Shamnaaz B. Sufrauj is an international consultant at the African Trade & Policy Centre of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa where she works on regional integration in Africa and is improving the methodology of the Africa regional integration index; she also leads on the African continental free trade area (AfCFTA) national strategies for small island states. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Trento, an MBA from the Université de Poitiers and a bachelor’s in economics from Bangalore University. She held teaching and research positions at the University of Trento and the Cà Foscari University Venice among others. She is well-versed in the fields of international trade, small island economies, labour and regional economics, and uses econometric tools as well as specialist tools such as network analysis among others. She has practical work experience as a business consultant supporting SMEs development and as a training and development coordinator managing nation-wide projects in agriculture and tourism. She is fluent in English, French and Italian.