AccLab First Learning Cycle Advisory Committee (FLCAC)

Profiles of UNDP Maldives Accelerator Lab First Learning Cycle Advisory Committee (FLCAC) Members

The FLCAC acts as an interface to bring these individuals into contact with Accelerator Lab and thus to influence decision-making with regards to Lab’s first experiment. Membership of FLCAC is on a voluntary basis and is unremunerated. FLCAC is a non-hierarchical advisory ad hoc group chaired by UNDP Maldives Accelerator Lab.

More about the FLCAC here

Vaibhav Garg

Vaibhav Garg, independent Human Resources (HR) expert 

A postgraduate in Human Resource Management and Six Sigma certified from Motorola University, Singapore, Vaibhav Garg is the Area Talent & Culture Manager for Accor in the Maldives and the Director of Talent & Culture at Movenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives. In his current role at AccorHotels Vaibhav is responsible for implementing Talent and Culture activities at all its operating and pre-opening resorts in the Maldives as an Area Talent & Culture Manager for the company. His key role is to promote Values and HR Group Strategy, acting as an AccorHotels "ambassador" in the Maldives.

Well-established at Cornell University New York, Vaibhav served as the Advisory Board Member at Cornell Institute of Healthy Futures from the year 2018 - 2020 and currently serves as the Industry Scholar involved in hospitality service research initiatives & programs at Cornell University.

In the year 2019-20, He was also nominated as one of the Expert for SDG Innovation Global Expert Group, New York and the SDG Innovation Mentor for United Nations Global Compact Network – Bangladesh for the Young SDG Innovators Program (2019 – 20). In this role, he contributed to the shape and design of commercially viable sustainable business solutions and integration and embedding of breakthrough mindsets in business strategy and operations is support of the Sustainable Development Goals while being a role model and advisor for high performing young professionals from leading companies.

Vaibhav has been felicitated as HR Director of the Year 2019 by Human Capital Maldives HR Awards and recognized for his leadership in spearheading HR initiatives thereby being a winner of Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion by Human Capital Maldives HR Awards for the year 2019. He has also been listed among 101 Top Global HR Minds in the Hotel Industry by the World HRD Congress in the year 2019 & 2020 consecutively and was recognized and selected as 50 Most Talented HR Leaders for the year 2018 by HR Maldives Association.

As an Author and public speaker, he has published and presented several articles, chapters and research papers in the area of service marketing, hospitality and human resources at renowned international universities, business schools, and hotel associations from Japan, Maldives, Asia, Europe, China and United States.

Hussain Jinan

Hussain Jinan, representing private sector working on innovation 

Jinan has over 13 years of experience in the field of sustainable development as well as the development of SME’s. He brings immense experience in multi-sectorial backgrounds such as tourism, women empowerment, policy and strategic formulation and startups. He has been instrumental in implementing many SME development programmes in the Maldives, having worked closely with high profile clients from government as well as the corporate sector.

He is the co-founder / CEO of Sparkhub LLP, a management consultancy firm specializing its core resources in strengthening the startup ecosystem of Maldives. He is the co-founder and managing director of Encreare Pvt Ltd, a branding and market strategizing business.

Professor Hassan Ugail

Professor Hassan Ugail, representing Ugail Foundation

Professor Hassan Ugail is the president of the Ugail Foundation. He is also a professor of visual computing and the director of the Centre for Visual Computing at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom.

Muees Moosa

Muees Moosa, representing youth population (male) 

Muees has been a passionate social worker for over half a decade. He has sought multiple outlets to pursue his passion for volunteering. Awareness and education has been one of the cornerstones of his volunteerism philosophy. Muees was a part of various youth camps and he has contributed to various projects engaging youth and worked extensively on developing and empowering youth. 

He facilitated youth on different civics sessions with the vision of creating a generation of active youth leaders. He has worked with various organisations and some of his work has been associated with JCI Maldives - a chapter of the International NGO, a nonprofit organization of young active citizens who are engaged and committed to creating impact in their communities. His work has been aligned with JCI's mission to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change. He is also a co-founder of JCI Addu. Muees is also a passionate humanitarian who has worked with the Maldivian Red Crescent and served as a First Aider on multiple occasions. He is also a trained member of MRC's National Emergency Response Team.  Muees has filled various positions of these orgs in both local and national levels, and he is currently the National Secretary General of JCI Maldives. He has also played a key role in various local and national level programs and projects that aimed to empower youth and addressed various social issues. Some of those programs include, the Vunadhaana Anhenverin program by JCI Addu to develop women's entrepreneurial skills and encourage them to pursue such initiatives, the Youth to Leaders Forum by JCI Maldives, Ekugai initiative to deliver food to those in need during the pandemic and coding classes for youth. 

Hussain Afeef

Hussain Afeef, representing Maldives Association of Human Resource Professionals (MAHRP)

Afeef is a passionate hotelier and a human capital development expert with over 16 years of experience in operational and service excellence. Over the years, Afeef held several positions in human capital with a specific focus on creating organizational cultures, change management and assisting world class brands in strategizing their growth and market capitalization by using People and Service as a competitive differentiator.

As a passion, Afeef, developed a particular focus and travelled to over six continents and spoke in 46 different audiences over the last ten years including the United States, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Maldives.

Currently, Afeef is the Regional Director of LUX* Resorts and Hotels taking the responsibility of Human Capital and Quality Management and also serves as the President of the Maldives Association of HR Professionals. Afeef‘s passion for coaching and mentoring others has brought him to recognitions such as the John Maxwell Team, Executive Director for the Maldives and a Coach of Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching Program.

Fathmath Shadiya

Fathmath Shadiya, representing civil society working with women

Fathmath Shadiya is a social scientist at the Faculty of Engineering, Science, and Technology of Maldives National University.  She has a master’s degree in Development Practice from the University of Queensland, Australia, and an additional master’s degree in Social Research from Villa College.  Apart from teaching at the university, she is an active researcher in the fields of sustainable development, climate change, and community development. She is the co-founder of UNISPIRE Maldives, an NGO dedicated to empowering youth in the area of disaster management in the Maldives.

Rifqa Shiham

Rifqa Shiham, representing Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment

Rifqa Shiham was appointed as a Youth Executive to Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment on 17th February 2019. Rifqa was also in the advisory committee for Minister of Youth, Sports and, Community Empowerment in 100 days of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's presidency. Rifqa was also elected as Male’ City Representative for Youth Wing of Maldivian Democratic Party in November 2018. Moreover, Rifqa was also a member of the Youth Committee of transitional committees to elected president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in 2018. She is committed to playing a key role in empowering youth and elevating youth participation in development through capacity building and advocacy. With a background in business administration, Rifqa is also a strong advocator of learning through experience.

Saudhath Afeef

Saudhath Afeef, representing Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment

Saudath Afeef holds a Masters of Science (MSc) in Clinical Psychology from Mysore University. Currently, Saudath is the Director at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment. Her main responsibilities are planning and executing youth development programs. A result driven professional with background in clinical psychology, counselling, social work, management, monitoring, and evaluation. Prior to her position as the Director at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, she served as the Acting Head of Child Protection Department and Institutional Care Division of Department of Ministry of Gender and Family. Saudath Afeef has a demonstrated experience of working with families and children who need protection and psychological support and working with children, youth victims and offenders who need rehabilitation and counselling. 

Fathimath Ibrahim

Fathimath Ibrahim, representing civil society working with persons with disabilities

Fathimath Ibrahim is a dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer with solid records of community service well recognized for selfless dedication, serving the community. Over the past fifteen years, Fathimath Ibrahim had undertaken various training in a wide range of areas like first aid, youth and women inclusivity and empowerment, disaster and waste management, para-athletics, and leadership. Fathimath Ibrahim is a member of a number of civil society organizations and is deeply committed with a passion to improve the condition of the society as well as people with special needs. In addition to being the first blind and visually impaired person in Maldives to complete the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level (O level) examinations, Fathimath Ibrahim is the first Maldivian half marathon blind runner. Fathimath Ibrahim is also the founder of Thaana Mallow application. Thaana Mallow allows blind and visually impaired people to access online content written in Dhivehi language (Maldivian language).

Aminath Nashmy Fazeel

Aminath Nashmy Fazeel, representing Ministry of Economic Development

Aminath Nashmy Fazeel currently serves as Director at Ministry of Economic Development. Earlier positions were as Human Resource Development Manager at Elections Commission of Maldives and Director at Ministry of Gender and Family. Nashmy holds a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Business Management.  As the Director at Ministry of Economic Development, she heads the Job Centre Section which is a key government initiative to facilitate engagement of Maldivians in the labour market. In her role as the Human Resource Development Manager at the Elections Commission of Maldives, she headed the Human Resource Section of the Commission during the Presidential Election 2018, the Parliamentary Election 2019 and the Local Council Election and Women Development Committee 2020. Nashmy managed the recruitment process of 15, 000 staff for these operations.

Fathimath Zainy Shaafiu

Fathimath Zainy Shaafiu, representing youth population (female)

A dedicated relationship executive at Bank of Maldives who liaises with different SMEs, Zainy works closely with businesses to advise them on their financing requirements. Along with this, she also has experience teaching, and has started a personal finance blog called Rufiyaa Republic and more recently an initiative called Hiley - the free marketplace. While on the surface they may seem unrelated, the core of her work remains the same - educating and helping people make the best decisions for themselves. She now looks forward to getting as much experience as possible and making a significant contribution to societal development in Maldives.