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Speaker

Siddhartha Raja is a Senior Specialist in the Digital & AI Vice Presidency of the World Bank Group, where he works at the intersection of digital policy, institutional reform, and investment. His work focuses on designing policies and programs that connect people, firms, and governments to information and opportunity through digital networks, platforms, and public services. He holds a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications engineering from the University of Bombay, a master’s degree in infrastructure policy studies from Stanford University, has studied media law and policy at the University of Oxford, and earned a doctorate in telecommunications policy from the University of Illinois. 

Siddhartha has worked extensively across Europe, Asia, and Africa, supporting reforms and investments in international connectivity, rural broadband deployment, digital skills development, job creation in the digital economy, and the transformation of public service delivery. He brings a strong political-economy and implementation lens to digital reform, bridging policy design with on-the-ground execution. Based in Pretoria, South Africa, Dr. Raja currently coordinates policy reforms and investment programs that advance digital development and promote cross-sector digitalization across Southern Africa.