Asia After Five — India’s economic outlook in 2025: prospects and challenges

Join the Asia New Zealand Foundation and Asia Forum for a discussion on India’s economic outlook in 2025 and New Zealand–India relations, featuring Dr. Reuben Abraham, Chief Executive of Artha Global and Honorary Adviser to the Asia New Zealand Foundation, and Raf Manji, non-resident fellow at the Foundation.  

The event will follow our popular Asia After Five format, blending Asia-focused discussions with an evening of networking to deepen your understanding of the region. 

Event Details: 
Date/time: Thursday, 13 March 2025, 5:30pm - 7:00 pm  
Venue: Asia New Zealand Foundation Office, Level 16, Fujitsu Tower, 141 The Terrace, Wellington  
 
This is an open event, so feel free to bring a friend!  

Please RSVP for catering purposes. 

Meet our Experts

Dr Reuben Abraham

Dr Reuben Abraham is the CEO of Artha Global, a policy consulting organisation that supports governments in the developing world to design, implement and institutionalise policy frameworks that promote prosperity, stability and resilience. Dr Abraham’s expertise lies in understanding the underlying processes of economic development, with a specific focus on state and institutional capacity, the political economy of implementation, and on well-managed urbanisation as a key cause/consequence of economic growth and development. He focuses on bridging the gaps between the intent and the execution of policy. Dr Abraham is a well-regarded expert on India’s economy, especially the underlying political economy. He advocates for the use of interdisciplinary approaches to solve wicked, real-world problems.  

Dr Abraham is a Senior Fellow at New York University’s Marron Institute, a member of the Government of the United Arab Emirates’ International Advisory Board for the New Economy, an Asia Fellow at the Milken Institute in Singapore, a Senior Advisor to Swiss Re in Zurich, and an Honorary Advisor to the Asia New Zealand Foundation. He is the former CEO of IDFC Institute, a Mumbai-based think/do tank that he also founded. His other past roles include Professor and Executive Director at the Centre for Emerging Markets Solutions, initially set up in partnership with Cornell University, at the top-ranked Indian School of Business in Hyderabad; Vice Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Emerging Market Multinationals; and Independent Director at the Soros Economic Development Fund. 

Raf Manji

Raf Manji has a background in governance, risk and strategy. Most recently, he led The Opportunities Party into the 2023 General Election. Prior to that, he served two terms as a Christchurch City Councillor, where he was Chair of the Finance Committee. He also acted as an Independent Advisor to the Christchurch Foundation on the distribution of donated funds and support to the victims of the 15th March Terror Attack. He was a director of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd and a member of the Local Government working groups on Funding, Risk and Localism and the Central Government Working Group on Trade for All.  

Raf spent 11 years trading global markets and providing high-level macro-economic advice for investment banks in London from 1989-2000. He left banking to work for an environmental start-up, Trucost, which became a pioneering company focused on measuring and accounting for the environmental costs of business. In 2002, he moved to New Zealand and has since been actively involved in governance, strategy and social enterprise. He has worked with the Asia New Zealand Foundation, the Christchurch Foundation, the Volunteer Army Foundation, Refugee Resettlement Services, Christchurch Budget Services, Pillars and the Christchurch Arts Festival as both a volunteer and board member. He has a degree in Economics and Social Studies from the University of Manchester and a Graduate Diploma in Political Science and a master's in international law and politics from the University of Canterbury. He is currently a non-resident fellow of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.