Upon graduating from Michigan Tech University with a bachelor's in business management and a minor in psychology, Ibrahim Syarikin was selected to join the Peace Corps in Uganda where he was inducted into the economic development program where he worked as a consultant within a microfinance organization. In addition to his work at his primary post, Ibrahim took part in various projects pertaining to financial literacy, water & sanitation, youth development and more, which led him to become interested in the intersection between finance and development. Shortly after completing his service in Uganda, Ibrahim pursued an MSc in social finance and management at Durham University in the United Kingdom where he completed his master’s thesis on the impact of Islamic microfinance on the progress out of the poverty index.

After several years teaching economics and business studies at both the high school and undergraduate level, Ibrahim took a leap of faith and went on to put his knowledge and business acumen to work by starting an import/export company several years prior to joining the GHD program. While Ibrahim’s passion for business and finance has led him to invest his time and money in physical businesses, real estate, and the capital markets; his commitment to development has kept him civically active over the years in various initiatives around the world within the space of community business development. Having lived in several countries and traveled extensively, Ibrahim developed the ability to speak Indonesian, Arabic, and Chinese, and seeks to further his knowledge and skills within the field of development at Georgetown University with the hopes of continuing to bring value and benefit to the people and communities he engages with.