Nighat Akbar Shah

Nighat Shah is an entrepreneur, investor, and the CFO of Shah Holdings Group, a commercial real estate development and convenience store company she co-founded with her husband two decades ago. Her first foray into entrepreneurship was an in-home wholesale business she started to accommodate the needs of her growing family. Empowered by that success, she began trading stocks and futures. Along the way, she obtained a Master of Science in Business and Finance Degree from the University of Memphis.

In addition to her professional life, Ms. Shah is a philanthropist dedicated to bettering the lives of those in developing nations, particularly in her hometown of Chitral, Pakistan. Since 2005, she has sponsored school fees for around 300 students, built a conference hall, and an ECD center for a local school of her remote village. In 2019, she built a women’s hostel in Balach Chitral that houses almost 200 students. She and her husband are continued supporters of Aga Khan Foundation USA, a foundation which helps in eradicating poverty by helping people to help themselves. Ms. Shah is passionate about sharing her message of empowerment and fulfillment through entrepreneurship. She has a strong desire to serve others, and do everything in her power to encourage women to be self-sufficient and financially independent.