About the Aga Khan Development Network

The Aga Khan Foundation is one of nine agencies comprising the Aga Khan Development Network. The AKDN uses a multifaceted approach to improve the quality of life for the most marginalised communities in selected regions of the world, including South and Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. It implements sustainable, long-term programmes to address the many factors contributing to poverty.

In partnership with governments, businesses and civil society organisations, the Network embeds physical and social infrastructure, health and education services, business and finance facilities, habitat and environmental planning, and cultural preservation and revitalisation within the communities it serves.

Over time, people develop their own resources and capacities and, ultimately, self-reliance, notably through the creation of a vibrant and competent civil society – the cornerstone of any healthy and prosperous nation.

Singular inputs alone will not do the job. But if we can work simultaneously and synergistically on several fronts, then progress in one area will spur progress in other areas. The whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.
His Highness Aga Khan IV – Founder of AKDN

Pluralism – the embrace of difference – is central to AKDN’s work. Guided by the belief that in an ever-shrinking, ever more diverse world, a genuine sense of pluralism is the indispensable foundation for human peace and progress, the Network aims to improve living conditions and opportunities for people regardless of their faith, race, ethnicity, or gender.

Each year, agencies of the AKDN:

Deliver 8 million outpatient visits through more than 700 health facilities
Provide early childhood development to over 2.3 million preschool children
Teach nearly 1 million students through 200 schools and 2 universities
Provide safe water to over 770,000 people
Generate 1.8 billion kWh of clean electricity
Provide financial services to over 50 million people
Train thousands of community volunteers in disaster management & response
Plant over 3.2 million trees

Explore the AKDN agencies

Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Humayan’s Tomb, restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in Delhi, India. AKTC demonstrates how investing in culture can foster physical, social and economic development. It includes the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, the Aga Khan Music Programme and the Aga Khan Music Award, the AKTC Education Programme and the Aga Khan Museum.

Photo: Christopher Wilton-Steer / AKF

Aga Khan Health Services

An Aga Khan Medical Centre in Khorog, Tajikistan. Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) is one of three AKDN agencies that support activities in health, alongside AKF and the Aga Khan University. Together, they provide quality health care to 14 million people annually and work closely on planning, training and resource development. AKHS also works with the Aga Khan Education Services and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat on the integration of health issues into partnered projects.

Photo: Christopher Wilton-Steer / AKF

Aga Khan Agency for Habitat

Community volunteers trained in disaster response by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) in Chitral, Pakistan. AKAH strengthens communities’ ability to prepare for natural disasters and adapt to climate change. AKAH aims to create safe, sustainable and resilient environments for people in remote villages, towns and growing cities.

Photo: AKAH

Aga Khan Schools

Students at the Aga Khan School in Osh, Kyrgyz Republic. The Aga Khan Schools (AKS) provide high-quality education to more than 110,000 students each year in 12 countries, helping them develop into leaders who positively impact their communities. Comprising the Aga Khan Education Services and the Aga Khan Academies, it is one of the largest private, not-for-profit school networks in the world. Most of its schools are located in rural and remote communities, where access to quality education is limited.

Photo: Christopher Wilton-Steer / AKF

University of Central Asia

The University of Central Asia (UCA) campus in Khorog, Tajikistan. UCA was founded to promote the social and economic development of Central Asia, particularly its mountain communities. It offers an internationally recognised standard of higher education and enables the peoples of the region to preserve their rich cultural heritage as assets for the future.

Photo: Christopher Wilton-Steer / AKF

Aga Khan University

Nursing training at the Aga Khan University (AKU) School of Nursing and Midwifery campus in Nairobi, Kenya. AKU is a private, not-for-profit research university with campuses and programmes in Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom. Founded in Karachi in 1983, AKU has awarded more than 21,000 degrees and diplomas, two-thirds of them to women. Its programmes prepare graduates to lead change in their societies and to increase understanding and respect in a pluralistic world. His Highness the Aga Khan is Chancellor; Princess Zahra Aga Khan serves as Pro-Chancellor.

Photo: Christopher Wilton-Steer / AKF

Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance

The Premiere Agence de Microfinance branch in Boundiali, Côte d’Ivoire. For more than 60 years, AKDN agencies have offered microfinance services through integrated development programmes and self-standing institutions. In 2005, these programmes were brought together under the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM), a non-profit foundation that operates microfinance institutions in countries across Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Photo: Christopher Wilton-Steer / AKF

Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development

Processing produce at Frigoken in Kenya, a company of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and AKF. AKFED is an international development agency dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and building economically sound enterprises in the developing world. AKFED often works in parts of the world that lack sufficient foreign direct investment. It operates as a network of affiliates in Central and South Asia and Africa, with more than 70 separate project companies employing over 60,000 people.

Photo: AKDN

Aga Khan Foundation

A women’s group supported by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in Mozambique. AKF is an agency of AKDN working to address the root causes of poverty. For more than 50 years, AKF has helped create strong community institutions that support sustainable, locally-driven initiatives to improve the lives of millions of people. AKF works across agriculture, civil society, climate resilience, early childhood development, education, health and nutrition, and work and enterprise to improve quality of life.

Photo: Rich Townsed / AKF

Learn more about the AKDN