Shainoor Khoja

Shainoor Khoja operates Better Business Enterprise (BBE), a consultancy identifying new opportunities in emerging markets and the developed world for businesses to address the needs of base of the pyramid populations, to explore commercial opportunities using technology and to develop innovative business practices. Focusing on triple bottom line business models and social innovation to create maximum impact from mobilized funds. Since January 2012, BBE has secured projects in Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Zambia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and the Middle East and in the USA. Projects have involved market research, product development, platform selection, business modeling and execution. Sectors focused on include mobile money, telemedicine, and commodity prices for farmers, human resource development, leadership training and funding high impact infrastructure projects. The objective is to invest in communities with multiple stakeholders to build capacity, develop and grow business. Shainoor has developed relationships with organizations that are local as well as international businesses, NGO’s and civil society organizations. Examples include Regional Mobile Network Operators, Regional Emerging Market Banks, Mobile Application Solution Providers, Babson College, Bainbridge Graduate Institute and others and has since successfully closed a number of transactions.

Shainoor held the position of Managing Director Roshan Community, at Afghanistan’s #1 mobile operator, Roshan, an Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development Company, since 2004 and concluded her full-time role in 2012. Apart from her daily operational role, Shainoor has been an integral part of the fund raising cycles for Roshan that have raised in excess of US$180 million for the company. Shainoor’s contribution has been focused around innovative strategies that bring strategic value to the growth and development of the group companies. This has entailed incubating initiatives and evolving them into viable commercial products that go to market. Her focus has further been to address lenders requirements for social and economic development increasingly being termed impact investing.

In addition, Shainoor has used her contacts and experience in emerging market fund raising to further attract financing from developmental finance institutions for specific projects. Shainoor holds several board positions: Social Venture Networks, FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance Program, Vision Spring and MODiSE (telemedicine).