Mehdi Akbary is a humanitarian, speaker, and founder of OWDA (Organization for Work and Development of Afghanistan), a non-profit organization based in Bamyan, Afghanistan. Through his work, he is dedicated to supporting the most vulnerable children by providing access to quality education and creating opportunities for them to build a better future. His mission is to expand access to schooling across Afghanistan and ensure that every child has the chance to claim their fundamental right to education.

As a speaker, Mehdi delivers talks at social events, universities, and workshops, helping individuals—especially youth—recognize their potential and take practical steps toward overcoming personal, social, and environmental challenges.

Before focusing fully on humanitarian work, Mehdi owned a business advisory firm in Canada, where he worked with multimillion-dollar companies on sales growth, management restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and company valuation.

He is also the author of Breaking Free and 5 Laws of Inner Change. Drawing from his life experiences, Mehdi teaches that lasting transformation begins from within. His work centers on helping people create meaningful inner change—because, as he believes, no lasting change is possible without first transforming the inner world.