Mobile for Development
Meet The Team

Max is the Head of Mobile for Development (M4D) at GSMA. M4D is singularly positioned at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector to drive innovation in digital technology to reduce inequalities in our world, enabled by partnerships with forward-thinking donors and a team of 130 passionate professionals. Max joined GSMA in 2012 and held positions within various programmes. He initially helped mobile operators and partners design solutions to ensure women in emerging markets do not get left out of the digital economy as part of the Connected Women programme. He later headed the Ecosystem Accelerator and M4D Utilities programmes which have allocated a combined $22 million in grant funding to 85 ventures in 40+ countries across Africa and Asia; these ventures had since collectively raised $450+ million in additional funding and impacted more than 10 million citizens as of January 2020.

Prior to joining GSMA, Max worked in the Middle East and Africa innovation unit of mobile operator Orange for 3 years, based in Jordan and in France, and as a telecom strategy consultant with Altai Consulting, where he focused on projects in Iraq and Afghanistan. Max holds a Masters in Management from HEC Paris, and a Masters in International Management from ESADE Barcelona, and is one of the Young Leaders of the French-African Foundation, placed under the high patronage of the French and Ghanaian Presidents. Max is passionate about technology and entrepreneurship, and their combined impact on our Planet, our societies and our economies.

Philippe leads the Operations of the different M4D programmes in collaboration with the wider GSMA organisation, GSMA members and partners. He also leads the GSMA Innovation Fund, providing funding to innovators in low and medium-income countries. He joined GSMA in 2012 and held various roles including Project Manager for IP Interconnection and Programme Manager for Mobile Money. Prior to GSMA, Philippe worked 10year in various project management roles within Orange, He managed commercial projects on B2C rich communications services (RCS) and B2B voice and data services. He was also responsible for the modelling of termination costs for Orange France. Philippe has a Master in Business Administration from the University of Warwick and a Master of Science from the University of Bristol.

Ashley joined the GSMA in 2021 as the Head of Financial Inclusion and AgriTech.  Prior to joining GSMA, Ashley had been living and working in East Africa, championing financial inclusion and the development of agrifood systems across sub-Saharan Africa for over 11 years.  During this time, Ashley designed and managed funds, investing in agribusinesses and fintechs across the continent, with Root Capital and Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), to catalyze innovation and growth for wide impact.  Ashley has played key roles in driving and supporting gender lens investing in her work.  She also worked with Mastercard Foundation and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA), managing large multi-million-dollar programmes, partnering and working with a wide array of implementing partners and key stakeholders in the industry.

Ashley holds a BSc in Management and Finance from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (United States) and an MBA from IESE Business School (Spain).

Claire is Head of Digital Inclusion in the Mobile for Development (M4D) team at GSMA. She leads the Connected Women and Connected Society programmes which are focused on accelerating digital inclusion for the underserved in low- and middle-income countries. Connected Women has a specific focus on accelerating digital and financial inclusion for women.

Claire has been working for over 25 years with public, private and international development organisations on social policy and service delivery with a focus on information and communications technology (ICT) policy and practice. She has developed, managed and implemented programmes in Africa, Asia and the UK. Claire holds an MSc in Social Research Methods (2012) and an MSc in Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries (1997) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Kimberly joined the GSMA in July 2020 as the Head of Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation. Before GSMA, she was the Head of Humanitarian Policy at the British Red Cross, where she led the department responsible for policy, advocacy, and research on international humanitarian issues. She acted as adviser to the Chairman on the organisation’s role on the Governing Board and General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Kimberly has worked for several humanitarian organisations, with a focus on building partnerships in multilateral processes and negotiations. She has worked on the Sustainable Development Goals, the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants, the Grand Bargain (World Humanitarian Summit), the Paris Climate Agreement, the Mine Ban Treaty, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Kimberly worked in Asia-Pacific with the IFRC, during the time of the Indian Ocean tsunami, where she carried out advocacy on global disaster preparedness guidelines. She has also focused on humanitarian issues such as children in armed conflict, principled humanitarian action, and protection of civilians.

She holds a BA in Psychology from UBC (Vancouver), a MA in International Development Studies and Political Science from Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok) where her thesis focused on the Myanmar refugee situation in Thailand. In July 2020, she completed an Executive MBA at London Business School. She has been deployed to, and worked across, several humanitarian contexts in Africa, Asia, and the Middle-East.

Akanksha works as Senior Director leading the ClimateTech and Digital Utilities teams.

Akanksha has been with GSMA since 2012 and specialises in the uses of mobile technology for social good. She has previously worked in the research teams GSMA Intelligence and M4D’s Central Insights Unit. Prior to joining the GSMA, Akanksha worked as a Power and Utilities Analyst at GlobalData in India.

Akanksha has an MBA degree from IBS Hyderabad (India) and a BSc. degree in Psychology from Rajasthan University, India.

Philippe leads the Operations of the different M4D programmes in collaboration with the wider GSMA organisation, GSMA members and partners. He also leads the GSMA Innovation Fund, providing funding to innovators in low and medium-income countries. He joined GSMA in 2012 and held various roles including Project Manager for IP Interconnection and Programme Manager for Mobile Money. Prior to GSMA, Philippe worked 10year in various project management roles within Orange, He managed commercial projects on B2C rich communications services (RCS) and B2B voice and data services. He was also responsible for the modelling of termination costs for Orange France. Philippe has a Master in Business Administration from the University of Warwick and a Master of Science from the University of Bristol.

Praveen holds the position of Director of Operations and Innovation Fund

Prior to this, Praveen was the Programme Director for Mobile Money, responsible for the delivery of the programme by working closely with the Mobile Money team, GSMA members and partners.

Praveen joined GSMA in 2019. Prior to GSMA, he managed the acquisitions programme for the UK arm of a large French multinational corporation. He is excited to be given the opportunity to be part of an organisation that uses the powerful & important medium of mobile technology to improve people’s lives.

Praveen holds an MBA from the Warwick Business School in the UK.

Lorraine has been with the GSMA for 12 years. The last 6 with the Mobile for Development (M4D) Team, where she is responsible for leading the programme in GSMA Events and managing funding partner relationships. Prior to M4D her role was as Governance Manager overseeing meeting agendas and logistics together with the structure of the 8 Governance Committees within the Advocacy Team. Prior to joining GSMA, Lorraine worked with Maersk Shipping Line as Business Manager for the UK & Ireland Managing Director. Lorraine has a diploma in Management Skills, Mastering European Regulatory Telecoms and is Prince 2 Project Management (Foundation and Practioner) trained.

Rahul currently serves as the Mobile for Development (M4D) Director for the APAC region, where he manages M4D’s portfolio of programmes that aim to find innovative, commercially sustainable solutions to a variety of socio-economic problems through partnerships between mobile operators, tech innovators, governments and development organisations. Prior to this, Rahul worked in the M4D Utilities team at GSMA where he managed grants and provided advisory services to operators on the opportunity in the energy, water and sanitation sectors.

Rahul has a varied professional background. He spent over a decade in the engineering of wireless communications systems and network planning. Post-MBA, he switched tracks to general management and worked in solar energy and media & entertainment.

Rahul has an MSEE with a major in communications and digital signal processing from the University of Missouri-Rolla and an MBA in general management from IIM-Ahmedabad.

Christelle joined the M4D marketing team in June 2022 and has a central role, working across all programmes.

Before joining the M4D Marketing team, Christelle took on two other roles within the GSMA: in 2019/20, a Senior Marketing Manager role within IoT Marketing team, where she was responsible for implementing the priority Beyond Connectivity campaign, focused on encouraging operators to deliver transformational IoT solutions, and growing the connected skies (Drone) initiative. This role was also geared towards the alignment of IoT solutions to the 17 SDGs. In 2021, Christelle also covered for a senior marketing manager, in GSMA Services.

Before joining the GSMA, Christelle worked in the Telecommunications industry for 15 years, across challenger brands such as Motorola, HTC and Sony Mobile. Outside of Telecoms, she also volunteered and worked for Scope Ltd., a non-profit organisation focused on persons with a disability.

Christelle holds an ‘EGC’ Business School degree, obtained in Reunion island (France), a BA (Hons) in International Trade and Languages and a CIM certification.

On a personal level, Christelle has great passion for sustainability, climate action, Tech for Good and generally initiatives that help make our world a more inclusive and more sustainable place to live in. I Christelle is keen to drive the future of connected technologies in a way that is smart, sustainable, accessible and inclusive.

Ruth joined the GSMA in May 2022 as the Director or Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning. She leads M4D’s MEL strategy and portfolio-wide impact assessment, evidence building, and learning. Prior to joining GSMA Ruth lived and worked in different parts of the world, specialising in pragmatic and adaptive MEL and research across a broad spectrum of themes including systems change, financial inclusion, hostile state information operations, health, and education.

Ruth has an Executive Global Masters in management from the London School of Economics, she has studied in the UK, Italy and the US. She grew up in Manchester and unsurprisingly supports Manchester United.

Julie has extensive UK and international leadership experience in programme and project management. She joined the GSMA in 2017 after spending four years in Afghanistan as the head of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)/Communications for several USAID-funded development programmes. Previously, she gained strong business development and stakeholder management skills working with US- and UK-based international NGOs.

Julie oversees operations across her portfolio of five M4D programmes and the M&E team, and also works closely with Heads of Programmes to support strategy development. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, DC and is MSP certified.

Philippe leads the Operations of the different M4D programmes in collaboration with the wider GSMA organisation, GSMA members and partners. He also leads the GSMA Innovation Fund, providing funding to innovators in low and medium-income countries. He joined GSMA in 2012 and held various roles including Project Manager for IP Interconnection and Programme Manager for Mobile Money. Prior to GSMA, Philippe worked 10year in various project management roles within Orange, He managed commercial projects on B2C rich communications services (RCS) and B2B voice and data services. He was also responsible for the modelling of termination costs for Orange France. Philippe has a Master in Business Administration from the University of Warwick and a Master of Science from the University of Bristol.

Martin is the Senior Market Engagement Director for the Ecosystem Accelerator programme, based out of Nairobi. He is in charge of leading the Market Engagement team who build and develop relationships with mobile operators and start-ups in Africa and South and Southeast Asia, and supports the start-ups the programme funds through its Innovation Fund, and beyond. Before joining GSMA, Martin has worked for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Symantec Corporation, Airtel Africa, and Orange Telkom Kenya among others, and brings a expertise in the ICT/Telecom industry across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Marketing and Business Development, Product Development and Technology Distribution. Martin holds a Degree in International Business Administration from United States International University Nairobi, Kenya, and a Diploma in Technology Distribution from Global Technology Distribution Council, Grenoble France

Wadé is a Director for the GSMA Innovation Fund.

Prior to this, he was the Ecosystem Accelerator Market Engagement Director, responsible for ensuring programme objectives are delivered to time, within cost and scope.

Wadé joined the GSMA in 2011. Prior to joining the Ecosystem Accelerator team, Wade was the project manager responsible for managing the rich communications services (RCS) roadmap and product specifications. Wadé has project managed various product development and User Experience (UX) testing cycles with multiple operators and vendors as part of the Network 2020 programme.

As the Senior Market Engagement Manager for the Mobile for Development Utilities team, Nafeesa supports both innovation fund grantees and mobile operators to leverage commercially sustainable partnerships, infrastructure and synergies that unlock access to energy, sanitation and water services for underserved populations. Nafeesa has worked with mobile operators in diverse emerging markets including Afghanistan, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi. Her experience with both corporate and start-up companies has offered Nafeesa the opportunity to be part of and lead several large scale projects within the areas of in Corporate Strategy, Management Reporting, Business Development and Investor Relations. More recently, Nafeesa was a telecommunications consultant with Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) where she supported due diligence projects for 3 operations in East Africa. Nafeesa hold a Bachelors in Health Sciences degree from Western University in London, Ontario (Canada).

Bilal is a Market Engagement Manager for the Ecosystem Accelerator programme based in Islamabad, Pakistan. He builds and develops relationships with mobile operators and start-ups in South and Southeast Asia. He provides support in recruiting start-ups and then provides consultancy in building their relationships with mobile operators to launch commercially viable products that can also create social impact. His key focus is the Asia Pacific ecosystem. Most recently, Bilal worked with Karandaaz Pakistan where he led digitisation initiatives to increase digital financial inclusion. Prior to Karandaaz, he worked for Easypaisa, where he launched Pakistan’s first ‘Pay as you go’ solar system to provide low cost, high quality renewable energy to off-grid areas. Bilal has also worked at UNDP and the World Bank. Bilal has an MBA from Institute of Business Management, Karachi, Pakistan. He has also received training in financial inclusion and policy design from Harvard Kennedy School.

Prior to joining GSMA, Leonard worked as the senior analyst for telecoms at International Data Corporation (IDC) in charge of the East Africa region. Leonard worked with telcos in consulting, research and advisory projects focusing on a variety of topics such as IoT, mobile money, broadband strategies, competitive analysis, opportunity assessments and Go-To market strategies. He also carried out workshops with telcos, wrote thought leadership reports and was a speaker at events. Leonard has also worked as a grantee mentor short term consultant for Ushahidi under the Making All Voices Count Programme, helping a startup receive funding of an ICT for health project.

Gregory is the Market Engagement Manager for the Ecosystem Accelerator Programme, based in Nairobi. His key roles are identifying and coaching applicants to the Innovation Fund, mentoring startups, supporting regional and local operators in their efforts to develop start-up friendly strategies, promoting robust partnership between startups and mobile operators, building and managing other relationships with regional and local stakeholders. Prior to joining GSMA, Gregory was the Innovation Engagement Officer – Africa at Ushahidi under the Making All Voices Count Programme, an international initiative that contributes towards effective governance and accountability by enabling citizens engagement and open, responsive government in 12 countries in Africa and Asia, his key roles involved identifying, assessing, selecting, contracting, and managing grantees. He has also worked as a Research Assistant at @iLabAfrica, an innovation research centre at Strathmore University. Gregory holds a Masters of Science Degree in Mobile Telecommunication Innovation and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Information Technology, both from Strathmore University, Kenya.

Mark Muhia is the GSMA Innovation Fund Manager based in Nairobi. His key roles are identifying and coaching applicants to the Innovation Fund, mentoring start-ups, supporting regional and local operators in their efforts to develop start-up friendly strategies, promoting robust partnership between start-ups and mobile operators, building and managing other relationships with regional and local stakeholders.

Prior to joining GSMA, Mark worked for ABSA Bank (formerly Barclays Bank) as a Commercial Relationship Manager where he managed commercial enterprises with the aim of supporting their growth through funding and advisory. He brings on board expansive experience in financial analysis and modeling (like Financial statements analysis, ratio analysis, solvency analysis), deal origination and structuring, portfolio monitoring, due diligence checks. Previously, Mark Muhia worked for KCB Bank where he held various roles among them spearheading the uptake of alternative banking channels like mobile banking, online banking and agency banking leading to accelerated financial deepening and inclusion, worked with SMEs and start-ups to support their growth through funding and advice-giving. He was also in charge of a portfolio of USD 70million drawn from clients in the following sectors; mobile phone aggregators, manufacturing, agribusiness and trade services.

Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and currently finalising his MBA-Finance from the same University. He has also undertaken various certification courses among them Certificate in Commercial Credit and Credit Skills Development from Moody’s Analytics.

Radhika has joined the GSMA M4D Utilities team as a Market Engagement Manager to manage, facilitate and support mobile-based innovations in energy, water and sanitation across the Asia-Pacific region. She will support the programme by managing select Innovation Fund grantees, share key learnings & insights from grantees and map out industry trends so as to understand and showcase how the mobile industry can support commercially viable energy, water and sanitation services for the underserved. Prior to the GSMA, Radhika has worked in healthcare consulting at IPE Global, New Delhi and telecommunications at Vodafone UK, England. She has built expertise in healthcare consulting, private sector led sustainable social enterprises, mobile product pricing and large-scale fixed & mobile commercial solutions. Radhika graduated in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and holds an MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. She speaks fluent Hindi and English.

Falah is a Manager for the GSMA Innovation Fund, based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Starting his professional career journey with an obsession for growing Indonesia’s digital economy, he joined the team in early 2022 to support impactful innovation to scale in the Asia Pacific region.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Falah worked closely with pre-seed to seed-stage start-ups in Indonesia with his former teams at Telkom Indonesia. He has mixed experience in managing corporate innovation programs and proficiency in analysing start-up growth in various approaches to validate innovation scalability models.

Falah brings a strong interest in entrepreneurship and a passion for business strategy, which he has been putting into practice since holding a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from Prasetiya Mulya University, Indonesia.

Praveen holds the position of Director of Operations and Innovation Fund

Prior to this, Praveen was the Programme Director for Mobile Money, responsible for the delivery of the programme by working closely with the Mobile Money team, GSMA members and partners.

Praveen joined GSMA in 2019. Prior to GSMA, he managed the acquisitions programme for the UK arm of a large French multinational corporation. He is excited to be given the opportunity to be part of an organisation that uses the powerful & important medium of mobile technology to improve people’s lives.

Praveen holds an MBA from the Warwick Business School in the UK.

Alejandra is an Operations Manager working across the GSMA Innovation Fund and Ecosystem Accelerator programme. Her duties include planning and monitoring activities, managing suppliers and contributing to internal and external reporting to ensure objectives are achieved throughout the project cycle.

Before joining GSMA Alejandra was working at Ashoka UK, where she was co-designing a global mentoring initiative to help social enterprises scale their impact. Previously she also spent three years as a Social Entrepreneurship Manager at Citibank Mexico, where she managed a portfolio of grants for early stage social and environmental start-ups.

She holds a Master’s degree in International Money and Banking from the University of Bath and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico.

Chelsea is the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager for The GSMA Innovation Fund, responsible for supporting grantees with design thinking, impact tracking, and developing theories of change.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Chelsea spent over six years supporting SMEs in post-crisis countries. She has worked on projects in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to promote inclusive economic growth by connecting the local private sector to new markets and new capital. Chelsea is also an avid researcher and has led research projects across various developing and emerging markets.

She holds a MPhil in International Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin, where she specialised in economic interventions in human rights violations, and a BA in International Relations from the University of Florida.

Matt is an Assistant Operations Manager for the GSMA Innovation Fund. Matt supports the operational elements of each project cycle and contributes to internal and external reporting processes.

Before joining GSMA, Matt worked for Consumers International where he focused on implementing cross country projects to build the capacity of consumer associations in LMICs on topics such as financial inclusion and sustainable consumption.

Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Birmingham. He graduated in 2019.

Bunmi joins GSMA as the new Assistant Operations Manager supporting the Innovation Fund team.

Based in London, he has background in the education sector, being the assistant operations manager at a national private tuition firm supporting the development of children with various educational needs. Bringing with him 3+ years of experience with leading and training a team of over 30 staff. Within that role, he was also the budget manager which resulted in a sustained growth in membership for over 8 months for the company.

He studied Business Economics at The University of East London.

Simone is an Insights Manager for the Ecosystem Accelerator programme. Her role involves providing mobile operators and start-ups across Africa and Asia with innovation intelligence. She participates in the research, analysis and production of key insights and learnings related to the start-up ecosystem.

Prior to joining GSMA, Simone spent two years working with a solar company in South Africa that specializes in informal settlement electrification by installing PV solar sub-centralized stations in densely populated communities. Simone holds an MSc in Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh, as well as an MA in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University.

She also holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Sciences from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Christelle joined the M4D marketing team in June 2022 and has a central role, working across all programmes.

Before joining the M4D Marketing team, Christelle took on two other roles within the GSMA: in 2019/20, a Senior Marketing Manager role within IoT Marketing team, where she was responsible for implementing the priority Beyond Connectivity campaign, focused on encouraging operators to deliver transformational IoT solutions, and growing the connected skies (Drone) initiative. This role was also geared towards the alignment of IoT solutions to the 17 SDGs. In 2021, Christelle also covered for a senior marketing manager, in GSMA Services.

Before joining the GSMA, Christelle worked in the Telecommunications industry for 15 years, across challenger brands such as Motorola, HTC and Sony Mobile. Outside of Telecoms, she also volunteered and worked for Scope Ltd., a non-profit organisation focused on persons with a disability.

Christelle holds an ‘EGC’ Business School degree, obtained in Reunion island (France), a BA (Hons) in International Trade and Languages and a CIM certification.

On a personal level, Christelle has great passion for sustainability, climate action, Tech for Good and generally initiatives that help make our world a more inclusive and more sustainable place to live in. I Christelle is keen to drive the future of connected technologies in a way that is smart, sustainable, accessible and inclusive.

Sam is a Marketing specialist working across Ecosystem Accelerator programme and the GSMA Innovation Fund. She is responsible for developing marketing content, delivery of digital campaigns, strategising and managing design of publications.

Before joining GSMA, Sam was working at Santok (UK) Limited as a Marketing Manager. Her duties included managing the production of all marketing and promotional materials, planning and executing marketing campaigns, web content management, social media analytics, digital content planning, market research and so on. Working for multiple sub-brands within the company, Sam has experience across brand development, social media strategy, web, supply chain management and partnerships across multiple functions.

She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of the West of Scotland and Masters of Business Administration with a specialisation in Marketing from the Cardiff Metropolitan University.

William is a Senior Manager for the GSMA Innovation Fund.

Prior to GSMA, William worked as a programme Manager at The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, where he led in the design and operationalization of the KKCF Program (a five-year program is designed to support private sector investment and unlock the economic potential of refugees and their hosts, in Kenya’s Turkana County).

Previously, he worked at KPMG – International Development Advisory Services, as a Senior Associate in-charge of the Renewable Energy and Climate Technologies portfolio (REACT). He was instrumental in the implementation of REACT round 3 competition which targeted four countries; Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Prior to this, William worked with Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) Kenya as a regional grant accountant in charge of the Northeastern region in Kenya.

William has a degree in Bachelor of Arts (Economics) and currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics and Finance at Kenyatta University and passionate about development finance. He is also a certified public accountant (CPA-K).

Ezra is Manager for the GSMA Innovation Fund.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Ezra worked at the UN Sustainable development Solutions Network (UNSDSN) as the Project Lead of the Global Youth Networks program supporting youth in 85 countries to pioneer innovative solutions for the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement. Previously, he worked as Project officer at the UNSDSN – Africa Regional Office, Youth Program Coordinator at the Strathmore Centre for Sustainability Leadership and undertook an year-long Youth Advocacy programme at UNICEF Kenya.

In 2020, Ezra was appointed by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta to sit on the Generation Unlimited Kenya Presidential Steering Committee to provide strategic leadership and oversight of the initiative. In addition, UNICEF appointed him as a champion for its Global Development Commons (GDC) Initiative. Furthermore, the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs and UNFPA recognized him as one of Kenya’s Top 35 under 35 Young Leaders in 2020.

Ezra holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a specialization in Entrepreneurship and a Diploma in Business Management both from Strathmore University, Kenya.

Zohaib Jawed is a GSMA Innovation Fund Manager with a focus on Mobile for Humanitarian (M4H) based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

He manages engagements in APAC for the M4H programme with innovative tech-startups, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, Government Institutions, and multilateral organizations to foster the future of digital humanitarian response.

He is passionate about technology and how it can be leveraged for development and humanitarian assistance to communities. He has developed deep expertise in fintech product management through stints with Easypaisa, as Assistant Director – Products where he launched industry-first initiatives such as Instant Payment Scheme (Raast) and Open Banking and has also worked as a Product Manager for Digital Wallets at JazzCash. Zohaib has been instrumental in designing social sector interventions, programme management and managing innovation funds at Karandaaz, where he led four fintech innovation challenges. Zohaib was also associated with the World Bank, working on provincial development programmes. He has authored academic papers, research studies, and reports in his previous roles.

Zohaib has a Master of Science in Economics from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, and has received training at “The Design Thinkers” academy on Design Thinking from Amsterdam. In addition to this, he has various certifications on Agile framework for Product Owners, Project Management, and Leadership.

Ashley joined the GSMA in 2021 as the Head of Financial Inclusion and AgriTech.  Prior to joining GSMA, Ashley had been living and working in East Africa, championing financial inclusion and the development of agrifood systems across sub-Saharan Africa for over 11 years.  During this time, Ashley designed and managed funds, investing in agribusinesses and fintechs across the continent, with Root Capital and Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), to catalyze innovation and growth for wide impact.  Ashley has played key roles in driving and supporting gender lens investing in her work.  She also worked with Mastercard Foundation and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA), managing large multi-million-dollar programmes, partnering and working with a wide array of implementing partners and key stakeholders in the industry.

Ashley holds a BSc in Management and Finance from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (United States) and an MBA from IESE Business School (Spain).

Matthew is the Market Engagement Director for the AgriTech programme based in London , leading the market engagement workstream for the programme.  Since joining the GSMA in 2015, Matthew has  supported agritech stakeholders with the implementation of product initiatives through human centred research, product innovation and commercialisation support.

Previously, Matthew lived in Malawi and Tanzania working with smallholder tea farmers as an organisational development consultant to improve access to Information for farming best practices.

In his early career, Matthew worked as a Business Development Manager with a number of digital consultancies. Matthew holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science degree.

Panos is the Insights Director for GSMA’s AgriTech programme. He leads the insights function across multiple funding streams and is responsible for developing and delivering the programme’s learning agenda while holding overall accountability for the associated insights outputs and dissemination activities. Panos leads engagement and facilitates collaboration with the agriculture sector to support programmatic activities. He regularly represents the programme in industry events.

Before joining the GSMA, Panos spent several years in leading analyst and consultancy firms with a special focus on mobile operators’ digital strategies. Panos holds a BSc in Plant Science from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) and an MSc in Plant Disease from Imperial College London (UK). More recently, Panos completed an MBA degree at the University of Manchester (UK).

Ahmed is a Senior Market Engagement Manager for the AgriTech programme based in Islamabad, Pakistan. He provides consultancy and implementation support to partner mobile operators in Asia and Africa, assisting in optimizing the rollout and commercialization of their AgriTech product initiatives.

Before joining GSMA, Ahmed was managing multiple mobile money products for Telenor easypaisa. Prior to that, he worked with Standard Chartered Bank, primarily within the product management and Small and Medium Enterprise functions.

Ahmed completed his undergraduate studies from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan and his MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Kate is the AgriTech Senior Operations Manager based in London. Since joining the GSMA in 2017, she has been overseeing the implementation of the AgriTech programme. Kate has extensive UK and international experience in project and programme management solving complex delivery challenges in the development sector, and she holds an MSc in Biology from University of Freiburg in Germany, and MSc in Globalisation from University College London and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Massey University/New Zealand.

Abbie is passionate about improving productive, financial and climate outcomes for smallholder farmers. As an Insights Manager on the AgriTech Programme, she focuses on researching innovative and impactful digital agriculture use cases and partnerships, building and maintaining strategic stakeholder relationships and producing analytical outputs on trends, opportunities, best practices and the commercial viability of business models in digital agriculture.

Before joining the GSMA, Abbie spent several years working and volunteering in advocacy and programme management roles in The Gambia with not-for-profit organisations tackling issues of child protection, refugee rehabilitation, HIV/AIDS sensitisation and disaster management and recovery. She also worked in corporate business development at the mobile operator Africell in The Gambia.

Abbie holds an MSc in ICT for Development (ICT4D) from the Royal Holloway University of London and a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds.

Kara is the Assistant Operations Manager for the AgriTech programme, where she assists in project management, research and insights, and engagement activities.

Previous to joining GSMA in December 2019, Kara was based in the Netherlands completing a Double MSc in Public Policy and Human Development with the United Nations University – MERIT/Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. Here she specialised in Risk and Innovation, and completed a thesis in Artificial Intelligence policy.

Kara also has a Bachelors in Law and Philosophy in which she gained from Kent University in 2016.

Jan joined the GSMA AgriTech team as Senior Insights Manager in December 2019. Jan is responsible for informing and engaging the mobile industry in order to accomplish the AgriTech programme’s mission of strengthening the climate resilience of rural populations.

This work will support mobile operators to leverage their unique assets, including commercial microwave links (CML) and location-based data, to create and contribute to climate resilience services such as improved weather forecasts, microinsurance and decision agriculture.

Before joining the GSMA, Jan spent several years as Senior Research Fellow at the Natural Resources Institute where he applied digital technologies to address agricultural development challenges. Jan holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London, an MSc in Management of Technology and Innovation from Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a BSc in Business Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Emily is an impact analyst and monitoring & evaluation (M&E) specialist. In her role as M&E Manager, Emily will provide support to the AgriTech programme, particularly on their innovation fund, and the Mobile Money programme. She will design and support programme level M&E strategies, including frameworks to monitor progress towards targets, as well as strategies to measure project impact.

Emily was previously based in Bangkok, where she consulted with UNCDF, designing and providing support to M&E on the CleanStart innovation fund portfolio. She also supported UN Women as a Gender Analyst and has qualitative field research experience in Uganda, as well as in informal settlements in Ajmer, India.

Emily holds a Masters in Development Practice from Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, and a Masters in European Studies from Freie Universität Berlin.

As an Insights Manager for the AgriTech programme at the GSMA, Lisa drives industry research and intelligence projects to uncover opportunities in digital agriculture. Her analysis aims to enable impactful and commercially viable digital solutions for smallholder farmers in LMICs. A qualitative and human-centred research expert, she brings an understanding of how to design value propositions and business models to best serve smallholder farmers, especially women farmers.

Lisa has more than 10 years of experience in inclusive finance, leading implementation and research projects across a range of topics, including digital payments, digital credit and savings, policy and regulations, agent networks and microinsurance. Before joining GSMA, Lisa was a Partner and senior consultant at PHB where she led research and technical assistance to develop digital financial services and strategies for microfinance institutions, mobile network operators and governments across Asia and Africa. She also served as a microinsurance specialist at MicroSave and the Microinsurance Network. She holds a Master’s in International Cooperation and Economic Development from Sciences Po Toulouse.

Kevin is a Market Engagement Manager for the AgriTech programme based in Nairobi, Kenya. He provides consultancy and implementation support to partner mobile operators and AgriTechs in Asia and Africa. Kevin supports the operators with the design, development, launch, and scaling of cutting-edge AgriTech solutions.

Prior to joining GSMA, Kevin has worked as an Inclusive Finance and Growth consultant supporting varied initiatives including as a Project Manager at the Mastercard Foundation’s Fund for Rural Prosperity Program which facilitates access to financial services and products by the underserved rural population in 15 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, as an Inclusive Finance consultant at MicroSave Consulting Company, as a Training Needs Assessment lead for UNITAR and UNDP’s women entrepreneurs literacy program, as an MSME Officer at Kenya Commercial Bank, among other Digital Finance Service project roles.

Kevin holds an MBA in Operations Management from the University of Nairobi and an Honours Degree in Foods and Nutrition from Egerton University -Kenya. He is currently pursuing an MSc in Agriculture and Applied Economics from the University of Nairobi and the ACCA accreditation from Strathmore University.

James joined the GSMA in July 2020 and supports generating impact evidence for the Agritech team. In this role, he also advocates for data-driven decision making by providing insights on product usage by analysing business intelligence data to inform product development. As a monitoring and evaluation analyst, James also works under the GSMA-FCDO Strategic Partnership to support programmatic learning, adaptive programming and evidence impact of digital solutions geared at delivering socio-economic impact in underserved communities.

James has a strong quantitative background having previously worked as a Statistician with Kenya’s agri-industry regulator evaluating new seed varieties to ensure local farmers had access to high-yielding seed varieties. He specializes in performance monitoring, learning, and generating evidence from programmes under implementation. His areas of expertise include change management, data analysis, performance monitoring, evaluation, and surveys.

He has an undergraduate degree in Applied Statistics and an MSc. in Finance and Economics from KCA University. James has also completed several courses in MEAL, product management and data management

Dunstan is a Market Engagement Manager for the AgriTech programme, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He supports organisations in developing and scaling innovative agritech products, such as last mile agribusiness enterprise solutions (B2B2C), financial services (B2C) and smart digital agronomic advisory amongst many others.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Dunstan worked as a Senior Account Manager at Wefarm, an AgriTech start-up providing farmers with access to information and resources to make them successful. His key responsibilities included agricultural value chains stakeholder relationships management, gathering and analysing farmer and agribusiness insights, UX research and advocacy and knowledge sharing. He also worked as a Field Coordinator at the International Center for Insect physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), where he was involved in the development, dissemination and impact assessment of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technologies targeting smallholder farmers in East and West Africa.

Dunstan holds a Bachelor’s of Science Biology (Crop Protection) degree from Kenyatta University.

Daniele oversees the work of the Central Insights Unit and the M&E function in M4D. In his role, he is responsible for engaging with M4D’s funding partners in HQ and regions to deliver research and analysis that address global and regional challenges. Daniele leads the team to produce thought leadership content on frontier technology, digitalisation and their role in progressing sustainable and inclusive development. As senior director for Monitoring and Evaluation(M&E), he also oversees the M&E function of M4D, ensuring that impact measurement methodologies are robust and consistent throughout the M4D portfolio.

Daniele has been at the GSMA since 2015. He has previously managed the insights teams of the GSMA AgriTech and mHealth programmes, producing analysis and intelligence for sector practitioners. Prior to joining the GSMA, Daniele worked as an industry analyst and consultant for the telecoms and media sectors in emerging markets, at Informa Telecoms & Media (now Omdia) and GlobalData. Daniele holds an MSc in new media and information systems from the London School of Economics and an MA from the University of Bologna.

Julie has extensive UK and international leadership experience in programme and project management. She joined the GSMA in 2017 after spending four years in Afghanistan as the head of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)/Communications for several USAID-funded development programmes. Previously, she gained strong business development and stakeholder management skills working with US- and UK-based international NGOs.

Julie oversees operations across her portfolio of five M4D programmes and the M&E team, and also works closely with Heads of Programmes to support strategy development. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, DC and is MSP certified.

Regina works as an Operations Manager for the Central Insights Unit and the Monitoring and Evaluation function within Mobile for Development Foundation. She holds a Master’s degree in International Politics from Newcastle University. Throughout her career, she worked in both governmental and non-governmental organisations. During her time at the GSMA, she’s been a part of such teams as the Ministerial Programme, Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Programme, Project Services, and Technology. She speaks Russian, English and Spanish languages.

Nigham Shahid is an Insights Manager for the Central Insights Unit at the GSMA. She leads on research linked to the use of mobile and frontier technologies in youth employment, health, financial inclusion and other topics in emerging economies across Asia and Africa.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Nigham has held a range of roles in international development, in the delivery of enterprise development programs and in education in vulnerable and under-resourced communities. She has also consulted for a mission-driven seed VC fund that invests in disruptive start-ups that have a positive impact.

Nigham holds an M.A. in Quantitative Research Methods from Columbia University in the City of New York and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the USA. She also holds a B.Sc. (Hons) from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan.

Sone is currently an Insights Manager with the Central Insights Unit at the GSMA, where she coordinates and contributes to producing insights on opportunities for using digital and mobile technologies to spur development in emerging economies. Prior to joining the GSMA, Sone had garnered a combination of business advisory and development policy consulting experience of over a decade. Her most recent role was as a Research Fellow with the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, where she was responsible for leading research and advocacy activities related to a range of issues such as strengthening data governance policies for a more integrated African digital economy, financial inclusion of underserved groups, and broadening social protection targeting strategies. She has also served as a Fiscal Policy Advisor at Deloitte & Touche. In addition, Sone has consulted for international development organisations focussed on supporting financial sector development and domestic revenue generation activities of low and middle income countries. Sone holds an M.Sc. in International Development & Economics from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, and she is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Eugénie joined GSMA in February 2022 as an Insights Analyst for the Central Insights Unit. In this role, she is responsible for supporting research as well as developing and disseminating insights on the role of mobile and digital technologies in sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries.

Before joining GSMA, Eugénie worked at the French Development Agency, where she supported various projects focusing on crisis-affected countries in Africa and the Middle East. She was previously a Graduate Consultant for the provider of water and sanitation services in Buenos Aires, where she developed a methodology for impact assessment, and has also worked for a non-profit tackling youth and children issues.

Eugenie holds a MSc in International Development Management from the London School of Economics and a BA in Politics, International Studies and Hispanic Studies from the University of Warwick. She also spent some time studying and travelling in Latin America.

Dulmi is the Marketing Manager for Mobile for Development ClimateTech Programme and the Central Insights Unit. She brings with her over 20 years international marketing, communications, PR and branding experience. Previously she worked as the Head of Group Corporate Communications for a software vendor working in the MNO (Mobile Network Operator) space, where she was responsible for positioning the brand on a global stage and worked on projects with operators and stakeholders on advocating digital innovation through software solutions. She is an experienced marketer in multiple sectors – in technology, telecommunications, aviation, consultancy, banking,  and software, and has worked with global trade organisations and client portfolios across Europe, US, APAC, Latin America and Africa. She is an MBA holder, and a graduate of The Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) with qualifications in digital marketing. Dulmi is an member of the Lions Club International where she volunteers on multiple social impact and charity projects.

Ruth joined the GSMA in May 2022 as the Director or Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning. She leads M4D’s MEL strategy and portfolio-wide impact assessment, evidence building, and learning. Prior to joining GSMA Ruth lived and worked in different parts of the world, specialising in pragmatic and adaptive MEL and research across a broad spectrum of themes including systems change, financial inclusion, hostile state information operations, health, and education.

Ruth has an Executive Global Masters in management from the London School of Economics, she has studied in the UK, Italy and the US. She grew up in Manchester and unsurprisingly supports Manchester United.

Akanksha works as Senior Director leading the ClimateTech and Digital Utilities teams.

Akanksha has been with GSMA since 2012 and specialises in the uses of mobile technology for social good. She has previously worked in the research teams GSMA Intelligence and M4D’s Central Insights Unit. Prior to joining the GSMA, Akanksha worked as a Power and Utilities Analyst at GlobalData in India.

Akanksha has an MBA degree from IBS Hyderabad (India) and a BSc. degree in Psychology from Rajasthan University, India.

As the Market Engagement Manager I am responsible for leading the ClimateTech programme’s engagement with MNOs. The key focus for MNOs within the programme is based upon green energy, natural resource management and e-waste. My role includes the set up and management of stakeholder working groups for these topics and to ensure that the ClimateTech messages are disseminated. Additionally, in building relationships with these stakeholders, we are able to garner greater participation and interest in our projects.

Prior to joining M4D, I worked as a Project Manager in the IoT Programme at GSMA. I worked in this programme for 4 years and managed the work on Mobile IoT and the deployment of NB-IoT and LTE-M networks across the globe.

I am a qualified Project Manager with both Prince 2 and Agile qualifications. Prior to starting my career in project management, I qualified as a Veterinary Nurse.

Henry joined the GSMA in September 2018 as an Assistant Operations Manager for the M4D Utilities team. He now works as Operations Manager across the ClimateTech and Digital Utilities teams. His role includes supporting the portfolio management of the grantee investments by managing risks and issue, new contracts with suppliers, finances and reporting on progress of key deliverables and milestones in the programme. In addition, Henry support the future planning processes for the next financial year. Henry previously worked in the Network 2020 programme at the GSMA, project managing the global RCS (Rich Communication Services) specification creation. This role focused mainly on interoperability and defragmentation of operator services in order to have a strong collaborative communication platform to build upon and create new competitive services. Henry holds a BSc in Economics from Cardiff University, and is Prince2 certified.

Daisy joined GSMA as Assistant Operations Manager for the ClimateTech and Digital Utilities teams in November 2021. She is responsible for supporting programme business planning; monitoring and reporting on the progress of key deliverables and milestones; and ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget.

Prior to this, Daisy worked at Palladium International in their Humanitarian and Stabilisation Operations Team as a Project Manager, working closely with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to provide additional surge capacity and specialist expertise to support UK humanitarian responses.

Daisy holds a Graduate LLB in Law from BPP University and a BA in Classical Studies from Newcastle University.

As Senior Insights Manager for the ClimateTech team, Anna conducts research that identifies and promotes digital innovations that enable low- and middle-income countries to transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies.

Anna brings 10+ years of leading complex research projects, focused on communities in developing economies. Anna joins from BBC Media Action, where she managed a diverse portfolio of qualitative and quantitative research that informed, adapted and evaluated social and behaviour change interventions. She worked primarily on projects in Asia and the Middle East, based from the UK, Myanmar, Indonesia and Afghanistan. Anna studied Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics.

Judith joins GSMA from the United Nations, where she served as an urban social specialist. She has also consulted with different organisations including the African Development Bank, Council of Europe, Vodafone Foundation Tanzania, WWF Tanzania, Plan International UK as a circular economy, climate change, climate finance and sustainability expert.

At UN-Habitat, Judith managed the Global Urban Innovation Fund which provide grants to SME-led urban solutions. During her tenure, she grew the portfolio to country-specific funds in Nepal, Colombia, Somalia and India

Judith is currently pursuing her PhD in Climate Adaptation Finance and a recipient of a PhD scholarship under the ‘Global Adaptation Program’ by the Government of Denmark through the Danish Institute of International Studies.  She holds an MSc. in Finance and Investment from the University of Nairobi.

Alfred joins us as the Senior Market Engagement Manager for the ClimateTech programme based in the Nairobi, Kenya office. Previously Alfred worked with Safaricom Plc. as an Environmental and Sustainability expert. In his role, he spearheaded projects focused on environmental wellbeing that included reducing Carbon emission (Net Zero project), general waste and E-Waste management. Some of his key achievements include the development and implementation of the Integrated Waste Management strategy which includes E-waste; this was used to lobby the Government to develop and implement a National Government to develop and implement a national strategy on solid waste management, carbon footprint calculation and the development and implementation of the Safaricom Net Zero Programme, development and implementation of the Sustainability strategy, The Africa Sustainability leadership Programme currently being offered at the Strathmore University. He was key in the organisation’s sustainability reporting determining key materiality’s and setting the reporting level and roadmap to be adopted in the annual reporting, and stakeholder’s engagement (both local and global). Alfred also held the Government affairs docket under the Regulatory & Public Policy function leading the engagements with Government stakeholders to lobby for favouvarable policy positions, seamless market operations and joint delivery of the Net Zero aspiration.

Alfred also worked at the United Nations Global Compact – Kenya Network where he spearheaded the Strategic autonomisation of the local network by developing the governance structure, value proposition, funding model, and membership growth and implementation of various environmental initiatives to support businesses to go green and help address climate change and ethical considerations. He also worked at Ryden International, the European Union, the Africa Waste and Environment Management Centre (AWEMAC), Kenya Agriculture & Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). Where he held various positions that focused on Data analytics, Climate Change, Ecosystem Management, and Natural resource conservation among other responsibilities. Alfred has a degree in Environmental Science and is currently finalizing a Masters Degree Programme on Procurement and Logistics with a focus in Green Procurement. He is also a trained Sustainability Expert, ISO 14001, ISO45001 and ISO 26000 Implementer, Auditor and Lead Auditor.

Daniel joins GSMA as a Market Engagement Manager attached to the ClimateTech team. Witnessing the worsening effects of climate change in his home country and globally, he is keen to bring stakeholders together in his role at GSMA to create meaningful solutions to what he believes to be one of the biggest challenges of the century.

Daniel is based in Malaysia and brings with him experience from working on circular economy and community development solutions in the Southeast Asian market. He is passionate about impactful entrepreneurship, having previously spent five years, immersed in the social enterprise ecosystem in Asia as an early employee, entrepreneur, and ecosystem builder.

Daniel earned a Masters in Civil Engineering (MEng) from the University of Nottingham and continues to be involved in social ventures in Malaysia as an advisor.

Samir joined GSMA as the Climate Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager in London in April 2022. He is responsible for providing climate resilience and mitigation MEL support to the Climate Tech programme, Innovation Fund grantees, and wider M4D department.

Prior to this, Samir served as a Researcher on Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning at ALNAP – a global network of humanitarian organisations. He has previously worked in NGOs in various roles, including the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, and most recently WaterAid, where he was Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Officer in their central Programme Support Unit. Samir is currently studying for a Masters in Climate Change at Birkbeck University of London.

Leila joined GSMA in April 2022 as the Insights and Advocacy Manager for Climate Tech. She is responsible for conducting and disseminate research and advocating for climate tech solutions in low- and middle-income countries.

Prior to joining the GSMA she consulted on initiatives working with for example gender and climate in impact investing. She has a background in the Swedish government where she for example worked for the Embassy of Sweden in Angola focusing on trade and investment. Here, her main focus was on the tech and telco markets where she established a strong relationship with the Angolan government and collaborated with international stakeholders such as UNDP. Before working in Angola she worked with policy analysis and evaluation for the Swedish Unemployment Insurance Board.

Leila spent the earlier part of her career working for an Africa focused NGO as well as for a consultancy focusing on capacity building programmes in low- and middle-income countries financed by Sida. She holds a Master’s degree in political science from Uppsala University and is based in London.

Dulmi is the Marketing Manager for Mobile for Development ClimateTech Programme and the Central Insights Unit. She brings with her over 20 years international marketing, communications, PR and branding experience. Previously she worked as the Head of Group Corporate Communications for a software vendor working in the MNO (Mobile Network Operator) space, where she was responsible for positioning the brand on a global stage and worked on projects with operators and stakeholders on advocating digital innovation through software solutions. She is an experienced marketer in multiple sectors – in technology, telecommunications, aviation, consultancy, banking,  and software, and has worked with global trade organisations and client portfolios across Europe, US, APAC, Latin America and Africa. She is an MBA holder, and a graduate of The Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) with qualifications in digital marketing. Dulmi is an member of the Lions Club International where she volunteers on multiple social impact and charity projects.

Dulip is the Senior Market Engagement Manager for the ClimateTech programme based in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He works closely with mobile operators, technical partners and other key stakeholders in the private and public sectors to unlock and enhance the role of digital technology as enabler in the world’s transition to the low carbon economy. In his role, he supports MNOs in their efforts to establish stronger environmental management processes with an additional focus on e-waste management and off-grid green power solutions. In his previous role for GSMA, Dulip managed the Humanitarian Connectivity Charter under the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme and supported mobile operators, technical and humanitarian partners to collaborate and work towards more innovative and resilient digital solutions for communities faced with sudden onset disasters and protracted crisis situations.

Dulip worked with Axiata Group in Malaysia and its OpCo Dialog in Sri Lanka managing their sustainability reporting process. He also set up the sustainability strategy for the Axiata Group. Dulip’s first degree is in Natural Sciences. He’s a trained GRI professional, ISO 9001 and SA8000 auditor.

Claire is Head of Digital Inclusion in the Mobile for Development (M4D) team at GSMA. She leads the Connected Women and Connected Society programmes which are focused on accelerating digital inclusion for the underserved in low- and middle-income countries. Connected Women has a specific focus on accelerating digital and financial inclusion for women.

Claire has been working for over 25 years with public, private and international development organisations on social policy and service delivery with a focus on information and communications technology (ICT) policy and practice. She has developed, managed and implemented programmes in Africa, Asia and the UK. Claire holds an MSc in Social Research Methods (2012) and an MSc in Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries (1997) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Isabelle joined the GSMA in October 2020 as Insights Director for Connected Society and Connected Women. In this role, she leads on the Insights deliverables across the teams to identify synergies and generate broader insights on how to drive digital inclusion in low- and middle-income countries. She is currently focused on applying these insights and data to support the GSMA’s efforts to address the barriers facing underserved populations to access and use mobile technology.

Prior to the GSMA, Isabelle led an insights team at a non-profit think-tank focusing on digital skills, financial inclusion and innovation ecosystems in Africa. Previously, as the Technical Director for Evaluation at World Vision International, she collaboratively built and scaled a global measurement system used by 64 country offices to measure change in well-being.
She holds an MSc from LSE in Development Management and a BA in International Relations with Development Studies from Sussex University. She has lived and worked in Africa and South Asia, most recently in Zambia and South Africa.

Melle Tiel Groenestege is a Senior Advocacy Manager and focuses on how to address barriers to internet adoption in low- and middle-income countries.

Before joining the GSMA, Melle was responsible for Government Relations at the headquarters of VEON, where he supported senior executives on engagements with high level officials, managed relations with key international partners including the WEF, ITU and the GSMA, and worked with all markets to support local policy strategies. As a Digital Policy Advisor, Melle worked on a range of digital policy topics, including national digital strategies, financial inclusion and the promotion of a stable investment climate. Prior to VEON, Melle worked at ITU on corporate strategy, focusing on advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the use of digital technologies.

Melle holds a Master’s degree in Business Information Management from the Rotterdam School of Management, two Bachelor degrees, in International Business Administration from the VU Amsterdam and Political Science from the University of Amsterdam, and studied at the National University of Singapore.

Kim joined the Assistive Tech team in 2019, supporting Mobile for Development’s efforts to drive social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities through innovative digital solutions. In her role as Senior Market Engagement Manager Kim leads the development of the market engagement strategy and advocacy agenda to advance inclusion for persons with disabilities through mobile.

Prior to joining the Assistive Tech team, as an Insights Manager for the mHealth Programme, Kim provided thought leadership on business models and implementation strategies for delivering impactful digital health solutions at scale. Kim also previously worked as Business Intelligence Manager for the GSMA mNutrition Initiative. In this role she managed the design and implementation of the business intelligence, and monitoring and evaluation work streams producing actionable insights to inform the optimisation of mHealth services across eight markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Kim holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch and a wealth of experience in the digital health and mobile telecoms industries. She is passionate about creating socio-economic impact in emerging markets.

Sam joined the GSMA in March 2018. He took over as Operations Manager for the Connected Society programme in December 2018 and the Connected Women programme in June 2021. As Operations Manager, Sam is responsible for supporting the programmes to deliver on their objectives on time, within scope and budget.

Before joining the GSMA, Sam was the Project Manager for a coffee growing company in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and prior to that was the Project Coordinator for a NGO working in Western Uganda. Sam holds an MA in International Development from The University of Manchester, and an MA in Anthropology from The University of Edinburgh.

Pippa McDougall is the Senior Advocacy Manager for the GSMA’s Connected Women team, advocating for the digital and financial inclusion of women and girls in low-and middle-income countries.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Pippa worked as an International Consultant for SheTrades Initiative at the International Trade Centre (ITC), which is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Whilst at ITC, Pippa managed and implemented numerous projects and SheTrades Hubs aimed at empowering women economically through trade and e-commerce across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In this capacity, Pippa also worked closely with the GSMA on advocacy related to bridging the digital gender divide as ITC’s focal point for the EQUALS Global Partnership. She also spent 6 months as the gender advisor to ITC’s Executive Director where she drafted numerous speeches and briefing notes on women’s economic empowerment and digital and financial inclusion.

Pippa has also spent a significant of time working and traveling across Asia and Africa including 4 months in Botswana working for a local human rights organization and a few weeks in Pakistan, Liberia, Kenya and Egypt working with rural women farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs. In 2016, Pippa was selected to represent Canada at the G(irls)20 Summit in Beijing and in 2017, she delivered a keynote speech at Alibaba’s Conference on Women’s Entrepreneurship in 2017 in Hangzhou, China.

Before joining ITC, Pippa worked for the Government of Canada on public policy as a Legislative Assistant to a Member of Parliament.

Pippa holds a Master’s degree in the Political Economy of Emerging Markets from King’s College London (United Kingdom), and a Bachelor’s degree in International Development and Political Science from Queen’s University in Canada.

As Senior Advocacy Manager, Anne Shannon is responsible for advocating for the digital inclusion of unconnected communities in low- and middle-income countries. She focuses on policy and advocacy to address the usage gap and to further expand connectivity in areas that are not yet covered by mobile broadband.

Before joining the GSMA, Anne Shannon worked as Policy Manager at the global consultancy Access Partnership in London where she focused on digital policy in the tech sector. She developed and executed policy campaigns for the world’s largest technology companies, engaging with international organisations, government agencies and industry leaders to drive change in telecommunications regulation, digital policy, and sustainable development.

Prior to Access Partnership, Anne Shannon worked for a political risk consultancy in London where she focused on risk management for businesses operating in volatile environments.

She holds an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London, and a BA in International Relations from James Madison University in the United States.

As Senior Advocacy Manager, Racha is responsible for advocating for the digital inclusion of unconnected communities in low- and middle-income countries. She focuses on policy and advocacy to address the usage gap and to further expand connectivity in areas that are not yet covered by mobile broadband.

Before joining the GSMA, Racha held several roles in ICT policy research, advocacy, and programme management, with a focus on using digital technology for social development and government transformation.

Racha was the Acting Director of the Governance and Innovation Programme at the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government in Dubai where she managed regional research and policy projects on digital transformation and innovation. She engaged with governments, the private sector and development agencies to organize high-level policy forums, provide policy advisory, and disseminate research findings that would help shape digital policy. She was the lead author of the widely cited ‘Arab Social Media Report’ series and a frequent speaker in media interviews and at international conference on the topics of social media, ICT, and development.

Racha has also worked as a Researcher with the ICT Policy Division at UN-ESCWA in Beirut, coordinating regional projects and international conferences around ‘ICT for development’ in the Arab world. Most recently, she was a Senior Analyst at Brunswick Gulf and headed their research and monitoring arm, where she managed client relationships, carried out sector analysis, and provided insight and thought leadership for clients such as the Dubai Expo 2020 and the Gates Foundation.

Racha holds an MPA in Digital Technologies and Policy from UCL, an MA In Communication Policy from City University and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.

Matt is an Insights Analyst working in the Connected Women team. He is supporting the team across their analytical work, in particular on the annual GSMAi Consumer Survey, and the analysis of mobile operator transactional data. Prior to joining at the GSMA, Matt worked in Debt Capital Markets at Société Générale as a Trainee Analyst. He helped consult corporate clients on structuring sustainable debt funding profiles and providing regular market research. Matt holds a MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Warwick where he also undertook technical consulting work on a renewable energy project in rural Uganda, driving the provision of low-cost, sustainable energy to off-grid communities.

Gagan joined the GSMA as Marketing Engagement Manager for Connected Women and Connected Society in the New Delhi Office, India.

Gagan brings with him vast experience in the telecom domain and has led various projects in the Telecommunications and Insurance industry in India and abroad.

Prior to joining the GSMA, he was leading the execution of Facebook’s Digital Literacy project (internet1o1) in Myanmar, Indonesia, Zambia and Bangladesh. Prior to that, he was leading global operations for MicroEnsure, a microinsurance company, headquartered in the UK with their operations in UK, Asia and Africa.

Gagan holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from London, UK and brings in deep understanding in improving customer sentiment, understand problems at hand and carries a solution-orientated approach.

Cristina joined the Mobile for Development (M4D) in July 2020, as Assistant Operations Manager for the Connected Women team. She is responsible for monitoring key activities deliverables and making sure the projects are delivered on time.

Before joining M4D, Cristina was part of GSMA’s Finance team where she spent the last two years supporting M4D from a financial and compliance perspective. Prior to that, back in her home country Spain, she was part of a mentoring association where she supported underprivileged children.

She hold a BSc in Economics and International Business from Universidad de Alcala.

Devyn is an Insights Manger across the Mobile Money, Connected Women and Connected Society programmes. In this role, she works on knowledge production and analytical work relevant to mobile money and women’s financial inclusion, helping mobile money operators and various stakeholders to advance women’s financial inclusion via digital financial services.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Devyn worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as a Research Officer on the Small States and Economic Policy team. There she specialised in issues germane to Pacific SIDS including socioeconomic development, LDC graduation, DRR and DRF, and fintech. Devyn has also worked for Emerging Impact, a fintech start-up with a branch out of Vanuatu, working as the Pacific Research and Learning lead where she worked alongside NGOs to produce both programmes and knowledge pieces around digital cash assistance for humanitarian and socioeconomic development purposes in the region.

Devyn holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Princeton University where she specialised in indigenous social inclusion in Oceania. She also holds a Masters in Anthropology and Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science where she focused on climate change migration and indigenous Pasifika communities in Oceania.

Nadia joined GSMA in November 2020. As Insights Manager, Nadia aims to help generate insights and learnings through research into how we can further close the mobile gender gap in low- and middle-income countries.

Having graduated with an MSci in Zoology from University College London in 2019 and spent a year studying at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2018, Nadia has a passion for the environment. This led her to work in Costa Rica for a non-profit organisation carrying out conservation research. Following this, she worked in Research and Development for the Lotus Project, a charity aiming to alleviate poverty amongst rural communities in Vietnam through renewable energy sources.

Nadia now works in the Connected Women team supporting Mobile for Development’s goals to empower more women, socially and financially, through mobile solutions.

Jackline joined the GSMA in July 2022 as Assistant Operations Manager for the Connected Society team. She is responsible for monitoring key activity deliverables and ensuring projects are delivered on time.

Currently pursuing an MSc. In International Development at the University of Reading.

Prior to that, worked as project manager with a Financial Services Provider in Uganda where she spent 4 years supporting and implementing projects to drive financial inclusion through innovation.

She is a member of Rotary International where she volunteers to support rural communities and the underprivileged.

Joshua is an Insights Manager for the Connected Society programme, where he provides strategic research and analytical outputs on how to drive digital inclusion of underserved populations in LMICs. He also leads on insights relating to the Innovation Funds for mobile internet usage and assistive technology.  

Joshua has a strong background in academia and international development. His recent PhD from Northumbria University examined innovative business models for delivering mobile services in emerging markets, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining GSMA, Joshua worked as a consultant and World Bank Group Africa Fellow at the International Finance Corporation, Washington DC, where he specialised in the development impact of digital infrastructure and technology projects across developing countries. Joshua has also taught and researched on a wide range of topics at universities including Newcastle Business School and Lagos Business School. He holds an MSc in Information Systems Management and Innovation from the University of Warwick and a Bachelor’s in Information and Communications Technology from the Federal University of Technology Yola, Nigeria.

Claire is Head of Digital Inclusion in the Mobile for Development (M4D) team at GSMA. She leads the Connected Women and Connected Society programmes which are focused on accelerating digital inclusion for the underserved in low- and middle-income countries. Connected Women has a specific focus on accelerating digital and financial inclusion for women.

Claire has been working for over 25 years with public, private and international development organisations on social policy and service delivery with a focus on information and communications technology (ICT) policy and practice. She has developed, managed and implemented programmes in Africa, Asia and the UK. Claire holds an MSc in Social Research Methods (2012) and an MSc in Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries (1997) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Dominica is Senior Director for the Connected Women team. Prior to joining the GSMA in 2012, she worked with a diverse range of private and non-profit organisations, supporting them with strategy, research, implementation and project management. Dominica spent five years as a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group, working with clients in the financial, charity, healthcare, media, consumer goods and energy sectors. She has also worked for VisionFund International and Shell’s Future Fuels team. Prior to this she founded a wedding and events business and competed internationally as part of the British Sailing Team.

Dominica graduated from Oxford University with a BA in Geography and an MSc in Environmental Change and Management.

Isabelle joined the GSMA in October 2020 as Insights Director for Connected Society and Connected Women. In this role, she leads on the Insights deliverables across the teams to identify synergies and generate broader insights on how to drive digital inclusion in low- and middle-income countries. She is currently focused on applying these insights and data to support the GSMA’s efforts to address the barriers facing underserved populations to access and use mobile technology.

Prior to the GSMA, Isabelle led an insights team at a non-profit think-tank focusing on digital skills, financial inclusion and innovation ecosystems in Africa. Previously, as the Technical Director for Evaluation at World Vision International, she collaboratively built and scaled a global measurement system used by 64 country offices to measure change in well-being.
She holds an MSc from LSE in Development Management and a BA in International Relations with Development Studies from Sussex University. She has lived and worked in Africa and South Asia, most recently in Zambia and South Africa.

Melle Tiel Groenestege is a Senior Advocacy Manager and focuses on how to address barriers to internet adoption in low- and middle-income countries.

Before joining the GSMA, Melle was responsible for Government Relations at the headquarters of VEON, where he supported senior executives on engagements with high level officials, managed relations with key international partners including the WEF, ITU and the GSMA, and worked with all markets to support local policy strategies. As a Digital Policy Advisor, Melle worked on a range of digital policy topics, including national digital strategies, financial inclusion and the promotion of a stable investment climate. Prior to VEON, Melle worked at ITU on corporate strategy, focusing on advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the use of digital technologies.

Melle holds a Master’s degree in Business Information Management from the Rotterdam School of Management, two Bachelor degrees, in International Business Administration from the VU Amsterdam and Political Science from the University of Amsterdam, and studied at the National University of Singapore.

Kim joined the Assistive Tech team in 2019, supporting Mobile for Development’s efforts to drive social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities through innovative digital solutions. In her role as Senior Market Engagement Manager Kim leads the development of the market engagement strategy and advocacy agenda to advance inclusion for persons with disabilities through mobile.

Prior to joining the Assistive Tech team, as an Insights Manager for the mHealth Programme, Kim provided thought leadership on business models and implementation strategies for delivering impactful digital health solutions at scale. Kim also previously worked as Business Intelligence Manager for the GSMA mNutrition Initiative. In this role she managed the design and implementation of the business intelligence, and monitoring and evaluation work streams producing actionable insights to inform the optimisation of mHealth services across eight markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Kim holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch and a wealth of experience in the digital health and mobile telecoms industries. She is passionate about creating socio-economic impact in emerging markets.

Sam joined the GSMA in March 2018. He took over as Operations Manager for the Connected Society programme in December 2018 and the Connected Women programme in June 2021. As Operations Manager, Sam is responsible for supporting the programmes to deliver on their objectives on time, within scope and budget.

Before joining the GSMA, Sam was the Project Manager for a coffee growing company in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and prior to that was the Project Coordinator for a NGO working in Western Uganda. Sam holds an MA in International Development from The University of Manchester, and an MA in Anthropology from The University of Edinburgh.

Pippa McDougall is the Senior Advocacy Manager for the GSMA’s Connected Women team, advocating for the digital and financial inclusion of women and girls in low-and middle-income countries.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Pippa worked as an International Consultant for SheTrades Initiative at the International Trade Centre (ITC), which is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Whilst at ITC, Pippa managed and implemented numerous projects and SheTrades Hubs aimed at empowering women economically through trade and e-commerce across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In this capacity, Pippa also worked closely with the GSMA on advocacy related to bridging the digital gender divide as ITC’s focal point for the EQUALS Global Partnership. She also spent 6 months as the gender advisor to ITC’s Executive Director where she drafted numerous speeches and briefing notes on women’s economic empowerment and digital and financial inclusion.

Pippa has also spent a significant of time working and traveling across Asia and Africa including 4 months in Botswana working for a local human rights organization and a few weeks in Pakistan, Liberia, Kenya and Egypt working with rural women farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs. In 2016, Pippa was selected to represent Canada at the G(irls)20 Summit in Beijing and in 2017, she delivered a keynote speech at Alibaba’s Conference on Women’s Entrepreneurship in 2017 in Hangzhou, China.

Before joining ITC, Pippa worked for the Government of Canada on public policy as a Legislative Assistant to a Member of Parliament.

Pippa holds a Master’s degree in the Political Economy of Emerging Markets from King’s College London (United Kingdom), and a Bachelor’s degree in International Development and Political Science from Queen’s University in Canada.

As Senior Advocacy Manager, Anne Shannon is responsible for advocating for the digital inclusion of unconnected communities in low- and middle-income countries. She focuses on policy and advocacy to address the usage gap and to further expand connectivity in areas that are not yet covered by mobile broadband.

Before joining the GSMA, Anne Shannon worked as Policy Manager at the global consultancy Access Partnership in London where she focused on digital policy in the tech sector. She developed and executed policy campaigns for the world’s largest technology companies, engaging with international organisations, government agencies and industry leaders to drive change in telecommunications regulation, digital policy, and sustainable development.

Prior to Access Partnership, Anne Shannon worked for a political risk consultancy in London where she focused on risk management for businesses operating in volatile environments.

She holds an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London, and a BA in International Relations from James Madison University in the United States.

As Senior Advocacy Manager, Racha is responsible for advocating for the digital inclusion of unconnected communities in low- and middle-income countries. She focuses on policy and advocacy to address the usage gap and to further expand connectivity in areas that are not yet covered by mobile broadband.

Before joining the GSMA, Racha held several roles in ICT policy research, advocacy, and programme management, with a focus on using digital technology for social development and government transformation.

Racha was the Acting Director of the Governance and Innovation Programme at the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government in Dubai where she managed regional research and policy projects on digital transformation and innovation. She engaged with governments, the private sector and development agencies to organize high-level policy forums, provide policy advisory, and disseminate research findings that would help shape digital policy. She was the lead author of the widely cited ‘Arab Social Media Report’ series and a frequent speaker in media interviews and at international conference on the topics of social media, ICT, and development.

Racha has also worked as a Researcher with the ICT Policy Division at UN-ESCWA in Beirut, coordinating regional projects and international conferences around ‘ICT for development’ in the Arab world. Most recently, she was a Senior Analyst at Brunswick Gulf and headed their research and monitoring arm, where she managed client relationships, carried out sector analysis, and provided insight and thought leadership for clients such as the Dubai Expo 2020 and the Gates Foundation.

Racha holds an MPA in Digital Technologies and Policy from UCL, an MA In Communication Policy from City University and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.

Matt is an Insights Analyst working in the Connected Women team. He is supporting the team across their analytical work, in particular on the annual GSMAi Consumer Survey, and the analysis of mobile operator transactional data. Prior to joining at the GSMA, Matt worked in Debt Capital Markets at Société Générale as a Trainee Analyst. He helped consult corporate clients on structuring sustainable debt funding profiles and providing regular market research. Matt holds a MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Warwick where he also undertook technical consulting work on a renewable energy project in rural Uganda, driving the provision of low-cost, sustainable energy to off-grid communities.

Gagan joined the GSMA as Marketing Engagement Manager for Connected Women and Connected Society in the New Delhi Office, India.

Gagan brings with him vast experience in the telecom domain and has led various projects in the Telecommunications and Insurance industry in India and abroad.

Prior to joining the GSMA, he was leading the execution of Facebook’s Digital Literacy project (internet1o1) in Myanmar, Indonesia, Zambia and Bangladesh. Prior to that, he was leading global operations for MicroEnsure, a microinsurance company, headquartered in the UK with their operations in UK, Asia and Africa.

Gagan holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from London, UK and brings in deep understanding in improving customer sentiment, understand problems at hand and carries a solution-orientated approach.

Cristina joined the Mobile for Development (M4D) in July 2020, as Assistant Operations Manager for the Connected Women team. She is responsible for monitoring key activities deliverables and making sure the projects are delivered on time.

Before joining M4D, Cristina was part of GSMA’s Finance team where she spent the last two years supporting M4D from a financial and compliance perspective. Prior to that, back in her home country Spain, she was part of a mentoring association where she supported underprivileged children.

She hold a BSc in Economics and International Business from Universidad de Alcala.

Devyn is an Insights Manger across the Mobile Money, Connected Women and Connected Society programmes. In this role, she works on knowledge production and analytical work relevant to mobile money and women’s financial inclusion, helping mobile money operators and various stakeholders to advance women’s financial inclusion via digital financial services.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Devyn worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as a Research Officer on the Small States and Economic Policy team. There she specialised in issues germane to Pacific SIDS including socioeconomic development, LDC graduation, DRR and DRF, and fintech. Devyn has also worked for Emerging Impact, a fintech start-up with a branch out of Vanuatu, working as the Pacific Research and Learning lead where she worked alongside NGOs to produce both programmes and knowledge pieces around digital cash assistance for humanitarian and socioeconomic development purposes in the region.

Devyn holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Princeton University where she specialised in indigenous social inclusion in Oceania. She also holds a Masters in Anthropology and Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science where she focused on climate change migration and indigenous Pasifika communities in Oceania.

Nadia joined GSMA in November 2020. As Insights Manager, Nadia aims to help generate insights and learnings through research into how we can further close the mobile gender gap in low- and middle-income countries.

Having graduated with an MSci in Zoology from University College London in 2019 and spent a year studying at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2018, Nadia has a passion for the environment. This led her to work in Costa Rica for a non-profit organisation carrying out conservation research. Following this, she worked in Research and Development for the Lotus Project, a charity aiming to alleviate poverty amongst rural communities in Vietnam through renewable energy sources.

Nadia now works in the Connected Women team supporting Mobile for Development’s goals to empower more women, socially and financially, through mobile solutions.

Jackline joined the GSMA in July 2022 as Assistant Operations Manager for the Connected Society team. She is responsible for monitoring key activity deliverables and ensuring projects are delivered on time.

Currently pursuing an MSc. In International Development at the University of Reading.

Prior to that, worked as project manager with a Financial Services Provider in Uganda where she spent 4 years supporting and implementing projects to drive financial inclusion through innovation.

She is a member of Rotary International where she volunteers to support rural communities and the underprivileged.

Akanksha works as Senior Director leading the ClimateTech and Digital Utilities teams.

Akanksha has been with GSMA since 2012 and specialises in the uses of mobile technology for social good. She has previously worked in the research teams GSMA Intelligence and M4D’s Central Insights Unit. Prior to joining the GSMA, Akanksha worked as a Power and Utilities Analyst at GlobalData in India.

Akanksha has an MBA degree from IBS Hyderabad (India) and a BSc. degree in Psychology from Rajasthan University, India.

George Kibala Bauer is a Director in the GSMA Digital Utilities programme. In this role, he focuses on developing and managing strategic research and advocacy partnerships, conducting research on the role of digital solutions and innovative partnerships in essential urban utility service provision, supporting utility start-ups in low- and middle-income countries in their journeys to scale, and representing the Digital Utilities programme at external events. George joined the GSMA in August 2018 as a Knowledge Manager on the programme.

Prior to joining the GSMA, George gained experience in consulting and strategic communications with Portland Communications, economic research with Euler Hermes, development finance with the European Investment Bank, and government affairs with the Ministry of Economy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

George holds a MSc in international economic policy from Sciences Po Paris, a BA in economics from McGill University, as well as certificates in project finance, impact evaluation, and urban planning. He was also selected to take part in the On Deck Climate Tech Fellowship, a programme bringing together start-up and climate experts to catalyse climate tech innovations.

Henry joined the GSMA in September 2018 as an Assistant Operations Manager for the M4D Utilities team. He now works as Operations Manager across the ClimateTech and Digital Utilities teams. His role includes supporting the portfolio management of the grantee investments by managing risks and issue, new contracts with suppliers, finances and reporting on progress of key deliverables and milestones in the programme. In addition, Henry support the future planning processes for the next financial year. Henry previously worked in the Network 2020 programme at the GSMA, project managing the global RCS (Rich Communication Services) specification creation. This role focused mainly on interoperability and defragmentation of operator services in order to have a strong collaborative communication platform to build upon and create new competitive services. Henry holds a BSc in Economics from Cardiff University, and is Prince2 certified.

As an Insights Manager, Zach focuses on conducting research related to how digital tools can be effectively leveraged to improve services for people in low- and middle-income countries across the M4D Utilities service areas.

Zach was previously a Senior Consultant with Oxford Policy Management and supported a range of clients including the Collaborative African Budget Reform Initiative, DFID, The World Bank, UNICEF, and USAID. He conducted research and evaluations related to extending basic services in low- and middle-income countries. Prior to OPM, Zach was a Research Officer with WaterAid’s Global Policy Team based in London and Delhi.

Zach holds a First Class Joint Hons BA in Economics and Economic History from the University of York. He also has postgraduate training in evaluation methodologies for development programmes and public financial management systems.

As the Senior Market Engagement Manager, Lema is responsible for engagement with key industry stakeholders in digital, energy, water and sanitation to achieve the objectives of the programme. Lema joined the GSMA in 2018 as the Lead for the Instant Payment Notification (IPN) Hub, an industry utility developed by the GSMA to support the PAYG solar sector to integrate more seamlessly with mobile money services through a unified API. Lema was responsible for the scaling of the IPN Hub to 5 markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, and its eventual transition from the GSMA to the Industry.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Lema worked with Fenix International, a company of Engie, to scale its operations in several markets, including Uganda, Kenya, and Zambia. Previously, Lema worked at the Equity Group Foundation where he led digital innovation projects geared towards transforming the livelihoods of low income individuals in Africa through financial inclusion. Before that, Lema worked at Intel Corp (UK), and InMobi Africa.

Lema holds a BSc in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Muhammad Arham Shoukat is a Senior Market Engagement Manager, APAC in the Digital Utilities programme. Arham’s responsibilities include engagement with key stakeholders in the water, energy, sanitation and waste management sectors to unlock potential solutions to problems being faced by developing communities in those sectors.

Arham holds expertise in building and digitally transforming small organisations to scale, leveraging his experience in government, banking, advocacy, strategy and operations. Prior to joining the GSMA, Arham served as the Head of Digital Lending and Government Solutions for Ant Group in Pakistan. He was also the founding lead of the Digital Transformation and Strategy vertical at the Ministry of IT and Telecommunications in Pakistan. Arham also had the honor to represent Pakistan as the lead for the Government of Pakistan at UNCTAD working closely with WTO to build a one-window technology solution to monitor global trade.  Arham currently serves on the Citi-PPAF Jury Board for microfinance grants and is an active member in the Digital Pakistan movement. He also holds the honor of being the core author of the Pakistan Digital Policy which was adopted in 2017 by the Government of Pakistan.

Arham holds a B.A in International Relations/Economic from Tufts University and a Masters of Science in Engineering Management from Columbia University in New York. He is also a certified sustainability consultant with the U.S Green Building Council and holds numerous certificates in fintech specialisations from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.

Daisy joined GSMA as Assistant Operations Manager for the ClimateTech and Digital Utilities teams in November 2021. She is responsible for supporting programme business planning; monitoring and reporting on the progress of key deliverables and milestones; and ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget.

Prior to this, Daisy worked at Palladium International in their Humanitarian and Stabilisation Operations Team as a Project Manager, working closely with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to provide additional surge capacity and specialist expertise to support UK humanitarian responses.

Daisy holds a Graduate LLB in Law from BPP University and a BA in Classical Studies from Newcastle University.

Tarek is a Senior Market Engagement Manager within the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator programme. His responsibilities involve managing relationships between start-ups and mobile operators through the GSMA partnership with GIZ by organizing capacity building in the mobile ecosystem as well as encouraging public-private dialogue and collaboration.

Before joining GSMA, Tarek co-launched Flat6Labs in Tunisia, the leading accelerator and Venture capital fund in the Middle East and North Africa funding 51 tech start-ups and supporting over 250 founders by structuring acceleration programs for organisations such as IFC, UNICEF, Hivos, and the EU.

Tarek majored in International Business from the Kedge Business School of France and is fluent in French, Arabic, English, and Spanish.

As Operations Manager for the Ecosystem Accelerator GIZ Tunisia project and Central Insights Unit (CIU), Orla works with both teams to ensure delivery of key project objectives on time and within budget, with a focus on delivering benefits to members and the mobile industry.

Orla joined the GSMA in 2003 and has held various roles in project and event management across multiple geographies in GSMA Working Groups (WAS), External Affairs and Industry Purpose team supporting the International Relations and Capacity Building team, technology and advocacy programmes.

Sam is a Marketing specialist working across Ecosystem Accelerator programme and the GSMA Innovation Fund. She is responsible for developing marketing content, delivery of digital campaigns, strategising and managing design of publications.

Before joining GSMA, Sam was working at Santok (UK) Limited as a Marketing Manager. Her duties included managing the production of all marketing and promotional materials, planning and executing marketing campaigns, web content management, social media analytics, digital content planning, market research and so on. Working for multiple sub-brands within the company, Sam has experience across brand development, social media strategy, web, supply chain management and partnerships across multiple functions.

She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of the West of Scotland and Masters of Business Administration with a specialisation in Marketing from the Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Majdi Hassen is an experienced Associate Professor and PhD holder specialised in Economics and Finance. Along with his teaching duties, he is also an Executive Counsellor of The Arab Institute Of Business Leaders (IACE), an independent Business Think Tank, that promotes innovation and advocates for a better thinking and thus a better economy .

Throughout the years, Majdi has been contributing in the enrichment of the Tunisian economy by bringing together thousands of business leaders, experts and decision makers on both national and international level through the events and forums organized within the Think-Tank in order to exchange ideas and offer solutions to development related issues. Having a keen eye for opportunity and innovation, Majdi also managed to make a great contribution to the higher education by conceiving a new Master’s degree in ‘NGO Management’, a first in the MENA and Africa regions.

Dulip is the Senior Market Engagement Manager for the ClimateTech programme based in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He works closely with mobile operators, technical partners and other key stakeholders in the private and public sectors to unlock and enhance the role of digital technology as enabler in the world’s transition to the low carbon economy. In his role, he supports MNOs in their efforts to establish stronger environmental management processes with an additional focus on e-waste management and off-grid green power solutions. In his previous role for GSMA, Dulip managed the Humanitarian Connectivity Charter under the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme and supported mobile operators, technical and humanitarian partners to collaborate and work towards more innovative and resilient digital solutions for communities faced with sudden onset disasters and protracted crisis situations.

Dulip worked with Axiata Group in Malaysia and its OpCo Dialog in Sri Lanka managing their sustainability reporting process. He also set up the sustainability strategy for the Axiata Group. Dulip’s first degree is in Natural Sciences. He’s a trained GRI professional, ISO 9001 and SA8000 auditor.

Achmad Pradipta (Dipta) is the Market Engagement Manager of the Mobile Innovation Hub Indonesia. As the Market Engagement Manager, Dipta works closely with the local Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), other technology partners and policy makers to explore partnership opportunities to build innovative and impactful projects that use mobile enabled digital tech solutions to assist Indonesia’s journey towards reaching national climate goals.

Prior to GSMA, Dipta has worked across multiple companies and various industries from start-ups, consulting firms, MNOs as well as mining companies where he played a pivoting role helping them to build their sustainability portfolios and to increase their industry reputation through impactful projects such as XL Future Leaders. Dipta’s holds a Degree in Marketing & Commerce which he completed as part of the International Double Degree Graduate Programme affiliated with Curtin University, Perth, Australia. Perth.

Meikha is the Insights, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (IMEL) Manager for Mobile Innovation Hub (MIH) Indonesia. Her role includes developing the IMEL strategy, managing the research activities, monitoring project progress, recording socio-economic and climate impact and documenting learnings in-order to scale or consolidate projects in the future. Meikha is someone who believes that well-designed and implemented project monitoring and evaluation would make a successful project into an impactful project.

Prior to GSMA, Meikha worked as the Evaluation Manager for one of the Indonesian Government’s projects focusing on the labour force’s competence improvement. Before this, she also played a pivotal role as the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Lead in a growing education technology start-up. In both roles, Meikha used multiple M & E methodologies to monitor and evaluate education, training, and human development projects that implemented digital technology across the country.

Meikha holds a master’s degree in Economics specializing in Economic Development from Kyoto University, Japan, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.

Rifan is the Senior Market Engagement Manager for Mobile Innovation Hub (MIH) Indonesia. He is currently leading the Market Engagement function of this exciting project working closely with Mobile Network Operators, Tech partners and key government stakeholders to find digital enablers for Indonesia’s roadmap towards digital inclusion, climate resilience and sustainability. His focus is on leveraging the potential of disruptive technologies to facilitate not only sustainable growth but also equitable future. Rifan believes that his duty is to work closely with a multiple array of stakeholders to build collective and inclusive collaboration with the broader mobile ecosystem which could then materialise into impactful routes towards a greener Indonesia and ASEAN Region.

Prior to joining GSMA, Rifan has developed a solid credentials as smart and sustainable cities practitioner with over six years of experiences assisting cities, central governments as well as businesses in developing its digital roadmap. He holds an M.Sc degree in Eco-Cities from Cardiff University and aspires to strengthen his expertise with skills on sustainability reporting standards.

Kimberly joined the GSMA in July 2020 as the Head of Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation. Before GSMA, she was the Head of Humanitarian Policy at the British Red Cross, where she led the department responsible for policy, advocacy, and research on international humanitarian issues. She acted as adviser to the Chairman on the organisation’s role on the Governing Board and General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Kimberly has worked for several humanitarian organisations, with a focus on building partnerships in multilateral processes and negotiations. She has worked on the Sustainable Development Goals, the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants, the Grand Bargain (World Humanitarian Summit), the Paris Climate Agreement, the Mine Ban Treaty, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Kimberly worked in Asia-Pacific with the IFRC, during the time of the Indian Ocean tsunami, where she carried out advocacy on global disaster preparedness guidelines. She has also focused on humanitarian issues such as children in armed conflict, principled humanitarian action, and protection of civilians.

She holds a BA in Psychology from UBC (Vancouver), a MA in International Development Studies and Political Science from Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok) where her thesis focused on the Myanmar refugee situation in Thailand. In July 2020, she completed an Executive MBA at London Business School. She has been deployed to, and worked across, several humanitarian contexts in Africa, Asia, and the Middle-East.

Julie has extensive UK and international leadership experience in programme and project management. She joined the GSMA in 2017 after spending four years in Afghanistan as the head of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)/Communications for several USAID-funded development programmes. Previously, she gained strong business development and stakeholder management skills working with US- and UK-based international NGOs.

Julie oversees operations across her portfolio of five M4D programmes and the M&E team, and also works closely with Heads of Programmes to support strategy development. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, DC and is MSP certified.

Barnaby joined the GSMA in November 2021 as Research and Insights Director of the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation team. In this role he manages the team developing thought leadership on the role of digital technology in humanitarian crises, research and guidance on mobile technology, and overseeing monitoring, evaluation and learning activities for the M4H portfolio.

He previously worked as a Senior Research Fellow in ODI’s Humanitarian Policy Group, leading research and policy engagement on digital technology and inclusion, reform of the humanitarian system and new business models including public-private partnerships. He started his career with Save the Children and then the UK’s Department for International Development in Pakistan/Afghanistan before working across Asia, Africa and the Middle East for a range of donors, UN agencies, the Red Cross/Crescent movement and NGOs.

Isaac is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Programme. In this role, he is responsible for building and managing partnerships between MNOs and the humanitarian sector for Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA.

Isaac has over 19 years of senior- level experience in the humanitarian and development sector. Prior to joining GSMA, Isaac worked for NetHope as Global Programs Director for Disaster Management and Crisis Informatics, provides leadership, oversight and execution of NetHope’s Global Humanitarian Operations Programs including Emergency Preparedness and Response efforts, Crisis Informatics, Access to Information as Aid and Humanitarian Digital Financial Services.

Isaac also worked for World Vision International as Director of Humanitarian Technologies and Operations. Throughout Isaac’s career with World Vision International, he provided effective strategic leadership, resulting in externally positioning World Vision International as a key player in the Humanitarian Technology sector. For example, he was Instrumental in setting up the first NGOs Emergency Telecommunication Cluster Coordinator. A model that has now been adopted as standard for all large scale emergency responses.

In addition, Isaac held various positions in the Humanitarian sector and has a deep and practical understanding of humanitarian and development operations and the use and adoption of technologies to enable Aid efficiency over a vast number of contexts. Isaac’s field experience includes: The Tsunami response (2004/2005), The Sichuan earthquake response in China (2008) the Cyclone Nargis response in Myanmar (2008), Darfur refugee response in Sudan (2009), Haiti Earthquake response (between 2010 and 2012), the Horn of Africa drought response (2011), the Pakistan flood response (2011), South Sudan (2013), the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines (2013-2014), the Nepal earthquake response (2015), among others.

The combination of Isaac’s extensive field experience in disaster management and technology background provides Isaac with a deep understanding how digital technologies can be applied to enable effective humanitarian aid operations.

As a Senior Insights Manager with a focus on M&E/MEL Matthew splits his time between thought leadership work and the coordination and delivery of the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme’s MEL framework. To this end he delivers work with a range of colleagues and key partners to generate evidence and learning around the programme’s work. He also leads programme learning activity to ensure the team is continuing to learn and adapt from its work.

Prior to the GSMA, Matthew worked as a Senior Researcher at the British Red Cross. He has also held a number of other research and evaluation positions in the UK including for a leading social research agency focussed on government policy evaluation. He has an MSc in Politics of Population, Migration & Ecology from Birkbeck, University of London as well as a BA(hons) in International Relations and Politics from the University of Sheffield (both had a focus on research methods). He also has an Advanced Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice from the UK Market Research Society.

Sheila is the Senior Operations Manager responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme. Since joining GSMA in September 2017, she has worked across the Mobile Money,  Assistive Tech and Connected Society programmes where she managed operations across various workstreams to ensure projects objectives are met on time, within scope and budget.

Prior to joining GSMA, Sheila worked in grant-making with focus on scaling innovation and strengthening health systems at Comic Relief and Vitol Foundation. She has extensive programme management experience, having previously overseen the implementation of public health projects at Options for 11 years across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean funded by UKAID, EU, GIZ and German development bank KFW. Sheila holds an MSc in Development Studies from the University of Bath and a BA in International Business from Richmond, the American International University in London.

As a Senior Insights Manager, Zoe is responsible for designing and delivering a range of research projects, aligned with the M4H team’s priorities. Her work builds on experience at the intersection of participatory research methods, communication technologies and the rights of vulnerable or marginalised groups. She works across M4H’s five thematic areas: mobile money, climate change and food security, mobile utilities, gender and inclusivity, and digital identity.

Previously, Zoe worked as a Program Design and Insights Manager, creating and evaluating communication technologies for a wide range of social development issues across West Africa and South Asia. She has also worked as a Fulbright Scholar in India, a UNFPA researcher, and an independent documentary filmmaker, researching issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Zoe holds a MSc in International Development Management from the London School of Economics and a BA (Hons) from Middlebury College in Political Science and French.

Carol is a Market Engagement Manager for the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme. In this role, she is responsible for building and managing strategic partnerships between MNOs and the humanitarian sector for Africa.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Carol worked for Equity Group Holdings Limited in various business functions. Carol joins from Finserve Africa part of Equity Group where she served as a product manager engaged in financial services, emerging technology and spearheaded the Jenga payment gateway platform. Prior to her work at Finserve Africa, Carol was a special projects manager at Equity Bank where she championed social payments projects in East Africa, enabling financial and economic inclusion in marginalized areas. Among successful initiatives that Carol led include cash payments using technology and channel innovations to achieve effectiveness and efficiency in Kakuma, Kalobeyei settlement and in arid Northern Kenya . The cash transfers innovative model was extended to vulnerable children, older persons, persons with severe disabilities and to Refugees in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Carol also led Huduma Kenya Card Payment project and eCitizen platform. Carol was also a co-chair of the East Africa Humanitarian Private Sector Partnership Platform EA-HPPP (2016-2017).

Carol holds a Master’s degree in strategic Management from Catholic University of the Eastern Africa and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting from Kenya Methodist University.

Guy joined the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Fund team in March 2020, having previously worked in the Digital Identity team at GSMA. As Senior Market Engagement Manager, Guy mentors Innovation Fund grantees and is involved all aspects of the Fund lifecycle, including the application and selection process, due diligence, and monitoring and evaluation. Prior to joining GSMA in 2018, Guy worked at Vodafone, firstly at Vodafone UK and more recently at Vodafone Group. While at Vodafone, Guy was a Digital Product Owner for the My Vodafone app, managing the delivery of components to be used in local market apps around the world and leading on strategy regarding the types of components that were relevant for each market. Guy has also spent significant time living and working in East Africa. Guy holds a BA in History from the University of Exeter.

Hector provides monitoring, evaluation and learning support across both the DFID Strategic Partnership and Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation teams. In this split role he works to evidence impact, support adaptive programming and facilitate cross-programme learning across a variety of digitally led humanitarian and development initiatives.

Hector has a broad background in research and evaluation having previously worked for a number of global insight, innovation and development organisations. Hector has always championed data driven design and enjoys nothing more than working on evidence based solutions to persistent global issues. He has hands-on qualitative and quantitative fieldwork experience working on projects that have covered a variety of subjects and involved people and places around the world.

Before starting this role Hector spent a number of years living and working in Dakar, Senegal. His last project there was for Plan International helping to guide their selection of research, advocacy and influencing partners throughout West and Central Africa. Hector holds a BA in Geography and Marketing from the University of Hull.

As an Insights Manager in the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation (M4H) team, Susanna is responsible for engaging with the mobile and humanitarian sectors to deliver research projects and evidence on humanitarian connectivity and digital humanitarian assistance. Her work aligns with M4H’s priority themes including forced displacement, cash and voucher assistance, climate change, disaster response, global hunger, and gender.

Susanna joined the GSMA in 2019, working with the Innovation Fund and Insights teams in M4H. She has also worked as an Analyst in the Central Insights Unit at the GSMA, researching frontier technologies in emerging economies and engaging with partners to deliver capacity building workshops with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office country posts. Previous to the GSMA, Susanna has worked in Senegal on youth employment and sexual health, and on the refugee crisis in Greece in aid logistics and women’s empowerment.

Susanna holds a Masters degree in Conflict, Security and Development from the University of Sussex.

Sophie joined the GSMA in April 2018 and has previously led the marketing strategy for Digital Identity, Assistive Tech, ClimateTech and the Central Insights Unit. Since December 2021, Sophie has led marketing and communications for the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation (M4H) programme. She is responsible for the strategy and delivery of digital advocacy campaigns, developing video content, infographics, blogs and other multimedia content, as well as editing and managing the design of programme publications.

Following university where she studied history, Sophie started her career at Condé Nast before joining the Marketing and Subscriptions team at The Spectator. She joined the GSMA from a creative digital agency called Forge – as a Campaign Manager she was responsible for marketing strategy, content creation and project management for a number of different clients. Sophie recently added to her qualifications and skillset on completion of a graphic design course at Shillington College. Sophie is passionate about the impact of Mobile for Development’s work and is excited to continue to learn more about the development sector at large.

Ida joined the GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation team in January 2022. She is currently responsible for accelerating the delivery and impact of digital humanitarian assistance through catalysing partnerships and innovation for new digital humanitarian services.

Since June 2015, Ida has led different initiatives for Safaricom and M-PESA Foundations including ISO 26000 on Corporate Social Responsibility, Monitoring and Evaluation, documentation, programmes and partnerships with the community, peer corporates and corporate foundations, the Civil Society, National and County governments among others.

Ida holds a postgraduate diploma in Project Management (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology) and a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Sociology (University of Nairobi). She also holds a diploma in Legal Studies (Kenya School of Professional Studies). She has also completed other key courses namely: African sustainability implementers programme, Social Return on Investment (SROI), ISO 26000 Lead Auditor, Monitoring & Evaluation among others.

Bryce is joining the M4H team after leading the Digital Inclusion team’s work on the Mobile Coverage Maps and the Mobile Internet Skills Training Toolkit (MISTT). In addition to his experience in mobile infrastructure and digital skills, he has a broad range of experience in the humanitarian sector including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Bryce works across the humanitarian sector, mobile network operators, and other industry players within the mobile ecosystem on various M4H programmatic activities relating to humanitarian disaster preparedness and response.

Bryce has worked in the International Aid and Development space for nearly a decade with a focus on leveraging technology to achieve positive social outcomes. He previously worked at the United Nations Secretariat’s Asia-Pacific hub (UN ESCAP) in Bangkok, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Asia-Pacific regional office in Bangkok, the International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) Asia-Pacific office in Sydney, and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in London.

Bryce holds a master’s degree in International Development from the National Chengchi University, an honours bachelor’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the City University of Hong Kong, and Associate’s level in Economics and Finance from Franklin University Switzerland. He also studied at Fudan University and Seoul National University.

Zohaib Jawed is a GSMA Innovation Fund Manager with a focus on Mobile for Humanitarian (M4H) based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

He manages engagements in APAC for the M4H programme with innovative tech-startups, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, Government Institutions, and multilateral organizations to foster the future of digital humanitarian response.

He is passionate about technology and how it can be leveraged for development and humanitarian assistance to communities. He has developed deep expertise in fintech product management through stints with Easypaisa, as Assistant Director – Products where he launched industry-first initiatives such as Instant Payment Scheme (Raast) and Open Banking and has also worked as a Product Manager for Digital Wallets at JazzCash. Zohaib has been instrumental in designing social sector interventions, programme management and managing innovation funds at Karandaaz, where he led four fintech innovation challenges. Zohaib was also associated with the World Bank, working on provincial development programmes. He has authored academic papers, research studies, and reports in his previous roles.

Zohaib has a Master of Science in Economics from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, and has received training at “The Design Thinkers” academy on Design Thinking from Amsterdam. In addition to this, he has various certifications on Agile framework for Product Owners, Project Management, and Leadership.

In October 2022, Jenny joined the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation team where she works on the Humanitarian Innovation Fund.

Jenny has an undergraduate degree in Geography and Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews, a Masters degree in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and was previously a Research Associate at the University of Rwanda. Prior to joining the GSMA, Jenny helped launch the University of Cambridge’s ‘Cambridge-Africa’ programme, where she managed the Alborada Research Fund and post-doctoral Fellowships for academics in sub-Saharan Africa. Jenny then moved into the ‘tech for good’ space when she joined the Internet Watch Foundation, managing a global project to remove child sexual abuse imagery from the internet in developing countries, whilst building support from national law enforcement, regulators and civil society. Jenny expanded her career by joining Get Safe Online where she managed FCDO funded projects delivering digital inclusion and digital literacy in the Pacific, Caribbean, Rwanda and Indonesia. Jenny is passionate about working at the intersection of technology, multi-stakeholder partnerships and human rights.

Ashley joined the GSMA in 2021 as the Head of Financial Inclusion and AgriTech.  Prior to joining GSMA, Ashley had been living and working in East Africa, championing financial inclusion and the development of agrifood systems across sub-Saharan Africa for over 11 years.  During this time, Ashley designed and managed funds, investing in agribusinesses and fintechs across the continent, with Root Capital and Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), to catalyze innovation and growth for wide impact.  Ashley has played key roles in driving and supporting gender lens investing in her work.  She also worked with Mastercard Foundation and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA), managing large multi-million-dollar programmes, partnering and working with a wide array of implementing partners and key stakeholders in the industry.

Ashley holds a BSc in Management and Finance from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (United States) and an MBA from IESE Business School (Spain).

Bart-Jan is Senior Director Mobile Money & Inclusive Fintech for the GSMA’s Mobile Money Programme. He leads on the engagements with mobile money providers and wider mobile and fintech industry stakeholders on subjects relating to business, innovation, and financial inclusion. He is also responsible for the GSMA Inclusive Tech Lab, the innovation facility in which the GSMA, mobile money providers, tech and fintech companies, and other industry stakeholders work together to develop and trial technological innovations for the industry’s biggest challenges and opportunities related to financial inclusion of the poor.

Before joining the GSMA, Bart-Jan consulted companies around the globe in the domain of mobile and digital payments, including operators, handset manufacturers, banks, and regulators. After, he managed a business unit for UL, working with Apple, Samsung, and over 100 financial institutions to bring their innovative mobile payments services to market in 30+ countries worldwide.

Bart-Jan has worked and lived abroad in various countries, including the US, Brazil, Switzerland, and Sudan. He holds a PhD in Quantum Physics from Leiden University, Netherlands.

Adil is the Senior Market Engagement Manager for the GSMA’s Inclusive Tech Lab within the Mobile Money Programme. He is responsible for driving the technological roadmap and growth of financial and digital inclusion in emerging markets. He leads the engagements with mobile money providers and the wider mobile industry stakeholders in order to manage the implementation of technical solutions that accelerate third-party integrations and ecosystem growth. Areas of interest include industry-wide adoption of standardised financial APIs, biometrics in low-tech environments and new solutions for merchant payments.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Adil worked in the remittances industry as a Business Development consultant to Fintech start-ups and holds an MBA from Imperial College Business School.

As Senior Engineering Manager, Inclusive Fintech in the Mobile Money Programme, Eudis is responsible for building and managing relationships with a broad range of stakeholders (e.g. mobile network operators, grantees, service providers, etc.) in order to identify and catalyse strategic opportunities. He is also responsible for running the Inclusive Tech Lab team, taking a hands-on approach to develop, support, and ensure the delivery of inclusive solutions of the future for mobile money technology.

Eudis has an extensive research background which he applies in commercial environments for greater creativity, independence, user experience, critical thinking, and initiative. Before joining the GSMA, he worked as a university professor, technical consultant and engineering manager in multidisciplinary IT and engineering projects. Key to this was developing and implementing innovation strategies for software and hardware technologies at both local and global levels.

Eudis holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from the University of Coimbra and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Paraíba.

Rishi is the Senior Data and Insights Manager for the Mobile Money programme. He is responsible for leading the programme’s data and insights work, and the annual State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money.

Before this, Rishi worked for Pula Advisors, an insurtech that provides insurance to smallholder farmers, and the Mobile Money and AgriTech programmes at the GSMA. He has worked as an independent consultant too, in particular for the World Bank and Caribou Digital. His previous experience includes roles at McKinsey, Willis Towers Watson and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.  

He holds a BA from SOAS, University of London, and an MA from the University of Groningen. In 2020, Rishi became a Certified Digital Financial Practitioner. He speaks French and Kiswahili. 

Gianluca is a Senior Data Analyst for the Mobile Money programme. He executes quantitative analysis in the Data and Insights team. He is also responsible for the collection, cleaning and analysis of data used for the annual State of the Industry Report on mobile money.

Before this, Gianluca worked at Pula Advisors, where he produced feasibility studies, insights reports and blogs on agricultural insurance as part of the research and consulting team. Prior to Pula, he was a Senior Research Analyst at a transaction advisory company. There, he generated investment marketing materials for African start-ups seeking to raise capital. Gianluca’s previous experience includes roles as an independent research and economic consultant for USAID, among others. He has worked in executive education and training too.

Gianluca holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Economic Policy – both from University College London, where he completed a dissertation on alternative insurance mechanisms in rural Tanzania.

Aramé is a Senior Insights Manager for the Mobile Money programme, responsible for delivering key research and analysis outputs to mobile money providers and stakeholders worldwide. In his current role, he focuses on topics that enable the sector’s transition towards a ‘payments-as-a-platform’ model, such as seamless third party integration and customer analytics. Prior to joining the GSMA, he worked within M-KOPA Solar’s Labs team (R&D), where he tested, monitored and reported on a range of digital financial services targeted at rural customers. During his time at Coffey, an international development consulting firm, Aramé worked indirectly with the GSMA, supporting the Innovation Fund component of the M4D Utilities programme. He holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from ESSEC Business School in Paris.

Chris has worked for 3 years in the GSMA’s Mobile for Development team and is senior insights manager for the Mobile Money programme. He is focused on research projects, disseminating insights and collaboration with multilateral organisations, academia, donors, governments and the private sector. The programme’s work supports the development of commercially sustainable mobile-enabled digital financial services that can drive financial inclusion and improve lives across low- and middle-income countries. He is an author of the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money.

Chris spent the last 20 years primarily in telecommunications and adjacent industries (media, tech and digital) working in Europe, North America, The Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania in strategic roles in network operators as well as for management consulting, analytics and research firms. He also has experience in financial services.

Kennedy is the Mobile Money Regulatory Lead at the GSMA. In this capacity, he is responsible for shaping positions taken by some of the largest telecommunications and digital financial services companies and helping them find solutions to regulatory issues.

He is an experienced public policy and regulatory affairs practitioner with over 13 years’ experience spanning converged telecommunications and financial services. Prior to joining the GSMA, Kennedy worked with Safaricom PLC where he held several roles in Regulatory and Public Policy, Financial Services and Customer Management.  He is skilled in Government Relations, Stakeholder Management and Strategic Planning.

Angela is the Senior Operations Manager for the Mobile Money team, responsible for operational management across delivery, reporting and business planning.

Prior to this, Angela worked as an Evaluation Manager at Tetra Tech, managing complex multi-country evaluations across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. She has extensive experience in contract and financial management, stakeholder relations and reporting and compliance from a variety of donors, including the FCDO, USAID, DFAT, BEIS, and the EC.

Angela holds an MA in Social Policy and Development and a BA in History and International Relations.

Ana is the Marketing Manager for the GSMA Mobile Money programme. She is responsible for strategy and delivery of digital campaigns, developing video content and case studies and managing design of publications. Previously she worked with the AgriTech team as the Marketing Specialist.

Previously Ana has worked with a number of charities and social enterprises including a renewable energy start-up where she launched and managed a successful crowdfunding campaign. Working on a wide variety of projects Ana has experience across brand development, social media strategy, press, web, videos, events, and partnerships.

Ana holds a Master of Commerce in Finance and Marketing from the University of Western Australia, along with a Bachelor of Arts; Philosophy and International Relations, and a Bachelor of Commerce; Economics and Management from the same university.

Vincent is the Marketing Specialist for the GSMA Mobile Money programme. He is responsible for creating and delivering digital campaigns, coordinating with stakeholders to develop video content, blogs, reports and managing design of publications.

Previously Vincent has worked for PepsiCo Shanghai and many start-ups in China, Hong Kong, and the UK. Having been immersed in different business verticals across strategy, design, analytics, events, sales , and more, he once led the launch of an E-event that attracted over 2.2 million viewers in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Malaysia.

Vincent holds a Master’s Strategic Marketing from the Imperial College London, along with a Bachelor of Arts; Marketing from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, during which he completed one year of exchange programme at University College London within The UCL School of Management School.

As Software Innovation Specialist in the Inclusive Tech Lab within the GSMA’s Mobile Money programme, Carlos is responsible for conceptualising, developing and evangelising technological innovations in financial and digital services. He is also responsible for monitoring and researching technological trends in mobile money.

Carlos has over 10 years of experience with strong knowledge in distributed systems, computer networks, information security and machine learning. He is a specialist in the design and deployment of IT infrastructure on cloud or on-premises, focusing on distributed and high availability solutions having performance and security as main goals. Before join GSMA as consultant, he worked as a university professor and technical consultant in innovation projects with global industry players.

Carlos holds BSc in Computer Science from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and a MSc in Informatics from the Federal University of Paraíba.

Samy is a Software Innovation Developer within the Mobile Money Team at GSMA. He focuses on developing code, testing technical projects and researching new financial technology trends.

Samy has previous experience gained working for a global wireless solutions provider, where he was part of the software development team working on wireless radio and antenna technologies in readiness for 5G networks. In addition, he was responsible for identifying areas for modification to improve customer experience.

He hopes to leverage his skills to help create highly-innovative technical services to drive global financial inclusion.

Duncan joined the GSMA in 2021 as an Operations Coordinator for the Mobile Money team. Before joining the GSMA, he studied BSc International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response at the University of Manchester. During his studies, he was in charge of fundraising for the Universities hockey teams and more than doubled fundraising targets. He also studied at IOM’s summer school on migration studies in partnership with the Charles University in Prague.

Duncan has also been a Project Leader with ReachOut, leading weekly sessions of mentors and mentees. He was an intern at Mayors for Peace and the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) for some time, gaining invaluable experience in the workings of how INGOs facilitate new projects during their new ‘European Chapter’ and gained insights into council logistics. He recently worked his way up from a porter to an Assistant Business Manager as an agency worker at SEN schools around East London, the Lime Academy.

Achille is Market Engagement Manager under the Mobile Money Programme. He is supporting the team to define a clear and outstanding strategic direction. He is responsible to engage with industry, Build and manage strategic relationships with the Mobile Money & digital finance providers with a huge focus in Francophone speaking countries.

Prior to GSMA, Achille has worked for various digital finance service actors. He was consultant Manager & business development at MicroSave Consulting, helping financial service providers to implement their digital transformation and create new digital financial services. He has also been part of many research projects on Fintech in Francophone Africa. Achille has worked for one of a well-known French Tech Company Sopra Banking Software and a big Fintech which provided alternative delivery channel for Financial Service Providers – called Software Group. He has been member of the UNCDF advisory panel for women financial inclusion in the CEMAC Area.

Achille holds a master’s degree in management and strategy from the University of Ngaoundere Cameroon.

Joyce Chepkorir is a Monitoring and Evaluation specialist with over 10 years of experience in monitoring and evaluating multi-country projects. She previously worked with Hand in Hand Eastern Africa, Action Aid International Kenya and African Women development and communication Network (FEMNET) in different positions within MEAL functions. Joyce is passionate about building MEAL systems, impact documentation and building learning organizations. Joyce enjoys travelling, nature and spending time with family.

Winnie is the Mobile Money Regulatory specialist at GSMA. She is involved in developing and implementing engagement strategies to advance GSMA’s mobile money policy and regulatory positions with regulators and governments. She is also involved in building and managing relationships with operators, financial regulators and other key stake holders in identifying strategic opportunities. 

Winnie has over 13 years of experience in the financial sector as an in-house counsel, particularly in fintech, banking, and insurance. Prior to joining GSMA, Winnie was the global legal and regulatory advisor at Exinity. Prior to that Winnie worked at DT-One as their senior legal counsel where she was engaging different stakeholders in managing regulatory and product development matters with MNOs in EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.

Winnie has pursued her MBA at Strathmore Business School and a global EMBA module at IESE. 

Mary is the Advocacy Manager, Mobile Money programme.  

She is a seasoned telecommunications and financial services policy expert with over 7 years of experience.  

Mary has been at the forefront of the development and formulation of ICT and financial sector policies and regulations, such as data protection regulations, consumer protection policies and guidelines, to promote a sustainable ecosystem for technology and telecom companies.  

She holds a ‘Social Science degree and is currently pursuing a postgraduate diploma in law. She is also an alumna of the Strathmore Public Policy Executive Programme, a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, Nairobi legal hackers, and All Tech is Human. 

Brenda is a Data Analyst for the Mobile Money Program. She is responsible for Data cleaning, Data Analysis and Estimates and Forecasts process for the Annual State of Industry Report and managing the monthly Deployment Tracker for Mobile Money Providers.

Brenda is passionate about solving problem using data and providing data-driven insights. She has previously worked as a Data Analyst intern and has been involved in Data Science projects as a Junior Machine Learning Engineer.

Brenda has a BSc in Climate Change and Development from Maseno University, and later transitioned into Data. She is a certified Data Scientist with skills in Data Analysis, Python, SQL, and Machine Learning.