Dr. Sajitha Bashir was Adviser in the Office of the Global Director of the Education Practice in the World Bank, until recently, where she led the work on digital skills as part of the Digital Economy initiatives of the World Bank. She also led the research team working on using technology for accelerating human capital outcomes in South Asia, which led to the World Bank’s regional publication, The Converging Technology Revolution and Human Capital – Potential and Implications for South Asia. Formerly, she was Education Practice Manager responsible for 24 countries in Africa with a portfolio over USD 2 billion covering projects from early childhood education to higher education. She pioneered the World Bank’s support for science and technology in Africa. Her initiatives include financing the Africa Centres of Excellence regional project and establishing the first pan-African science fund, with contributions from African governments, the World Bank, donors and private sector (the PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund). She is the co-author of Facing Forward: Schooling for Learning in Africa, a flagship study of the World Bank on the quality of basic education in Africa. She has worked on Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East and holds a Ph.D in economics from the London School of Economics.