Baharul Islam worked earlier as an ICT Policy & eGovernment Consultant at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Addis Ababa[10][11][12][13] and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Bangkok.[14] He has been involved in various UN projects in Asia and Africa in countries including Cambodia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, Tanzania and Sierra Leone.