Najah is an urban economist and strategist working at the intersection of justice, imagination, and economic transformation. Her work begins where all meaningful change does: locally.

Using her resident city of Amsterdam as a living lab, Najah has spent over a decade pioneering new ways to organize economic life at the neighborhood and city level. She has launched cultural initiatives, built community-led movements, and advised public institutions on policies rooted in inclusion, equity, and sustainability. Notably, she pioneered the introduction of Community Health & Wealth Building in Amsterdam—embedding the values of wellbeing, equity, and long-term resilience into the core of local governance.

She is the instigator, co-initiator, and developing partner of the Wellbeing Dashboard—a tool co-created with residents and the University of Amsterdam. The Dashboard empowers communities to define their own wellbeing indicators, set priorities, and lead their own development processes. This work reflects her core belief: growth must be facilitated, not manufactured, and progress must be rooted in the visions, voices, and agency of the people most affected.

At the heart of her practice is a simple, powerful idea: economics must return to its essence—how we distribute finite resources to serve human wellbeing. We must shift from the outdated core assumption that humans are merely rational beings seeking individual and material gain, toward a more evidence-based, holistic understanding: humans are rational, emotional, spiritual, and social beings. And as Najah emphasizes, wellbeing is not an abstract concept. It is built on connection—to ourselves, to one another, and to our natural environment. When these relationships are honored and nourished, we lay the foundation for regenerative systems and truly thriving societies.

At the heart of Najah’s work is a bold truth: there is no democracy without economic democracy. The dominant model assumes scarcity over abundance, competition over collaboration, and extraction over regeneration. Najah challenges these assumptions by building economic frameworks that prioritize and serve long-term ecosystem health—of both people and planet. What we call ‘efficiency’ today is anything but—it ignores the whole and sacrifices the future for short-term financial gain.

Though her work is grounded in local realities, Najah draws global inspiration. She learns from international movements, thinkers, and experiments that demonstrate: a different kind of economy is not only possible—it is already emerging. These global practices affirm her conviction that transformation does not need permission. It needs courage, coordination, and care.

Najah operates like a city acupuncturist—strategically placing knowledge, relationships, and resources to unlock systemic change. Her approach is holistic and deeply human, viewing cities as living ecosystems and economics as a tool meant to serve people—not the other way around.

This journey—from local experimentation to global resonance—has led to the articulation of The Altruist Economy™.

A bold and necessary paradigm shift, The Altruist Economy reimagines the game theory behind our global systems. It recognizes that while humanity has long since solved the problem of survival and surplus, we remain trapped in an economy driven by fear, extraction, and accumulation. The Altruist Economy envisions a transition to a regenerative model grounded in emotional intelligence, collective wellbeing, and a deep respect for interdependence.

It is not just a framework—it is an invitation: to rethink, reimagine, and rebuild a world beyond survival and beyond solidarity. A world where connection and care—not control and consumption—define what it means to thrive.

Welcome to her world. Welcome to The Altruist Economy™.