Zainab Kapadia
Founder & CEO | Chief Entrepologist 

Zainab Kapadia is an award-winning anthropologist, Fulbright-USAID scholar, and internationally respected Enterprise Development Master Trainer, Instructional Designer, and Entrepreneurship Strategist. She is the Founder and CEO of Entrepology Studio, a Washington State-based consulting and training firm dedicated to advancing inclusive entrepreneurship, youth enterprise education, and community-based economic development.

With over 20 years of global experience, spanning 100+ high impact enterprise development initiatives across Asia, Middle East and Africa, Zainab has designed, implemented, and evaluated programs that have empowered over 75,000 learners and entrepreneurs, including K-12 students, youth, women, persons with disabilities, farmers, refugees and home-based workers.  Zainab is particularly committed to equity-centered entrepreneurship, ensuring access to opportunity for women, youth, immigrants, and those historically excluded from mainstream economic systems. Her approach is grounded in systems thinking, human-centered learning, and a deep belief in the transformative power of enterprise.

Zainab’s body of work includes collaborations with UNIDO, FAO, USAID, The Asia Foundation, Aga Khan Development Network, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, and numerous national and local organizations. Her key contributions include:

• Leading enterprise development initiatives that trained 15,000+ women and youth through national programs like the Benazir Income Support Program.
• Designing financial literacy programs for non-literate and school-aged learners, reaching over 45,000 participants.
• Facilitating the formation and development of 340+ farmer enterprise groups, complete with training in organizational development, value chains, and market linkages.
• Creating and implementing youth-focused enterprise and life-skills training programs for tens of thousands of adolescents, including 22,000+ schoolgirls in public schools in South Punjab.

Before founding Entrepology Studio, Zainab held key roles including:

• General Program Manager at ECI, where she designed and led over 42 enterprise development programs and managed large-scale cascade trainings reaching 300,000+ people across 8,000+ events.
• Regional Lead for Sustainable Business Development at Enclude (Palladium Group), where shehelped develope business support services for 400 growth-stage women entrepreneurs, and built capacity within Chambers of Commerce and Business Associations.
• Technical Consultant for clients including The World Bank, UNDP, and The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors, where she conducted policy research, built capacity, and developed training programs on entrepreneurship, climate-smart reporting, and third-party monitoring in fragile states.

Zainab’s academic credentials include a Master of Arts in Anthropology from Columbia University, where she received the Annual MA Thesis Prize, and a Bachelor of Science [Honors] in Social Sciences from LUMS. She speaks five languages, enabling her to lead cross-cultural projects with ease, and brings digital fluency in tools such as Canvas LMS, Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Clipchamp, and project management platforms like Asana and MS Project.

At Entrepology Studio, Zainab continues to build bridges between global best practices and local innovation - helping communities in Washington State and beyond turn entrepreneurial potential into tangible, sustainable impact. Zainab's work is fueled by the belief that entrepreneurship is more than business, it's a vehicle for self-discovery, problem-solving, and social change. Entrepology Studio blends that philosophy with rigorous instructional design and real-world relevance, helping students see themselves as leaders, innovators, and builders of their own futures.