Experts

Dissa Syakina Ahdanisa is a Program Officer in the Peacebuilding Program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF). Her work focuses on designing inclusive economic systems that support the economic participation of marginalized groups — including women, persons with disabilities, and ex-combatants — in post-disaster and post-conflict contexts across Southeast Asia. She leads the "Co-Creating Impact Through Inclusive Economic Activities" project, operating across Indonesia (Central Sulawesi) and the Philippines.

At SPF, she has contributed to institutionalizing inclusive economy approaches through policy co-creation with local governments. Key achievements include supporting the development of Palu City's Disability Action Plan (RAD), which was integrated into the city's official development plan (RKPD 2027), and co-creating the localization of the Philippines' National Social Enterprise Roadmap in three pilot areas, leading to the establishment of Social Enterprise Councils and local SE legislation. Her work bridges field-based practice, policy engagement, and knowledge production — operating as a scholar-practitioner who generates insights from the ground and translates them into research, policy recommendations, and replicable models.

Prior to joining SPF, Dissa founded Fingertalk, a social enterprise in Indonesia that provides employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for Deaf youth through inclusive businesses including a café, handicraft workshop, and bakery. This hands-on experience as a social entrepreneur working with persons with disabilities directly informs her current approach to inclusive economic development. In 2019, she was selected as an Obama Foundation Leader in Asia Pacific.

Dissa holds a Ph.D. in Asia Pacific Studies from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (2022), where her dissertation examined the effect of international human rights treaties on the fulfillment of rights for persons with disabilities in Indonesia. She also holds a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.

• Speaker, "From Recovery to Resilience: Co-Creating Inclusive Economies with Deaf Communities," Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity, University of Hawaiʻi (May 2026)
• Speaker, "Social Enterprise, Social Solidarity Economy, and Impact Measurement," Philippines National Social Enterprise Roadmap Conference (November 2025)
• Moderator, "Disability and Inclusive Entrepreneurship," Asia Philanthropy Congress (December 2025)
• Moderator, "Inclusive Economy in Post-Disaster Palu," Philippines National Social Enterprise Roadmap Conference (November 2024)
• Speaker, "Women Empowerment, Social Inclusion and Social Solidarity Economy: Learning from the Post-Tsunami Palu," 9th CIRIEC International Research Conference on Social Economy, Seoul (July 2023)
• Moderator, "Gender and Social Entrepreneurship," Philippines National Social Enterprise Roadmap Conference (November 2023)

• Guest Lecturer, "Work-Integration Social Enterprise in Practice — The Fingertalk Model," University of the Philippines Los Baños — SDS 241 (Social Enterprises for Development), Master of Social Development and Sustainability (February 2026)
• Guest Lecturer, "Social Innovations in Practice — SPF's Approach," University of the Philippines Los Baños — SDS 202 (Social Innovations), Master of Social Development and Sustainability (September 2025)
• Guest Lecturer, "Pekan Inklusivitas dan Multikulturalisme: Belajar Inisiatif Inklusif dari Pegiat Difabel," Centre for Interfaith and Multicultural Studies (CIMS), Universitas Satya Terra Bhinneka (2024)

• McKinsey Forward Program (2025)
• Sojitz Foundation Scholarship (2020–2022)
• Obama Foundation Leader, Asia Pacific (2019): Selected among 200 leaders for contributions to social impact
• Asahi Shimbun SDGs ACTION! Awards 2019 — Grand Prix Winner: "Plushindo" project empowering Deaf youth in Indonesia
• Asia–New Zealand YBLI Social Entrepreneurship Cohort (2017): One of 8 Southeast Asian entrepreneurs selected
• Ashoka ChangemakerXchange Philippines (2017)
• U.S. Department of State — YSEALI Professional Fellowship, Economic Empowerment Cohort (2016)
• MEXT Global Business Leadership Scholarship (Undergraduate)