Karishma Banga is an Economist with a focus on international trade, digitalisation and development. She works as a Research Fellow in the Digital and Technology Cluster at IDS.

Karishma’s ongoing research examines upgrading in Global Value Chains (GVCs), digitalisation and labour markets and digital trade negotiations, with a focus on development implications, particularly for African and Asian economies. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at the International Economic Development Group, ODI, London and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration, Graduate Institute of Geneva. She has led and collaborated on a range of projects with international and multilateral organisations like UNECA, Commonwealth Secretariat, UNCTAD, Afreximbank, African Union and the WTO, and has experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders, including high-level policymakers, industry associations, civil society and media. Karishma has held Graduate Teaching roles at the University of Manchester and supervised dissertations on trade, digital development and economic growth.

Karishma specializes in providing policy-relevant research based on quantitative modelling and analysis, and also has extensive experience in designing and conducting large-scale surveys and interviews. She holds a PhD in Global Value Chains and upgrading in the Indian economy from the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester and a MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge.