We envision a society where everyone is reaching their full potential.

Our mission is to foster the use of life-long learning and continuous action to enable a society where everyone is reaching their full potential.

Amal Academy envisions a society of self-aware, resilient, hardworking, proactive, and responsible citizens; of life-long learners, critical thinkers, and problem solvers, who act with a strong moral compass, and improve their own lives as well of those around them. Individuals who contribute to the well-being of their families and their communities, and who consequently live a more secure, fulfilled, meaningful, and productive life.

Why we matter.

The challenge…

64% of Pakistan’s population is below the age of 30 and this youth bulge is predicted to grow through 2030. For the small fraction that go to university, the unemployment rate is at an alarming 31% and rising. At the same time, employers are having a hard time finding ready talent. Per independent surveys, over 78% of Pakistani employers are dissatisfied with the quality of recent graduates, with 46% citing soft skills and attitudes as major concerns. This largely stems from an education system that encourages memorization and rigidity over reasoning and curiosity.

There is also a mismatch between the fields-of-study that students are graduating from and industry needs, and tech innovations are further decreasing the market relevance of our typically underexposed university graduates. This necessitates the need for developing self-efficacy, adaptability, an aptitude for lifelong learning, and entrepreneurial attitudes in our youth that enable them to direct their own paths, be more creative in their approach to employment (re-skilling, freelancing etc.), and more likely to engage in creating opportunities for others through entrepreneurship.

…and our aspiration.

Our university graduates should be our intellectual elite, driving growth through innovation and increased economic productivity, exhibiting ethical and moral leadership in their work, engaging in civil society, and holding our public sector to higher standards. Unfortunately, our universities are, so far, unable to infuse the kind of aspirational mindset, ownership, and self-belief necessary for these students to thrive.

Amal Academy’s approach has been to create a model platform through our Career-Prep Fellowship that plugs these gaps, and we aspire to enable system level change through empowering others (including public sector institutions) to replicate our programming at scale. Additionally, through mobilising our Fellows and alumni to live lives of purpose, we aim to seed a critical mass of socially responsible leaders that will tip the scales of society towards progress.

Our advisors & growth partners.

  • Syed Babar Ali

    Founder/Chairman at LUMS

  • Dr. Amjad Saqib

    Founder/Chairman at Akhuwat Foundation

  • Jacqueline Novogratz

    Founder/CEO at Acumen

  • Chris Anderson

    Curator at TED

  • Hussain Dawood

    Chairman at Engro

  • Shaiza Rizavi

    Co-CEO at Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co.

  • Dr. Zahoor Hassan

    Former Vice Chancellor at LUMS

  • Nauman Ahmed Khan

    Managing Director at Al-Moiz Industries

Our values.

Reliability.

Committing steadfastly to our promises, persevering through obstacles with determination, and ensuring dependable support for our team and fellows.

Continuous improvement.

Championing lifelong learning and relentless improvement, pushing ourselves and our fellows to explore potential and embrace challenges with a solutions-focused mindset.

Compassion.

Cultivating deep-seated empathy and respect, treating others as we would like to be treated, and fostering a supportive community for everyone.

Thinking.

Encouraging thoughtful deliberation and critical analysis in all decisions, promoting a culture of insightful inquiry and informed action.

Integrity.

Upholding the highest standards of honesty and consistency, ensuring our actions fully align with our values, with no room for compromise.

Our story.

Amal Academy was co-founded by Benje Williams, Kunal Chawla, and Ali Siddiq  to bridge the industry-academia gap in Pakistan. The name “Amal,” meaning “action” in Urdu, is inspired by poet Allama Iqbal’s philosophy that the world is shaped through continuous action.

In 2009, Amal co-Founder Benje Williams, originally from California, was consulting with a healthcare social enterprise in Pakistan as an Acumen Fellow. Aiming to build a sales team for the organization, Benje received 400+ applications and interviewed over 100 candidates from good universities, yet struggled to find candidates with an ability to present themselves, let alone be suitable for customer facing roles. Eventually Benje decided to hire 12 of these candidates, and two months later, he had them upskilled to a level they needed to be. The takeaway - there was a clear skills gap, but it was pluggable with a little personalized attention. Back at Stanford for his MBA the following year, Benje and Kunal pitched the idea of Amal Academy to the Stanford Social Innovation Lab and were awarded funding to launch Amal Academy in Pakistan. (read more on Stanford’s website). 

Amal started on ground operations with its first Fellowship in Lahore in 2014, and since then has seen more than 14,000 graduates through the program representing 120 different universities and 180 towns and villages across Pakistan.

Our leadership team.

Ali Siddiq
CEO

Ali has 17 years of experience in strategic planning, operations, marketing, and customer engagement. He has worked in the US in both technology and strategy roles including at American Airlines, Amazon and The MathWorks. Ali shifted to the Pakistan education sector in 2013 with a focus on improving access and quality of education for underserved communities. He joined Amal Academy as COO in 2017 and became CEO in 2020. Ali is an Acumen Fellow and holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from UET Lahore, an MS from the Ohio State University, and an MBA from Notre Dame.

Benje Williams
Co-Founder

Benje has 15 years of experience in social impact, education, and strategy. Before co-founding Amal Academy in 2013, he worked as a consultant across New York, Kenya, South Africa, India, and Pakistan, advising nonprofits and businesses on development and workforce readiness. As CEO, Benje scaled Amal to 45 team members and 5,000 Fellows before moving back to the US in 2020 to launch a nature-focused social impact venture alongside his work at Amal. Benje is a published writer and an Acumen and Echoing Green Fellow. He holds a BSc from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University.

Wajieha Waheed
Deputy Director

Wajieha started her career as a Fellow at Teach for Pakistan and joined Amal Academy in 2016 as a lead facilitator for the Fellowship. Since then, she has played a diverse set of leadership roles including building our Karachi team, revamping our facilitator onboarding training, and pivoting our Fellowship online during COVID. As Deputy Director, she currently heads our People and Culture function. Wajieha holds a BSc and an MPhil in Education Leadership & Management from LUMS.

Abdul Sami
Deputy Director

With over 9 years of experience in Operations, Finance, Data, and Administration, Sami leads Operations & Finance at Amal Academy. He has been working in the education sector in Pakistan for over 7 years. Sami holds a BComm and an MBA from Punjab University.

Meet the rest of our team.

  • Ruhila Ali

    Cluster Manager

  • Afreen Khan

    Program Manager

  • Samreena Khan

    Program Manager

  • Iqra Zaheer

    Selection OPS Lead

  • Kamal Zareen

    Program Associate

  • Mehak Mazhar

    Assistant Manager Marketing

  • Aqsa Farooq

    Program Manager

  • Hamza Razaq

    Graphic Designer

  • Hadiqa Azeem

    Program Associate

  • Maleeha Humayun

    Program Manager

  • Nida Imran

    Program Associate

  • Amna Nasir

    Program Manager

  • Hasnat Babar

    Program Associate

  • Urooj Fatima

    Program Manager

  • Maham Hussain

    Program Associate

  • Zainab Dar

    Program Associate

  • Adnan Tariq

    Cluster Manager

  • Aleeza Shaukat

    Program Associate

  • Hadiya Asim

    Manager Curriculum

  • Rubia Zia

    Manager HR & Operations

  • Haleema Sarfraz Khan

    Manager Curriculum

Our investors.

Acumen has supported us through seed capital, in-kind investment through their Global Fellowship, and through their regional fellowship.

The Center for Social Innovation at Stanford University has provided us with seed capital through the Social Innovation Fellowship.

PepsiCo Pakistan and PepsiCo Foundation have been some of Amal’s biggest supporters since 2018, celebrating some big milestones together.

Echoing Green is a New York-based venture that provides seed funding to social enterprises, and organisations focused on impact.

London-based Montpelier Foundation helps fund organisations with a core focus on social income uplift.

The Peery Foundation is a private foundation based in Palo Alto, California, USA, that focuses on high impact philanthropy.

Our partners.

  • Akhuwat Foundation

  • Teach for Pakistan

  • LUMSx

  • atomcamp

  • ConnectHear

  • Karachi University

  • University of Agriculture Faisalabad

  • Virtual University

  • University of Education

  • National University of Sciences & Technology

  • Punjab University

  • University of Engineering & Technology Lahore

  • NED University of Engineering & Technology

  • University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences Lahore

  • University of Arid Agriculture Rawalpindi

  • Lahore College for Women University

  • Government College for Women University Faisalabad

  • Government College University Faisalabad

  • Government College University Lahore

Join us.

Whether you’re a student, an alum, a donor, or a partner, there’s a place for you in the Amal community. Together, we can continue to empower the changemakers of tomorrow and build a brighter, more equitable future.