Roshaneh Zafar

Ms. Roshaneh Zafar is the Founder and Managing Director of Kashf Foundation – the first specialized microfinance organization in Pakistan established in 1996. Kashf Foundation was awarded the Microfinance Excellence Award by the Grameen Foundation-USA for its groundbreaking innovations in the field of microfinance in Pakistan, while in 2005 it won the AGFUND International Prize for Microcredit 2005 out of 98 countries.

Prior to establishing Kashf Foundation, Ms. Zafar worked with the World Bank in Islamabad in the Water and Sanitation department for several years. Ms. Zafar was one of the first Ashoka Fellows in Pakistan and has been a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur since 2004. Ms Zafar has also been awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan’s highest civilian awards, by the President of Pakistan for her work in the field of development and women’s empowerment and was also awarded the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007. Ms Zafar is a graduate of the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA and also holds a Masters degree in Development Economics from Yale University, USA.