Shiza Shahid
Co-Founder, Our Place and Co-Founder & Founding CEO, The Malala Fund
- Shiza Shahid is the co-founder, along with Nobel-Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and founding CEO of the Malala Fund, which works to advance access to education around the world.
- She is also co-founder of Our Place, a wildly successful brand of ethical kitchenware created in partnership with immigrant communities.
- Shiza partnered with the largest venture capital platform in the world to launch NOW Ventures, her investment fund that empowers mission-driven startups.
- Her many accolades include being named to TIME’s 30 Under 30 People Changing the World, Forbes’ 30 Under 30 – Social Entrepreneurs, and Business Insider’s 30 Under 30 Venture Capital Investors in Tech.
Full Profile
Visionary Entrepreneur, Champion of Social Impact & Purpose-Driven Innovation
Shiza Shahid is an award-winning entrepreneur, technologist, investor, and sought-after keynote speaker, globally recognised for her leadership at the intersection of social change, business innovation, and inclusive branding. As co-founder and founding CEO of the Malala Fund alongside Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, Shiza spearheaded one of the world’s most influential movements for girls’ education, leveraging cross-cultural leadership to drive systemic change on a global stage.
Currently, Shiza co-leads Our Place, the celebrated mission-driven kitchenware brand renowned for its commitment to ethical sourcing and authentic cultural storytelling. Through her hands-on engagement with immigrant communities and her focus on building brands that resonate inclusively, she shows how businesses can both scale commercially and have a genuine social impact. Shiza also launched NOW Ventures in collaboration with AngelList, investing in high-growth, mission-driven technology startups that address urgent global challenges such as digital inclusion, diversity, and sustainability.
Business Challenges Addressed
Shiza’s work is uniquely relevant to organisations facing:
- The need to innovate business models for profit and purpose.
- Building and scaling authentically inclusive and diverse brands.
- Engaging millennial talent and cultivating the next generation of leaders.
- Embedding social impact and sustainability into business strategy.
- Advancing equality, especially around women’s empowerment and access to opportunity.
- Leading resilient teams through rapid change and technological disruption.
Renowned as a TIME and Forbes “30 Under 30” honoree and recognised as a Tribeca Disruptive Innovator, Shiza Shahid is a global thought leader and catalyst for change. She is regularly featured in leading media outlets, including Forbes, Fast Company, CNN, and Al Jazeera, and is a trusted voice at major international events, from the Aspen Ideas Festival to the World Economic Forum.
Talks
Shiza’s cultural leadership and storytelling acuity has been proven over and again. As founding CEO of the Malala Fund, she led a cross-cultural, global story and mission that was amongst the most iconic of the last
decade. In 2020, she is doing it again with her investments in new startup brands, and with Our Place, her own brand of ethical kitchenware created in partnership with immigrant communities.
In this talk, Shiza shares how to create a brand that represents and celebrates the diversity of America – in a way that is cultural collaboration, versus appropriation. Structured as a candid, open workshop, Shiza lays out the tools and checklists to help you build a brand that resonates with diverse communities and keep a pulse on the beat of moment. Open and honest about the complexities involved, Shiza discusses ways to be fully aware of sensitivities, along with personal anecdotes of failures and successes.
For Shiza, this is not just a talk – it is her life’s work.
How technology will change the way we live, interact and create. What that means for your business and how to think about the future. How social progress and our planet will fare.
How to inspire and retain young talent. How to market to millennials and build a brand that commands loyalty. What are the characteristics of this demographic and how can you have edge.
How any company can become more purpose-driven. Why having purpose is good for business and the bottom-line. Practical ways to get started today.
How to inspire and retain young talent. How to market to millennials and build a brand that commands loyalty. What are the characteristics of this demographic and how can you have edge.
How far have we come, and what’s most important today. How you can play a tangible role in advancing gender equality in your businesses, communities, and globally.
A personal talk about Shiza’s journey and struggle to create social change. He work with Malala founding the Malala Fund and her mission to create scalable social change today. How ordinary people can make extraordinary waves, and how each of us can become change makers today.