ABOUT US

RUMI Consultancy is a Kabul-based media and communications firm. Since launching in 2011, Rumi has grown to be the Afghan market leader in creativity and professionalism. We help clients achieve their business goals and reach their full potential by developing multimedia products, designing communications strategies, and conducting evidence-based research. Rumi pursues projects selectively and in line with our values, uplifting and enriching Afghan society. Like our namesake, the thirteenth-century Afghan poet Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, we're passionate about reaching our audience with substantive messages in beautiful forms.

WHAT WE VALUE

Rumi is values-driven. We work and live by our core values: to pursue excellence, to inspire, and to work towards a better world.

RUMI SINCE ITS INCEPTION

Rumi was originally created to combat misinformation and misrepresentations of Afghanistan, both internationally and at home. As Afghan professionals who are communicators and creatives at heart, we believe we need to be shaping the narrative. We tell stories that are nuanced, research-based, and grounded in local realities—stories to intrigue, inspire, and drive change. Our work has taken us to all 34 provinces, yielding rare glimpses into Afghanistan's diverse subcultures and ways of life. Our clients prize our deep cultural awareness, high standards, and consistent social ethic. Through our business and charitable endeavors, we set trends in the industry and work for Afghanistan's future.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

We promote an inclusive, motivating, and positive work environment. Our team members are young and highly creative, and Rumi strives to create a space that nurtures these qualities.

Diversity

We hire from diverse sections of society and prize gender inclusivity. Women serve in senior leadership positions in Rumi, from consultants to project managers, and we carefully represent Afghanistan's ethnic and gender diversity in our media—one of the many reasons our clients are proud to work with us.

EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

During our employees' time at Rumi, we invest in their growth personally—by fostering socially conscious citizens of the world—and professionally, through our mentorship, training, and career-building programs.

SECURITY

Given Afghanistan's unpredictability, Rumi takes serious measures to ensure its employees' safety. Our Kabul headquarters are well-equipped with modern security technology, 24-hour surveillance, and trained security personnel. We constantly monitor the local security situation and update our staff so they can plan their movements safely.

OUR TEAM

  • Suleiman Amanzad

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

    Suleiman Amanzad is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Rumi Consultancy. Suleiman has almost a decade of media and communications experience supplemented with a management degree from the American University of Afghanistan. Suleiman has managed projects with multi-national and national clients including the World Bank, USAID, Afghanistan's Presidential Palace and much more. Suleiman is also a documentary Filmmaker. His documentary depicting his life journey during the war and beyond The Light in the Cave was screened in international film festivals including the Open City London Film Festival, Bayside Australia Film Festival, and ATUMN Human Rights Film Festival. Suleiman is a recipient of the AMENDS Fellowship in 2014 and a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange Study program participant in 2009.

  • Dr.Omar Sharifi

    Part-Time Senior Consultant

    A renowned international expert in the field of history and cultural anthropology of Afghanistan, Dr.Sharifi is associated with Rumi in the capacity of part time Senior Consultant. His profile entails advising on social and cultural behaviour of Afghans and their determinants for seamless implementation of the projects. Currently, Dr. Sharifi works as an Assistant Professor at the American University of Afghanistan. He is a licensed doctor and an alumnus of Kabul Medical University. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2006 and obtained his Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University. He was also awarded Rumsfeld Fellowship and studied Foreign Policy of the United States at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. Dr.Sharifi was awarded with PhD in 2018 on Cultural Anthropology from the Department of Anthropology, Boston University.
    Professionally, Dr.Sharifi has served as the Director of American Institute for Afghanistan Studies, a Kabul-based research center. He has been associated with various organizations in senior advisory capacities including UNICEF Afghanistan, Open Media Fund for Afghanistan (OMFA), Civil Society Development Center (CSDC), Foundation for Culture and Civil Society, and Afghan Alumni Association. Dr. Sharifi is an Asia Society Fellow and a member of Afghan 21 Young Leaders Forum. He has authored many opinion pieces on various issues in Afghanistan, published in the leading international outlets like the Foreign Policy Magazine, the Atlantic Council, and Huffington Post.

  • Anushree Ghisad

    Senior Research Fellow

    Anushree Ghisad currently works as a Research Fellow at Rumi Consultancy, Kabul since October 2018. Her area of focus includes- countering violent extremism, radicalisation, communication strategy of the violent extremist groups and other relevant field based studies. Some of her works as a lead researcher cum author include an USIP project named 'Social Media and Violent Extremism', ARC's 'Community Based Eco-DRR' project, and Rumi's in-house research on 'Communication Challenges in Peace Talks'.
    A Chemical Engineer by qualification, Ms Ghisad completed masters from the Department of War Studies, King's College, London. She is also an alumnus of 27th National Security Law Institute, University of Virginia, USA.

  • Aimee Tat

    Project Manager

    Aimee Tat joined the Rumi Consultancy team in July 2018. She was drawn to Afghanistan after completing a Master's Degree in International Security at King's College London where she graduated with honors. She previously earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from DePauw University in the United States. Her career in international development extends more than 6 years during which she has worked with both private and public sector partners.

  • Bilal Sarwary

    Senior Consultant

    Mr.Bilal Sarwary is an Afghan journalist of international repute with over two decades of experience in the Afghan media landscape as a fixer, reporter and producer. He has worked with Abu Dhabi TV, BBC online, BBC Radio World Services, ABC News. Being an avid social media user, Mr.Sawrary is also known to have contributed massively in promoting Afghanistan on Twitter and Facebook. As an effort to play a part in showcasing Afghanistan's raw and natural beauty of rural and landscape, he runs the “Afghanistan You Never See Before” page on Twitter and Facebook. As a result, his name appeared in the Foreign Policy's 100 Twitterati list, published in 2011.
    Mr.Sarway graduated from Middlebury College in 2010 as an Independent Scholar majoring in the central linkages between warfare, drugs and terrorism. His thesis was entitled The Farcification of Taliban, and it involved a comparison of Columbia's FARC with the Afghanistan's Taliban insurgency.
    He is fluent in Pashto, Dari Persian, Urdu and English.

  • Assadullah Changezi

    Creative Director

    Mr. Changezi a well-known name in Afghanistan in the arena of creative direction. With an experience of over 18 years in graphic and motion designing and audio and visual editing, he has worked for numerous organizations of repute, namely- Tamadon TV, Etisalat Afghanistan (Senior Graphic Designer), Pixel Entertainment (Senior Motion Designer and Promo Director), Afghanistan Animation House (Part-time Creative Director and Senior Motion Designer), Safi Group (Senior Manager and commercial director) 1TV (Creative Director and Creative Service Manager), and Protouch Advertising (Creative Director and a founding partner). He has worked in the capacity of Creative Director for TV shows such as Money Drop, Raid the Cage, Shabkhand, and Shpageeza Cricket League. Mr.Changezi has constantly updated his knowledge by attending various seminars and workshops by honing skills in 3D multimedia, 3D workflow and communication design.

  • Najeebullah Nasiry

    Media Production Manager

    Najeebullah Nasiry is an established authority in the field of media production with an impressive experience of over 15 years in traditional as well as non-traditional media. He has worked with some of the reputed organization and media houses in Afghanistan- like NAI Media Watch, stations like Arman, Arikozia, Mouje , TV stations like Tolo, Tolo news, Lemar, 1TV Afghanistan, Afghanistan National Television and Ariana International Television. He has also worked in the capacity of Production Specialist and Script Writer with USAID. He has donned multiple hats starting from a show Coordinator to Producer, Editor, Anchor and News Reader. He has been leading Rumi's media production department and has overseen important projects for clients including The World Bank, USIP, TetraTech, AMANAT among others. As a seasoned media personnel, Mr.Nasiry has also been a Media Advisor and a member of the Creative Board at RTA, Afghanistan's National Radio and Television). He is a graduate of Kabul University in Pashto literature, with proficiency in Dari Persian and English.

  • Mustafa Hussaini

    Social Media Expert

    Mustafa Hussaini works in the capacity of Social Media Expert at Rumi. An avid expert in digital communication, Mr. Hussaini started venturing into this domain from his high school days where he managed several civic engagement groups and social media pages with thousands of followers. His passion for engaging with young Afghans from the nook and corner of the country continued during his university life where he was the Founder and President of AUAF Journal- the American University of Afghanistan's first printed student publication. He has the experience of managing social media platforms for Arian News, Afghanistan New Generation Organization, Kabul Insider, Rumi Media Solutions and Afghanistan Peace and Conflict Studies Group. At Rumi, Mr. Hussaini has managed numerous social media campaigns and platforms including 60 Second Film Festival, AMANAT- Investigative Journalism for Public Transparency, Afghanssmile and the Guardians of hope.

  • Fawad Hamed

    Senior Video Editor

    Mr.Hamed possesses an extensive experience of 12 years in the field of video editing and graphic designing. Previously, he has worked as Chief Editor in Aina Afghan Media Centre and Awaz Production, Video editor of Al Jazeera English and as a Graphic Designer in Guru Production. As a freelancer, he is credited with tens of graphic designing and editing projects, and some of his impressive clientele are the World Bank, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Kabul Municipality, BBC Persian, USIP, TetraTech and Save the Children. Mr.Hamed holds Bachelor of Law degree from University of Kardan.

  • Tawfiq Karimi

    Motion Graphic Artist

    Mr.Karimi is an accomplished Motion Graphic artist. At Rumi, his work profile entails developing artwork for banners, brochures, websites, infographics, GIFs, and social media covers. In a career spanning over ten years, Mr.Karimi has worked as a graphic designer, photographer and filmmaker while undertaking some prestigious projects like USAID project for the Afghan Presidential Palace for disseminating government’s efforts on women empowerment, state of economy, and changing security situation in Afghanistan, Result Documentation World Bank project, Peace Mobilization Through Film USIP project, PROMOTE Project Forward Together Scholarships, Afghan Smile and Guardians of Hope social media campaigns. Prior to joining Rumi Consultancy, he has worked with Afghanistan Moby Group and Afghanistan New Generation Organization (ANGO). He is also the co-founder of HyperMedia in Kabul.

  • Yasser Osmani

    IT Expert

    An IT Expert associated with Rumi since past six years. Mr.Osmani brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience in the domain of cyber solutions and web development by providing cyber technical support to our clients. He has led and developed some of the most innovative and highly complex web-based projects for Rumi's national and international clients, like a website for UNESCO's Cultural Development and Afghan Journalists Safety Committee's Data Mapping and Access to Information web portals, to name a few. Mr.Osmani is uniquely talented in putting sophisticated design concepts into user-friendly web experiences. He is decorated Computer Engineer from one of the premier institutions in the region- Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India.