Aga Khan Development Network  The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, which work primarily in the poorest parts of Asia and Africa. Aga Khan IV succeeded to the office of the 49th hereditary Imam as spiritual and administrative leader of the Shia faith rooted Nizari Ismaili Muslim supranational union in 1957. Ismailis consist of an estimated 25-30 million adherents (about 20% of the world's Shia Muslim population). The network focuses on health, education, culture, rural development, institution building and the promotion of economic development. The AKDN aims to improve living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or gender. Its annual budget for not-for-profit activities is approximately US $ 950 million – mainly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The AKDN works in 30 countries around the world, and it employs over 80,000 paid staff, mostly in developing countries. While the agencies are secular, they are guided by Islamic ethics, which bridge faith and society. AKDN agencies work towards the elimination of global poverty; the promotion and implementation of pluralism; the advancement of the status of women; and the honouring of Islamic art and architecture. The following is a list of AKDN agencies:  Collectively they are leading development organisations around the world, focusing on the improving the livelihoods of Ismailis. The Aga Khan’s secular development institutions — such as AKDN and AKRSP — provide services and direction for sustainable development around the world. Other AKDN agencies include Aga Khan Academies, the Aga Khan Foundation, and the University of Central Asia (UCA). The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development with its affiliates, Tourism Promotion Services, Industrial Promotion Services, and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, seek to strengthen the role of the private sector in developing countries by supporting private sector initiatives in the development process. The fund and the foundation also encourage government policies that foster what the Aga Khan first called an enabling environment of favourable legislative and fiscal structures. The agencies' common goal is to help the poor achieve a level of self-reliance whereby they are able to plan their own livelihoods and help those even more needy than themselves. To pursue their mandates, AKDN institutions rely on volunteers as well as remunerated professionals. AKDN focuses on civil society with the Civil Society Programme. A number of organizations are sponsored by the World Bank with the help of partner foundations.