Introducing the 2025–26 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows
June 2026
By Paulette L. Stenzel - Professor Emerita, International Business Law and Sustainability | Advisor to SGDF | Member of the SGDF 501(c)(3) board of directors
Dear Spartan Global Development Students, Board Members, Donors, and other interested people,
This blog is a description of the Hubert H. Humphrey Program with an introduction yto the three Humphrey Fellows for whom I supervised a Professional Affiliation during spring semester 2026. I encourage you to read this first. Then, read the blogs each of them have written about microfinance in their home countries and view the PowerPoint Presentations each of them is sharing on this web page.
Thanks for your interest and continuing support,
Paulette L. Stenzel
Professor Emerita, International Business Law and Sustainability
Advisor to SGDF
Member of the SGDF 501(c)(3) board of directors
Professional Affiliation of Three Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows of 2025–2026 with SGDF
Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at Michigan State University (MSU) is a non-degree program for mid-career professionals from developing and emerging countries. The fellowship is part of the broader Fulbright exchange and is designed to foster public leadership, mutual understanding, and international cooperation.
The Humphrey Fellows are nominated by U.S. Embassies/Fulbright offices overseas based on their leadership potential and commitment to public service. The fellows who arrive at MSU have at least a decade of experience in their respective fields. At Michigan State, the program’s cohort focuses on Economic Development and Banking and Finance, bringing together experts in finance, public policy, and technology to exchange ideas with American counterparts.
Core Objectives
The program is built on three pillars that allow fellows to move beyond traditional academic learning:
Professional Development: Fellows engage in workshops, site visits, and networking with American counterparts and organizations.
Academic Enrichment: While they do not earn a degree, fellows audit courses at MSU to gain the latest theoretical knowledge in their fields.
Community Engagement: Fellows share their expertise with the MSU community and learn about American culture and society.
The Professional Affiliation (PA)
A standout feature of the Humphrey Fellowship is the Professional Affiliation. This is a mandatory six-week work experience with a U.S. organization such as Spartan Global Development Fund (SGDF).
For the Fellow: It provides a hands-on look at how U.S. organizations manage challenges, utilize technology, and implement policy. It allows fellows to apply their global knowledge to American challenges.
For the Host: Organizations such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foundations, agencies, and local businesses benefit from the high-level expertise and unique global perspective of a senior professional. Fellows provide host organizations with high-level consultation and international perspectives.
Collaborating with Spartan Global Development Fund (SGDF)
For the current term, three fellows have focused their professional energy on the Spartan Global Development Fund. SGDF is a student-led non-profit that utilizes microfinance to provide interest-free or low-interest loans to entrepreneurs in developing regions. For the fellows, this was not just a project; it was a strategic alignment of skills.
Rahman Valiyev (Turkmenistan)
The Expertise: As the Chief of Digital Technology at the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, Rahman is a specialist in fintech and digital banking.
The Project: Rahman has been analyzing the digital infrastructure of micro-lending. His focus has been on how SGDF manages its credit risk and risk-free lending.
Home Country Impact: Rahman’s work at SGDF informs his goal of digitizing Turkmenistan’s banking services to global standards, ensuring that financial services are accessible and transparent for all citizens.
Ofarid Amidkhonov (Tajikistan)
The Expertise: He serves as a Development and Implementation Lead at Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), leading the establishment of public–private partnerships (PPPs) with governments across Central and South Asia to advance rural electrification as the core of his work. This electrification effort serves as a foundational enabler of broader economic development. Complementing this, he contributes to social interventions delivered under a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework, including strengthening access to finance—from grassroots community savings groups to microfinance institutions—as well as promoting women’s empowerment, supporting children’s education, and expanding access to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Project: At Spartan Global Development Fund (SGDF), he focuses on assessing the fund’s existing operations and providing targeted recommendations to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and overall impact. He also contributes by showcasing diverse microfinance models—drawing from his experience in Tajikistan and the broader Central Asian region—alongside best practices from Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). These insights are used as practical learning materials to support members of SGDF’s Registered Student Organization (RSO) in strengthening their understanding of microcredit systems and development finance.
Home Country Impact: From his experience at SGDF, he is taking back a refined understanding of the North American student-led philanthropic model—particularly how to cultivate “social consciousness” in future leaders. He also learned how SGDF operates through Kiva, gaining practical insight into how digital micro-lending platforms structure, manage, and scale community-based financing initiatives. In addition, he has developed an understanding of how a lean, interest-free microloan structure can be adapted to complement Corporate Social Responsibility strategies within the broader rural development portfolios of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Hamid Karim (Pakistan)
The Expertise: Mid-career civil servant from Pakistan. He was working as Deputy Secretary at Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. He has around 15 years of public sector experience with the Government of Pakistan. Hamid specializes in international development cooperation. He has also worked as a diplomat and served a diplomatic mission abroad in Indonesia.
The Project: Hamid’s affiliation focuses on studying different funding models including charity-based microfinancing, how non-profits work in the U.S. system, and understanding the operational structure of SGDF. He is helping SGDF develop more robust frameworks to measure the social impact of their loans. He is working on providing SGDF with recommendations to broaden its outreach in terms of number of donors as well as beneficiaries.
Home Country Impact: Hamid is taking back the experience of working with a student-led non-profit in the U.S. system. He understands how a non-profit board and student team combine to create social impact at the grassroots level. He also learnt how crowdfunding platforms like Kiva not only can provide the opportunity to lenders to make risk-free investments but also allow borrowers to take benefit out of it. He got insights into how and why people in the U.S. donate in comparison to the charity model in Pakistan. Overall, the PA experience taught him about philanthropy in the U.S., student leadership, crowdfunding platforms, and global development. Moreover, upon his return to Pakistan, he plans to apply the insights gained from this experience to improve the design and monitoring of development programs and to promote stronger collaboration between government institutions and international development partners. He also intends to share the knowledge gained with colleagues through internal briefings and policy discussions, contributing to institutional capacity building within the Ministry.
A Perspective for Future SGDF Members
The collaboration with Humphrey Fellows is one of the most significant opportunities for the incoming members of the Spartan Global Development Fund. The fellows are not just students but decision-makers who influence national policy in their respective countries. This affiliation is designed to help SGDF think bigger—to see microfinance not as a charity project but as a critical wheel in the machine of global economic stability.
The fellows provide the “real-world” reality check that academic projects often lack. In return, your work gives them a window into the passion and innovation of the next generation of American leaders. This bridge between East Lansing and the home countries of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan is what makes the Spartan Global mission truly global.
