of multiple local government units across Nepal.

Krisha Shakya holds an MSc in International Affairs & Global Enterprise from the University of Utah, USA and a MA in Development Studies from Kathmandu University, Nepal. She is also the recipient of the Nepal Bidhya Bhusan Padak Award 2018, Earl and Elies Skidmore Endowed Graduate Fellowship 2020, and Martin H. Hiatt Endowed Scholarship 2020.

Nikisha Rijal

PROGRAM OFFICER

Nikisha Rijal is a Business graduate with a focus on marketing. She is interested in human psychology as well as sales and marketing. She formerly held the position of Sales and Marketing Executive at a company that distributed surveillance system products. Additionally, she is also an active member of Toastmasters International.

Adarsh Bikram Sah

PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Adarsh is a Public Health Professional and works as a program assistant in Nepal Office. He has previously completed a Public Health Internship in EDCD, Department of Health Services, Kathmandu. In addition, he brings experience in conducting research, field surveys, data collection and analysis. He has a bachelor’s in Public Health from Chitwan Medical College, Nepal.

Salik Ram Lamsal

PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Salik Ram Lamsal has the bachelor’s in business administration (BBA). He is interested in Brand and Marketing, Sales and Business Development. Before joining IDI, he completed an internship at Jagdamba Steels Private Limited. He is currently pursing MBA from Pokhara University (Nepal).

Aderonke Coker

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Aderonke Coker brings a wide range of sales and marketing experience to IDI. She has earned Bachelors degree from Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY (USA) and Masters in Global Affairs and Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Hemant Gautam

STEM PROGRAM ASSOCIATE

Hemanta Gautam has been associated with IDI for last 2 years in promoting STEM program and outreaching schools in Nepal.

Angela Hanson Ocloo

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Angela Hanson Ocloo joins IDI with years of experience in busienss development in health care and finance. She has Post Graduate Diploma in Mgt. Studies from Concord Business College in Ghana.

Ramesh Adhikari

Mr. Adhikari boasts an illustrious career spanning three decades in the election and political processes reform, policy analysis, federalism, governance, and democracy. He has worked with esteemed organizations such as USAID, Action Aid International, Danish Association for International Cooperation, and UNDP. Mr. Adhikari’s expertise and dedication have earned him prestigious accolades, including the Distinguished Foreign Service National Award 2018 and the Foreign Service National of the Year 2023 title. He holds a Master of Arts (Geography) and Bachelor in Law from Tribhuvan University and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Regional and Rural Planning from the Asian Institute of Technology.