P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans

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Ankur Shah, 2005

MPA, Harvard University

Ankur Shah is the child of immigrants from India

Fellowship awarded to support work towards an MPA in International Development at Harvard University

Ankur Shah is chief finance and strategy officer for Weee!, America’s largest and fastest growing ethnic e-grocer. He is an advisor to several startups in emerging markets, and to Lend a Hand, a non-profit catalyzing life-skills training in state public schools in India.

Prior to joining Weee!, Ankur was a seed investor in, and chief finance and strategy officer at Careem, a ride-hailing company in the Greater Middle East acquired by Uber in 2020 for $3.1 billion. Careem now supports multiple products such as rides, food, and payments across 16 countries and 95+ cities from Morocco to Pakistan. 

Previously, Ankur was part of the leadership team at Acumen Fund, an emerging markets development venture fund, and was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He has also had multiple operating roles, including building libraries in New York City public schools for the Robin Hood Foundation, helping start a company to provide safe drinking water for rural customers in eastern India, and at a European internet startup in the late 90s. 

Ankur studied architecture at Cornell University and public policy with a focus on international development at the Harvard's Kennedy School where he was a Reynolds and a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow. He commutes between California and Dubai where his wife, two children, and dog live.

Education
  • MPA International Development | Harvard University 2007
  • BArch Architecture | Cornell University 1999
Select Publications
  • http://www.outlooktraveller.com/trips/pakistan-a-trek-to-the-baltoro-glacier-1007823
  • http://indianquarterly.com/a-forbidden-passage-to-india/
  • http://forbesindia.com/article/traveller/a-short-drive-through-the-karakoram/14392/1
Work History
  • Careem, Chief Finance and Strategy Officer
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