Ashif is founder and President of People’s Courage International. Born in India to an excluded community, Asif started his work in 1999 when he was 17-year-old with the dream of empowering socially excluded communities drawing from his own lived experience. He’s since grown the work from five volunteers to a network of thousands, and they have helped millions of migrant workers and their families access safety nets, supported and rehabilitated survivors of sexual abuse, trafficking and forced labour.

Currently Asif is working with People’s Courage International (PCI). PCI is supporting instantiates for safe migration and worker protestation across South and Southeast Asia. With climate change, migration is only set to grow in most of the countries. PCI is focusing on climate adaptation and just transition in the contact of migrant workers and most excluded communities.

He was awarded the Harvard Kennedy School's Gleitsman International Award in 2022, and named Schwab Foundation (World Economic Forum) Social Innovator of the Year in 2020, an Ashoka Fellow in 2016, Times of India Social Impact Award and Star Impact Award by Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States. Asif serves as a member of various committees of the Government and the board of various international not for profit organization.