Issa Diro

Issa Diro is a PhD candidate in the Department of Finance and Management at SOAS University of London. His doctoral research, titled Developing Tax Fiscal Capacity in Fragile States: An Analysis of Somalia in Comparative Perspective, examines fiscal federalism, taxation, and public finance in fragile and post-conflict environments in the Global South, with a particular emphasis on East Africa. 

His work explores how taxation shapes state-building, how fiscal institutions form under conditions of fragility, and how governance structures influence revenue performance and long-term development outcomes. His research also engages with Islamic finance in Muslim-majority states, particularly the role of zakat (a mandatory alms-based contribution in Islamic finance) as a potential public revenue instrument and its implications for fiscal legitimacy and state–society relations. 

Alongside his doctoral studies, Issa serves as a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (PTA) at SOAS, supporting the BBI business cohort and finance-related courses within the School of Finance and Management. He also delivers workshops and training sessions for students and institutions both locally and internationally, focusing on project management, research design, and data analysis in public and private sectors, as well as fiscal governance. In addition to his teaching duties, he supports assessment and examination processes at SOAS through assistant and/or chief invigilation roles. 

Issa’s professional experience extends across financial consultancy, policy analysis, and developmental research. He has worked with UK-based organisations such as You Transfer Ltd, Amama Express and beyond, where he contributed to financial operations, compliance monitoring, HR management and systems development. He has also volunteered as a fiscal policy officer with the Central Bank of Somalia and the Ministry of Finance, where he applied his expertise to key areas of domestic revenue mobilisation and public finance management. 

His broader policy engagement includes working with UN-affiliated NGOs and regional development programmes in Kenya and Somalia, particularly on issues related to fiscal governance, regional integration and sustainable development in East Africa. Prior to his doctoral studies, Issa completed an MSc in Public Policy and Management at SOAS University of London and a BSc in Business Information Systems at Middlesex University. His earlier academic (unpublished) work includes research on education policy, human resource management, and organisational diversity in the Middle East and Africa. These studies examined how apartheid and Arabisation have shaped institutional development, governance practices and long-term reform agendas across the region.

Issa’s wider research interests include taxation, political economy, public finance, regional development, project management, business data analytics, and public sector reform, particularly within the context of the Global South. His academic background and professional experience reflect a commitment to fiscal development, governance and institutional resilience 

• Fiscal federalism and intergovernmental fiscal relations
• Taxation, public finance, and domestic revenue mobilisation
• State-building, governance, and institutional resilience in fragile states
• Federalism versus unitary systems in the Global South
• Islamic finance in Muslim-majority contexts, including the role of zakat
• Political economy of fiscal development and public policy
• Comparative fiscal systems in East Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Rwanda)
• Corporate finance and business financial governance
• Project management and organisational development
• Business data analytics and quantitative analysis
• Regional development and economic integration in East Africa

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