Adnan Seric is research manager at the Department of Policy, Research and Statistics (PRS) of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) where he leads department’s work on global value chains and foreign direct investments.
Prior to joining PRS, Adnan has been part of UNIDO’s trade and investment team leading the design and implementation of technical assistance programs in multiple countries, especially in the Africa, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia region. His research has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals, books, special reports, policy briefs, social media and blogs.
Previously, he worked as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) where he has conducted policy research and provided advisory services on trade and investment related issues in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. Adnan holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of St Andrews (UK).
Joshua Phoho Setipa is the Managing Director for The Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries. With over 20 years’ experience in senior roles on international trade, economic policy, investment strategy and economic development at the national, regional and multilateral levels, Mr. Setipa has a wealth of experience and knowledge on issues affecting least developed countries.
Mr. Setipa comes to The Technology Bank from the from The World Bank where he led strategic engagements with West Africa. From 2015 – 2017 Mr. Setipa was the Minister of Trade and Industry for the Government of Lesotho, spearheading the adoption of national industrial policy. Prior to this he worked as Chief Executive Officer for the Lesotho National Development Corporation. Mr. Setipa was Senior Advisor to the Director General of the World Trade Organization for over six years where he was a member of the Executive Management Team.
He holds a Masters of Business Administration and International Finance from the University of Bradford, UK, a Graduate Diploma in International Relations and Trade from The Australian National University, Canberra and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Political Science from the National University of Lesotho.
Ambassador Nur Rakhman Setyoko has more than twenty years of extensive experience in leading as well as participating in various negotiations on critical trade agreements at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level. His previous roles include Director of WTO Negotiation (2021-2023), Head of the Planning Bureau (2023-30 September 2024) and Trade/Commercial Attaché (2017-2020) at the Embassy of The Republic of Indonesia in London. His expertise as Trade Analyst at the Trade Research and Development Agency (TREDA), has enabled him to further contribute to the formulation and implementation of trade policies that align with Indonesia’s economic goals. He holds a Master Degree in International and Development Economics from the Australian National University (ANU).
Mr. Eduardo Sfoglia serves as the Head of the International Advisory Office at the Brazilian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
A career diplomat with 15 years of professional experience, he holds a bachelor's degree in Legal and Social Sciences from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and a master's degree in Agribusiness from the Rome Business School in Italy. He also earned postgraduate specializations in Security and Terrorism from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, and in Agribusiness from the University of São Paulo.
From 2012 to 2023, he led diplomatic and consular sections at Brazilian official missions in Iraq, the United Kingdom, Algeria, and Nicaragua.
From 2023 to 2024, he served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Division of the Sea, Antarctica and Space, and the Department of Strategic, Defense and Disarmament Affairs.
Ajaita Shah is a mentor, a speaker, and board member, and entrepreneur at Frontier Markets.
Ajaita has committed to empowering rural women across the developing world through market based business models, clean energy, technology, and inspiring women to push themselves beyond their societal boundaries.
Ms. Ajaita Shah drives vision, strategy, investments, and partnerships at Frontier Markets. Frontier Markets is a social tech commerce enterprise that focuses on rural India. It is an end-to-end commerce platform that provideslast-mile products and services, delivered at the doorsteps of consumers in villages through an assisted commerce model run by rural women entrepreneurs called Saral Jeevan Sahelis. Operating in 2,000 villages in India, with 20 micro distribution hubs managing 10,000 Sahelis to facilitate access to products and services in agri, digital inclusion, home appliances, clean energy solutions, since covid, healthcare and essential services, and finance to over 500,000 households. Most recent awards include Fintech Innovation Challenge Winner UNCDF, SDG Finance Summit’s Highest Impact Award.
Ms. Shah has been working with social enterprises and in rural India in microfinance, rural distribution, marketing, and access for 15+ years, and has committed to empowering rural women across the developing world through business models, financial inclusion, technology, data, clean energy, and inspiring women to push themselves beyond their societal boundaries.
She is the recipient of prestigious awards including: Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Women Transforms India Award, Digital Women of the Year, CNBC’s Women Entrepreneur of the Year, Loreal Women of Worth and more. She is a Women’s Changemaker Fellow at Womanity Foundation, Dasra Leadership Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and Cordes Fellow. She has spoken in many forums including COP 23, UN High Level Political Forums, UN SDG Summit, and more on social enterprise perspective from the field, to digital inclusion, to climate change to gendersmart investing. Ajaita serves on the board of Frontier Innovations Foundation, a non-profit focused on last-mile distribution support social enterprises driving solutions to rural customers globally. As well as a Steering Committee Board Member for SHINE Investor and SAWIE.
She is also an advisor to various social enterprises in India focusing on product development for the poor. Ajaita Shah holds her B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University. Mantra: “Investing in Women is smart business and key to poverty alleviation at scale”
Mr. Ashish Shah has been working at International Trade Centre (ITC) for 13 years in different capacities and currently serves as Director, Division of Country Programmes. He previously held the post of Acting Deputy Executive Director. He has also spent several years in the Office for Africa and the Office of the Executive Director, where he was head of strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation. Prior to joining ITC, he worked first at the International Labour Office in Geneva and then at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Mr. Shah has more than 20 years of international and United Nations experience in the field of trade promotion and development, during which time he has been providing strategic advice on trade-development issues and engaging in high-level policy dialogue with stakeholders in Africa, Asia and the Arab Region.
He has extensive experience both in operations and strategic planning, broad project design and management skills, strong client-relationship management and negotiating abilities, and a proven track record of delivering targets. Mr. Shah holds a master's degree in cooperative economics and a PhD in economics from Philipps University of Marburg, Germany.
Abdulla Shahid is a Maldivian politician who has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Maldives since 2018. He is currently President of the Seventy-Sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Shahid is the first Maldivian politician to become the President of the General Assembly.
He was born in 1977 in Karaganda region.
Graduated from Gumilyov Eurasian University, Buketov Karaganda State University, Dulatov Kostanay Engineering and Economic University.
He started his career in 1998 as a legal adviser in the Agency for Reorganization and Liquidation of Enterprises OJSC in Astana and Akmola region.
From 2001 to 2004, he worked in senior positions in the Agency for Reorganization and Liquidation of Enterprises, Agency for State Material Reserves, Ministry of State Revenue.
In 2004-2006, he worked as Director of the Kazakhstan Institute of Metrology RSE.
In 2006-2007, he was Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Work with Insolvent Debtors of the Ministry of State Revenue of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In 2007-2008, he worked as Director of the Department of State Asset Management Policy of the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
From 2008 to 2016, he served as Director General of the Kazakhstan Institute of Standardization and Certification RSE.
In 2016-2018, he was Director of the Department of Technical Regulation and Accreditation of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
In 2018 he was appointed Chairman of the Committee of Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In 2020-2022, he was a member of the EEC Collegium from Kazakhstan, Minister of Competition and Antimonopoly Regulation of the EEC.
From October 2022, he was the First Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
On Sept. 2, 2023 he was appointed Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
On February 6, 2024 he was appointed Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.