# Aga Khan Development Network ## Basic Info **Name:** Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) **What is it:** One of the world's largest private, non-denominational development networks — a group of agencies working across health, education, culture, rural development, economic development, and institution-building in over 30 countries, primarily in South and Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. . **Location:** Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Seat of the Ismaili Imamat is in Lisbon, Portugal. **Link:** https://the.akdn **Who is involved:** Founded by Prince Karim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV (1936–2025), the 49th hereditary Imam of the Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims, who led the network for nearly six decades. Following his death on 4 February 2025 in Lisbon, his eldest son Prince Rahim al-Hussaini assumed leadership as Aga Khan V, the 50th Imam, and now chairs the network. Prince Rahim (b. 1971, Brown University, IESE Business School) had previously chaired AKDN's Environment and Climate Committee. His siblings Princess Zahra and Prince Hussain are also active in the network. --- ## Entries ### Institutional architecture AKDN is not a single organization but a constellation of nine agencies operating in concert: - Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) — the core grantmaking arm; - Aga Khan University (AKU) — research university with campuses in Pakistan, East Africa, and the UK; - University of Central Asia (UCA) — serving mountain communities in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan; - Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) — pre-primary through secondary education; - Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) — hospitals and clinics serving 14+ million patients/year; - Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) — for-profit arm including tourism, media, industrial promotion, aviation, and financial services; - Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) — reaching 50+ million people; - Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) — historic cities, museums, architecture prize; and - Aga Khan Planning and Building Services. ### philanthropy + enterprise Unusually, AKDN combines non-profit agencies with for-profit enterprises under a single umbrella. AKFED operates companies (power generation, banking, media, tourism, agriculture processing) that are designed to demonstrate that private enterprise can thrive in and benefit developing regions. Profits are reinvested into development. This makes AKDN quite different from conventional philanthropic initiatives. For example: - The Bujagali hydroelectric dam in Uganda (USD 900 million, producing a third of the country's electricity) - The Nation Media Group in East Africa (of the continent's largest media houses) ### Ismaili community The [[Nizari Ismaili Muslims]] number approximately 12–15 million globally across 35+ countries. The Aga Khan's role combines spiritual authority (interpreting the faith for contemporary times) with temporal responsibility (institutional development).