Shakira Akbar

Shakira Akbar is the P4G National Platform Liaison in South Africa, where she will support the National Platform and source prospective new partnerships.

Prior to joining P4G, serving as a Director, she successfully launched the inaugural International Humanitarian Summit in March 2022, during the Expo 2020 in Dubai, which is a dialogue promoting global cooperation and unity, convening global non-profits, academia, corporate and government, and partnering on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

She brings two decades of public sector experience at the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, more than half of which she spent representing the Department abroad in key markets.

She previously served as Trade and Investment Commissioner for South Africa, covering the Midwest and West Coast of the USA and was responsible for new market development as well as facilitating foreign direct investment into South Africa, including green technology projects.

During her diplomatic service she also represented the Department as Economic Consul in the United Arab Emirates (covering Oman and Qatar).  Upon her return she managed the Asia East and Middle East Export Promotion desks at the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. She has worked in markets such as China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, all the Gulf states, the Levant, and Turkey, promoting business in the Energy, Healthcare, Defense, IT, Infrastructure, Agroprocessing and Apparel sectors.

She holds a postgraduate Honors degree in International and Development Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Business Management and Information Technology.

In her free time she enjoys formulating organic skincare, narrating for an eco-conscious travel magazine on YouTube, listening to podcasts, reading books and gardening.