Prof. Ahmed was the Manager of Research and Development, at the Islamic Banking Development Group, The National Commercial Bank (NCB), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also worked at the Islamic Research & Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank Group, Saudi Arabia, and taught at the University of Connecticut, USA, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Bahrain. He has been a member of the Capital Adequacy Working Group of the Islamic.

Financial Services Board (IFSB) which is responsible for, among others, setting standards and guidelines for Islamic banks and financial institutions. His research appears in various journals including Venture Capital, Journal of Banking Regulation, Global Finance Journal, Arab Law Quarterly, and Thunderbird International Business Review.