Lejla Sadiku currently works at UNDP as a Strategy and Partnerships Specialist for Europe and Central Asia. In her previous role, she served as Team Leader for Strategic Innovation in the region, where she designed and led regional incubation programmes (BOOST, Tadamon), developed partnerships with technology companies, and advanced systems transformation approaches to local development bringing together government, the private sector, and civil society, within EU funded Mayors for Economic Growth, and the City Experiment Fund.
For over a decade, she has been testing and scaling new approaches, leveraging emerging data and technologies to address development challenges, foster smarter and more transparent governance, and strengthen civic engagement. Prior to joining UNDP, Lejla worked with Norwegian development cooperation and the World Bank on human development. She is based in Brussels.