Zahedul Amin

Zahed is an entrepreneur and consultant with over 16 years of experience working with development agencies, private enterprises, startups/social enterprises and government entities. He co-founded LightCastle Partners, a consulting firm dedicated to fostering inclusive economic growth in Bangladesh and beyond through a systemic and data-driven approach. Zahedul holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at the University of Dhaka.

Zahedul has extensive experience in private sector development, research, program management, landscaping assessment, impact assessment, financial modeling, market entry studies, and consulting for the non-profit, private, and development sectors across more than 15 sectors (agriculture, RMG & Textiles, WASH, digital businesses) and cross-cutting themes including financial inclusion and sustainable & circular finance. He has successfully led over 150 projects for top-tier clients such as The Gates Foundation, WFP, IFC, H&M Foundation, The World Bank, UN Agencies, EKN, BRAC, SNV, Ashoka, A2i, ILO, USDA, World Fish, HSBC, CDC, ADB, ACDI-VOCA, and WaterAid.

Zahed is passionate about research, analysis, geopolitics, macroeconomics, policy analysis, and enterprise development. He mentors young founders and derives joy in guiding them to the next level. He regularly writes on his blog and national dailies on pertinent issues. He is an alum of the International Visitors’ Leadership Program (IVLP) and a social entrepreneurship fellow at the State University of New York (SUNY). Additionally, he is an Acumen fellow.