Ameera’s professional experience has been divided across three sectors: nonprofit, private and public. Her experience includes working on Wall Street, at Columbia University, the United Nations, family business as well as the Abu Dhabi Government. Together with her international network, she is able to draw connections and build synergies across multiple projects, countries and organizations.

On the social entrepreneurial side, in 2009, she founded WEYAKUM, the first social enterprise in the United Arab Emirates. Meaning ‘with you’ in Arabic, Weyakum is a nonprofit social enterprise that equips United Arab Emirates (UAE) youth  (18-32) with the skills necessary to realize their educational and professional aspirations. Weyakum’s impact was recognized by the United Nations in April 2017.

In 2018, she founded another nonprofit social enterprise, the UAE’s first thrift store. LAHUM promotes sustainability by keeping textile out of landfills and uses 100% of the profits from the sales of gently used clothes, shoes and bags to pay for the tuition fees of underprivileged children in the UAE regardless of race, religion or nationality. It was built out of used shipping containers and designed with up-cycled materials to promote circular economy. It is at the forefront of the “Scale 360” declaration by the World Economic. In just a year of operations, Lahum sold over 3,500 used clothes. This translates to 2.5 million gallons of water saved and 28,000kgs of CO2 emissions reduced – the actual negative impact from producing new clothes. Proceeds led to 13 scholarships awarded. In Arabic, Lahum means ‘for them’, as in ‘for the children’.

Through her social enterprises, Ameera conducts economic research and proposes policy options and interventions that positively impact education and employment opportunities for youth from marginalized communities. She is an avid supporter of equal access to education for all, tech4good, inclusive growth and peaceful co-existence, as she believes it is the pathway to economic prosperity for all. She serves on a number of for profit and nonprofit boards, locally and internationally.

Ameera holds a Masters in International Affairs with a concentration in Sustainable Economic Development from Columbia University in the City of New York. She founded the Columbia Alumni Association of the UAE, served as the first President, established a board of directors, and led the Club’s growth to over 300 alumni members. She is also the UAE Ambassador of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia. In 2017, both recognized her contributions. Ameera is a member of the Undergraduate Admissions Committee at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia University.