Oishi Nawal

Oishi Nawal is a development professional from Bangladesh working at the intersection of research, knowledge and communications, policy and strategy for grassroots innovation. Growing up in Bangladesh, she witnessed firsthand how social and economic barriers could limit people’s potential and how meaningful change begins when we listen to communities and build with them, not for them. This realization shaped her journey in development. She has spent over eight years working on inclusive economic systems, with a focus on promoting financial inclusion and gender equity through strategic knowledge sharing, multi-stakeholder collaboration and program strategy - helping to build systems that are community-informed, scalable and sustainable.

She has led initiatives at BRAC that connect research to action, piloting knowledge tools, and amplifying voices of women and small businesses from underserved communities by collaborating with global organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dalberg, IPA and CGAP. She also served as Deputy Director at the MicroFinance Network, where she facilitated global dialogues among CEOs of leading microfinance institutions, focusing on cross regional learning and regulatory impact. Oishi began her career working in youth mobilization and education, which shaped her commitment to empower women and young people.

Oishi is passionate about human-centered design and gender-responsive development and believes in the power of behavioral research to inform policies that create lasting change. She holds a BSc in Economics with a minor in English Literature from Independent University, Bangladesh, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Outside of work, she enjoys painting, writing, and using storytelling as a way to connect, reflect, and advocate for change.

Why GHD?

The GHD program is uniquely designed for professionals like me with a background in economics and development. I'm eager to expand my knowledge of how research, policy, and practical solutions intersect and gain the opportunity to collaborate with diverse peers and faculty to develop the skills needed to design scalable solutions that bridge grassroots action and policy-making.

Summer internship

During the summer, I had the opportunity to intern with J-PAL Southeast Asia in Jakarta, supporting research and policy work aimed at generating evidence to address development challenges in Indonesia. I worked across projects on labor markets, digitalization, energy transition, and social protection. My research included analyzing three decades of Indonesian labor-force data to examine occupational change and AI exposure, developing an ISCO-08 occupational crosswalk, and using Random Forest and Lasso methods to study the drivers of e-commerce adoption among micro and small enterprises, including differences by gender. I also contributed to policy research on electric vehicle and induction-stove adoption and Indonesia’s transition away from LPG dependence. Alongside this research, I participated in discussions on the potential implementation and scaling of the Graduation approach in Indonesia, examining its policy implications, delivery models, and costs. The experience strengthened my quantitative research and policy analysis skills and deepened my understanding of how evidence can inform scalable development policy.