Shahrukh Wani collaborates with policymakers, researchers, and development partners to drive evidence-based economic policy reforms in low- and middle-income countries. He has worked with governments in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uganda, and Zambia to deliver actionable research and policy advice focused on economic growth, public finance, agricultural productivity, urban development, and infrastructure financing.
Currently, Shahrukh leads the IGC’s Zambia program as Country Manager, based at the London School of Economics and the Lusaka office. His work involves leveraging data and research to inform public policy decisions on key economic challenges, including boosting agricultural productivity, decentralisation, mining-sector reforms, energy transition strategies, and place-based economic policies to foster inclusive growth. The program also supports the Zambia Evidence Lab at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
Previously, he served as an urban economist with the IGC’s Cities that Work initiative at the University of Oxford, where he advised on urban governance, property tax reform, transport policy, and public-private partnerships. His work has supported major multilateral programs, including the UK’s Global Future Cities Programme.
Widely quoted in outlets such as the Financial Times, Africa Report, BBC, and Al Jazeera, Shahrukh writes regularly on economic and policy issues. He has served on an advisory panel for Pakistan’s Prime Minister and has worked for Innovations for Poverty Action, the Grameen Foundation, and UN-Habitat. Born and raised in Pakistan, he studied at the London School of Economics. He tweets @ShahrukhWani.
