Alma Nurshaikhova, PHD

Dr. Alma Nurshaikhova is an experienced international development professional and public sector specialist with extensive expertise in governance, public financial management, digital transformation and institutional development. She currently serves as a Senior Public Sector Specialist at the World Bank, where she contributes to development programmes aimed at strengthening government institutions, improving public service delivery and advancing digital and economic development.

Since joining the World Bank in 2014, Dr. Nurshaikhova has worked on investment operations, development policy programmes and analytical assignments across Europe and Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and Eastern and Western Africa. Her areas of expertise include public financial management, domestic revenue mobilisation, intergovernmental fiscal relations, decentralisation, strategic planning, government technology and public sector reforms.

Before joining the World Bank, she held several senior positions in Kazakhstan, including Strategy Manager at Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund, Director of Economic Analysis at the Centre for Trade Policy Development and Human Development Coordinator at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These responsibilities provided her with experience in economic policy analysis, institutional strategy and international development cooperation.

At the World Bank, Dr. Nurshaikhova has played a significant role in supporting institutional reforms and government capacity development in Africa. She led the Recurrent Cost and Reform Financing programme in Somalia, a major state-building initiative supporting public financial management, domestic revenue mobilisation, intergovernmental fiscal relations and improved delivery of education and healthcare services.

Her more recent responsibilities include leading the World Bank's digital development portfolio in Nigeria, encompassing the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) Project and Project BRIDGE, which supports the expansion of resilient digital infrastructure. Her work also covers analytical and policy initiatives aimed at strengthening Nigeria's digital economy, government technology systems and institutional capacity for digital transformation.

Dr. Nurshaikhova holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in International Relations from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan, and a Master of Philosophy degree in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. She also undertook professional development in Economic Development at Michigan State University, United States, through the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Programme.

She has contributed to World Bank research and knowledge publications on governance, public finance and service delivery, including work examining institutional development and citizen engagement in Somalia. Dr. Alma Nurshaikhova continues to contribute to international development through her work on governance reforms, digital infrastructure investment and the strengthening of public institutions to support inclusive economic growth.