OUR TEAM

Mahenau Agha

Mahenau Agha has over 35 years of international experience in sustainable development, including communications, public relations, media, and outreach. Her extensive track record includes resource mobilisation and partnerships, project monitoring and evaluation, public/private partnerships, advocacy and external relations, information systems, knowledge management, and infrastructure development. Among her other responsibilities, Mahenau leads communications for the Sustainable Finance Hub. She has also been involved with the creation of many of the global multilateral agreements reflecting her commitment to sustainable development. She holds a Master’s in communications and economic development.

Luciana Aguiar

Luciana Aguiar is a specialist in the private sector in development and innovation, inclusive and impact-driven business, finance for development, and social investment. A social entrepreneur and founding partner of a benefit company, for more than 15 years she has supported the development of private-sector strategies that serve people in developing countries for institutions such as IDB, CGAP (World Bank), and foundations. Her areas of expertise include business intelligence, impact management, innovation in financial inclusion, education, health, technology, mass consumer goods, retail, and communication with corporations, startups, and impact investors. She has held non-executive board positions with impact investors and foundations. Ms Aguiar holds a PhD from Cornell University.

Mohammad Allahou

Mohammad Allahou is a Sustainable Finance and Private Sector specialist at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States in New York. He oversees the engagement, co-design, and implementation of sustainable finance initiatives and collaborations with the private sector at both the regional and country levels. In addition, Mr Allahou spearheads partnership and engagement efforts for several major regional initiatives, including the Arab States Climate Finance Facility and the Digital for Sustainable Development initiatives (D4SD). He holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus on Finance and Strategy from the University of Pittsburgh.

Lauren Bradford

Lauren Bradford leads the SDG Finance Academy team, which develops and deploys tailored training and knowledge exchange on sustainable finance to practitioners worldwide. In addition, she serves on several boards, including the Arab Foundations Forum. Lauren holds a Master’s degree in International Development and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), as well as a certificate from the Overseas Development Institute and London School of Economics in Conflict and Humanitarian response.

Emily Davis

Emily Davis brings over 12 years of experience in development finance and programme design for the SDGs. As Lead Advisor for Programme and Partnerships, she leads strategic coordination and partnerships across SFH’s global portfolio. 

She has led UNDP's sustainable finance engagement with IFIs including with the World Bank, IMF, AIIB, and the Finance in Common coalition. She played a central role in the roll out of the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) in 20+ countries Asia-Pacific, managed a regional multi-donor facility for financing reforms and worked in China supporting policy engagement on South-South cooperation. Prior to joining UNDP, Emily worked on development projects in Africa and Central America. She holds a Master’s in Economic Development and Management from the School for International Training and a Bachelor's in Anthropology and English from Eastern University.

Jeanne Finestone

For 15 years, Jeanne Finestone has led communications and partnership efforts for UN and international institutions and spent an additional 15 years working with public, private and non-profit organizations in the US and abroad in communications, marketing, public relations and resource mobilization. Her UN career has included posts with UNDP in South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Timor-Leste. Previous posts include World Agroforestry (ICRAF) as Global Head of Communications and Partnerships, Moby Group as Programme Director for Afghanistan, McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and America’s Public Broadcasting System, where she held various positions. As a consultant, Jeanne has supported numerous international education, arts, media organizations and political candidates, as well as the UN agencies FAO, UNICEF, UNITAR and Peacekeeping.

Maxwell Gomera

Prior to being appointed as Resident Representative for UNDP South Africa and Director for the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, Maxwell Gomera served as Resident Representative at UNDP Rwanda. He is a resource economist with over 20 years of experience in nature conservation and agricultural development. With experience in a range of economic development issues, Maxwell was part of the team that developed the ‘Global Green New Deal’ for reviving the global economy and boosting employment in response to the financial and economic crisis of 2008. A Senior Fellow at Aspen New Voices, he is an accomplished writer and has written for national and global media outlets. 

Orria Goni

Orria Goni brings over 25 years of experience advancing sustainable finance. She leads UNDP’s public finance portfolio, including tax and budgeting for SDGs. 

Previously, Orria served as Chief of Public Finance and Local Governance at UNICEF HQ, where she led a global reset of the Public Finance for Children agenda. Earlier in her career, Orria served as Regional Public Finance Advisor at UNDP, supporting the rollout of Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) and broader public finance reforms across Sub-Saharan Africa. Her experience also spans governance, human rights, and South-South cooperation in Africa, Türkiye, and at UNDP HQ. She has worked with AECID, Lawyers Without Borders, and the Red Cross in Latin America and Asia.

A trained lawyer, she holds a Law degree from Universidad de Navarra and a Master’s in International Development Cooperation from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.

Nergis Gulasan

Nergis Gülasan is an economist working for the UN system since 2007, advising on financing for development, financial and economic crisis response and UN collaboration with the G20, IMF and World Bank. Previously, she worked for UNDP’s Executive Office, Office of Development Studies, Bureau for Development Policy, Strategic Policy Unit, and Development Coordination Office SDG Financing team. During this time, she co-authored flagship reports including the 2019 Human Development Report, the UN-World Bank “Pathways for Peace” report and the UNDP-United Nations Research Institute for Social Development report on Global Trends. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Boğaziçi University in Turkey, a Master's degree in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain, and a Master’s degree from New York University.

Piper Hart

Piper Hart has 15 years of experience in providing strategic policy advice in public financial management, private-sector development and sustainable development financing, working across varied development contexts. Her expertise spans all regions, with a focus on Africa and Arab States. Piper now leads UNDP's integrated efforts to ensure that public and private finance for the SDGs reaches fragile and crisis contexts. Prior to this role, she worked for the Government of Canada at the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Finance, and then took on roles with the African Development Bank, the World Bank, OECD and UNDP in Cote d'Ivoire, Nepal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. Piper holds a Master’s degree in International Relations, with a focus on Economics, from the University of Glasgow.

Christopher Hughes 

Christopher Hughes is a Strategic Communications Specialist at UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub in New York. He brings 15 years of experience in global communications, with a focus on inclusive financial policy and corporate sustainability. 

Prior to this role, he served as Communications Advisor to Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in her capacity as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, leading communications and media strategy. He previously held roles as Global Head of Sustainability Communications at Thai Union Group PCL, where he led campaigns on oceans, labor rights, and environmental responsibility, and as Communications Manager at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, engaging central banks and ministries across the Global South. 

He holds a Master’s in Mass Communication from the University of Leicester and a Bachelor’s in English Literature from the University of Cincinnati. 

Vito Intini

Vito Intini is the Regional Chief Economist and Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Finance Team Leader at UNDP in the Arab States region. Prior to this position, he was the Principal Macroeconomic Adviser at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in New York, where he worked on a global macroeconomic forecasting model, socioeconomic assessments of large infrastructure projects, quantitative methods to measure SDG interactions and prioritisation, SDG costing and budgeting, and led the preparation of the UN guidance on Economic Transformation, among other activities. Previously, Vito worked at the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) where he led the global programme on Municipal Finance. Earlier, he was the Chief of the Economic Governance Section at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut where he led a number of publications and capacity building programs, including on measurement of inequality, national sustainable development strategies, fiscal policy, development in conflict, market competition, among others. Vito was also a Private and Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank in the Balkan region. He also worked for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), European Union and the academia. He has also been a Fulbright visiting fellow. Vito specialised in Regional Economics and Economic Geography during his Ph.D. studies in Econometrics at postgraduate level.

Nohman Istiaq

Nohman Istiaq has over 15 years of experience supporting Ministries of Finance, Planning Organisations, Sector Ministries, Parliaments and Audit Offices in reforming Public Finance systems and institutions. Nohman has helped to design and implement several reforms related to strategic budgeting, including results-budgeting, strengthening Parliamentary oversight, improving budget transparency, IFMIS systems, legal and regulatory reforms, fiscal decentralization, financial reporting with sectoral knowledge in social sectors and climate change. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

Moortaza Jiwanji

Moortaza Jiwanji is the Regional Sustainable Finance Advisor in the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub (ASFH) based in Pretoria. In his 22 years’ experience working with the United Nations, government and the private sector, he has provided expert advice on policy making and designing and implementing innovative programmes on financing for the SDGs. He has a strong track record in systemic reform for financing climate- and disaster-resilient development, Moortaza has managed multi-disciplinary teams in Asia and the Pacific, Latin American and Caribbean and Africa. He holds a Master’s in Environmental Economics from University College London.

Diyora Kabulova

Diyora Kabulova works as a Regional SDG Finance Policy Specialist at the UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, providing policy advice on issues such as Integrated National Financing Frameworks, thematic bonds and portfolio design. In her previous role as an Inclusive Growth Cluster Lead at the UNDP Uzbekistan, she supported the Government in issuing sovereign SDG bonds, introducing SDG and green budgeting, and developing the Integrated National Financing Strategy. She has more than 10 years’ experience working for the United Nations, covering a range of issues including poverty reduction, employment and job creation, investments and trade, and sustainable finance.

Jan Kellett

Jan Kellett leads UNDP’s work on insurance and risk finance. A founder of the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, he co-chairs the Insurance Development Forum Operating Committee, is UNDP’s senior representative to the InsuResilience Global Partnership, and co-created the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. Prior to this, Jan led UNDP’s climate, disaster and energy external engagement, was Programme Leader at Development Initiatives, was a Senior Research Fellow at Overseas Development Institute and worked for HSBC in business lending, insurance and development. He holds a Master’s degree in political science.

Christopher Marc Lilyblad

Positioned at the intersection of the Sustainable Finance and Climate Hubs, Christopher Lilyblad coordinates the Joint Agenda for Financing the Paris Agreement and SDGs. Prior to taking up this role, he was responsible for providing strategy and policy advice as a development economist in Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde. This work included government and private sector engagement on Integrated National Financing Frameworks. In his 13 years of international experience, Christopher played various roles with the European Union, the Clinton Foundation, and public and private entities in Luxembourg. He holds a Doctorate in International Development from the University of Oxford, where he attended as a Clarendon Scholar.

Marcos Mancini

Marcos Mancini is a Senior Sustainable Finance Advisor, leading policy on the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group Secretariat. Prior to this, he was the Head of Policy at the UNEP Inquiry’s Design of a Sustainable Financial System project which identified best practices and explored financial market policy and regulatory innovations supporting the development of a green financial system focused on policy. He is a sustainability business professional and the former Executive Director of Sustainability at Grupo Financiero Banorte, the third largest financial institution in Mexico. He has chaired the Sustainability Committee at the Mexican Banking Association (ABM), the steering committee for the Central America and Mexico chapter at ANDE (Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs) and taught the Sustainable Finance module at the Banorte-Ixe /UNAM course. Marcos holds a dual MBA/MS degree from the University of Michigan (The Erb Institute for Global sustainable Enterprise) and an executive Master’s in environmental management from Escuela de Organización Industrial. 

Joanne Manda

Joanne Manda is the Senior SDG Investment Advisor in UNDP Africa Finance Sector Hub (AFSH) supporting countries in accelerating investments aligned with the SDG. Passionate about fighting climate change and generating development results through innovative financing mechanisms, Joanne pioneered UNDP’s work on innovative financing solutions including green bonds, Islamic finance and blended finance mechanisms for energy and other infrastructure projects. In addition, her experience extends to working with private-sector partners in the impact investment space.

Lucy Nshuti Mbabazi

Lucy Nshuti Mbabazi is the Managing Director of the United Nations-hosted Better Than Cash Alliance. Since 2020, she has led the Alliance’s Africa policy, advocacy, and partnerships, working with regional institutions to drive digital financial inclusion—most notably through integrating digital payments and infrastructure into the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade.

Prior to joining the UN, she held leadership roles at Ecobank and Visa, and served as Strategy and Policy Advisor at the Rwanda Development Board. She is also known for her contributions to youth leadership and digital access through Girls in ICT Rwanda, Leo Africa Institute, and RICTA.

Nshuti holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor’s in IT & Management from La Roche University.

Artak Melkonyan

With a 30-year track record of sustainable business development projects more than 40 countries for UNDP, Artak Melkonyan specializes in finance for the SDGs through engagement with the private sector using innovative impact-focused financial frameworks. He leads UNDP’s global Impact Venture Accelerator initiative and oversees engagement with several funds and blended finance initiatives. Artak’s previous experience includes management roles in a venture philanthropy, multinational financial and credit institutions, private equity, banking and government. He has also taught at universities in Armenia, France and Thailand. Artak holds Masters degrees from the American University of Armenia and State Engineering University of Armenia, and complemented atop-tier executive education programs from INSEAD and Georgetown University.

Letsholo Mojanaga

With over 20 years of experience in international development across Africa, the Middle East, China, and the European Union, Letsholo Mojanaga brings extensive expertise to the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub. Letsholo has a strong track record in project finance, project management, monitoring and evaluation, circular economy, economic policy development and public finance. Before joining the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, he worked for UNDP South Africa as an Economic Specialist and Head of Inclusive Growth. He also held positions in research institutions, the ILO, the private sector, and international NGOs. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Stellenbosch and an MSc in Health Informatics from City University of London.

David Mueller

David Mueller is an economic development specialist with nearly 15 years of experience across the UN, private sector, NGOs, and government. At UNDP’s Private Finance for the SDGs, he supports country teams in identifying SDG investment opportunities through SDG Investor Maps and in integrating sustainability into decision-making using the SDG Impact Standards. He also serves as the Regional Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa with the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, where he works with country teams and coordinates regional initiatives with public and private stakeholders.

Previously, David provided advisory on SDG financing and private sector engagement at UNDP’s Regional Service Centre for Africa. He also led advisory teams at Open Capital, delivering impact for investors and businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa, and served as Head of Secretariat for Impact@Africa, a pan-African impact investment network.

David holds a Master’s in African Studies from SOAS, University of London, and a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Zurich. He is based in Pretoria, South Africa and speaks German, English, French, Swahili, and Italian.

Stephen Nolan

Stephen is the Managing Director of the Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) which is a global network of 44 financial centres, working together to achieve the objectives set by the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement and hosted by UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub. Stephen is also the Head of Secretariat for UNDP’s Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF) which is a global network of 37 insurance supervisors and regulators working together to strengthen responses to sustainability and climate change challenges facing the insurance sector. Stephen is a member of several international sustainable finance Committees.  He is also Chair of Ireland’s Climate Finance Week series and a member of the High-Level Advisory Group of Switzerland’s Building Bridges series.

Suren Poghosyan

Dr Suren Poghosyan is an economist with more than 27 years’ experience in public financial management reforms and bridging policies with budgets in transition and developing countries. His current role as the SDG Finance Advisor for Europe and Central Asia region involves supporting countries in aligning, leveraging and mobilising public, private and international finance with 2030 Agenda. Since 2014, he has been a member of the UNDP team supporting countries in Asia and Europe in improving national budgeting systems to achieve the SDGs. He is also the principal author of UNDP Guidebook on Budgeting for SDGs. Prior to UNDP, Dr Poghosyan worked with DFID, ADB, the World Bank, OECD, GIZ and other UN organisations. He received a PhD from the State Engineering University of Armenia, MA in Management, as well as Economist degree from the Armenian State University of Economics.

Natalya Pyagay

Throughout her 17-year career with international development and business organisations, Natalya Pyagay has built a solid track record in analytical, quality assurance and advisory services to ensure efficient use of financial resources, compliance with United Nations Standards, effective coordination of corporate planning and reporting exercises, and partnership development with national and international stakeholders. Prior to this assignment, Natalya served as a Programme Officer for the UNDP SDG Philanthropy Platform and Head of the Resource Management Unit for UNDP Uzbekistan. She holds an MBA from the University of Utah, USA, and has additional certifications in public procurement and project, programme and people management.

Simon Rawson

Simon leads the Secretariat that supports TISFD, which is hosted by UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, working with a multistakeholder, global steering committee to develop a disclosure framework for business and finance impacts and dependencies on people and the related risks and opportunities.

Prior to joining TISFD, Simon served as Deputy Chief Executive of ShareAction, a responsible investment charity, leading the organisation’s work to build ambitious investor engagement initiatives to help companies transition towards a fair, just and sustainable economy. He previously worked for McKinsey & Company, a global management consultancy, where he helped build the firm’s social responsibility function. Simon has also served as a diplomat for the British government, including an overseas posting to Pakistan and as a private secretary to the Minister for Europe. He holds an MSci in physics from Imperial College London.

Manita Ray

With more than 20 years' experience in the private, public and international development sectors, Manita Ray has worked across all global regions to advance women’s access to finance. In addition to leading the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Frontier Incubators Programme, she was lead designer of the ‘Gender Lens Incubation and Acceleration Toolkit’ while she was CEO at ygap.  Manita also served as the Gender Lens Investment Advisor to SHE Investments in Cambodia, the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Advisor for DFAT in the Solomon Islands, and was lead designer of the breakthrough research initiative, A Roadmap for Australian Investors: How to invest to achieve gender equity, racial equity, diversity and inclusion. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Melbourne (Australia) Business School.

Thede Ruest

Based in UNDP’s Brussels Representation Office, Thede Rüst leads engagement with the European Commission on strategic partnerships, with a focus on green bonds and sustainable finance. He brings deep expertise in innovative financing mechanisms and policy advisory. 

Prior to UNDP, he led the Emerging Markets Debt team at Nordea Asset Management and served on the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on scaling sustainable finance. He has also held roles with PRI, ING Investment Management, and Acap Partners, and supported the South African government on economic policy. 

Thede holds a Master’s in Business and Development Studies from Copenhagen Business School and degrees from the International Business School Groningen and the University of Macau.

Tomas Sales

Tomas Sales leads the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub Private Sector and Sustainable Investments workstream. In the previous four years, he was the UNDP Manager for the African Facility for Inclusive Markets (AFIM) Unit of the RSCA. Tomas is an expert on Emerging Markets Capital Markets and Business Finance, Private Sector Development and Engagement, Business Ecosystems Development, Value Chain Development, Impact Investment and Sustainable Finance. He has a solid track record in designing, developing, and delivering successful corporate flagships products and development solutions. 

Rita Sciarra

Rita Sciarra leads the Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Finance Team at the SFH Panama Hub, focusing on inclusive markets, social protection, employment creation and support to SMEs. An international development expert with more than 20 years of experience, she has served UNDP in Mexico, Haiti and Dominican Republic, working on socio-economic inclusion, inclusive growth and private-sector partnerships. She began her career with Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NGOs, working in India, Bolivia and Tanzania. Rita holds a Master’s degree in Public Law from the University of Zaragoza in Spain, a Master’s in European Economic Studies from the College of Europe in Belgium, and a Master’s degree in Economics and International Relations from Bocconi University in Italy. Rita is also a Yale World Fellow 2017.

Sebnem Sener

With 20 years of experience in international organisations and NGOs, Dr Sebnem Sener leads UNDP’s work to leverage, scale, and align private sector investments to help achieve the SDGs by 2030. Prior to taking on this role, she worked for Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, with a focus on digital financial inclusion for the SDGs. Previously, she also worked for the World Bank Group’s Finance and Markets Group, where she provided support in financial sector development, financial inclusion and emerging markets. She holds a PhD in Engineering Management from the George Washington University in Washington DC, a Master’s degree in Finance from Middle East Technical University in Turkey, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from Middle East Technical University.

Sahba Sobhani

Sahba Sobhani brings over 20 years’ experience in the private sector to UNDP, from Silicon Valley to Singapore. At UNDP, he has served as Programme Advisor, Team Leader, Programme Manager and technical lead for the recently endorsed UNDP Private Sector Strategy. His significant partnership development and advocacy experience with the private sector includes work more than 100 companies and business organisations, and management of six global UNDP-led strategic multi-stakeholder partnerships, including the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business. Previously, he managed two UNDP private-sector initiatives in the Executive Office of former UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown, and co-authored ‘Unleashing Entrepreneurship: Making Business Work for the Poor’, a report produced at the request of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Fletcher School of Diplomacy (USA).

Tim Strawson

Tim Strawson leads UNDP’s work on Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) as a Team Leader in UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub. He also leads UNDP’s participation in the INFF Facility alongside UN DESA, UNICEF and the OECD. In the context of this work, he engages in international policy processes through the G20 and related forums, and works with UNDP’s regional and country offices to support governments in more than 85 countries with designing and implementing INFFs. Previously, Tim contributed to the establishment of the Development Finance Assessment, a tool used by more than 60 countries in the design of INFFs. Prior to joining UNDP, he worked for Development Initiatives, a UK-based think tank, and the South African National Treasury. Tim holds a Master’s degree in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Sussex.

Hope Traficanti

Hope Traficanti brings more than two decades of experience in communications strategy, planning and implementation of multi-channel campaigns within the UN system. Before taking up her current role, she led the successful launch of the SDG Finance Academy e-Learning Programme. Prior to UNDP, she fulfilled a number of communications roles at WFP, ICAO, UNFPA, IFAD and FAO, where she led a training programme in partnerships and resource mobilization for country offices. She holds a masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Yeshiva University in New York. 

Tiina Turunen

With over 15 years’ experience in development and humanitarian fields, Tiina Turunen leads strategy and planning for the Sustainable Finance Hub. Her leadership in knowledge management, risk management and compliance stems from her extensive work with UNDP’s corporate private sector strategies, policies and partnerships, support to national development planning, coordination of multi-UN agency initiatives, engagement in national and regional policy development and establishment of communities of practice. She has served UNDP in Lesotho Country Office, South Africa Regional Hub, Headquarters in New York, Global Policy Centre in Istanbul and Geneva. Before joining the UN, Tiina worked in academia and the private sector, in international trade facilitation, insurance and retail. She holds a CEMS Master’s in International Management degree from ESADE Barcelona and Helsinki School of Economics, and a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Helsinki School of Economics.

Yemesrach Workie

Ms. Yemesrach Workie has extensive experience in international development serving in different capacities within the United Nations and other Multilateral organizations. Before taking up the position of Executive Director of International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), Yemesrach was the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Fiji Multi-Country Office from September 2021– May 2024. She joined UNDP in 2005, as an Economic Specialist in the Policy Unit of UNDP Ethiopia Country Office.  Since then, Yemesrach has held multiple positions in UNDP, including Senior Policy Advisor in Philippines as well as Economics Advisor in UNDP Uganda, Rwanda and The Gambia. Yemesrach international carrier began in the Pan African initiation, when she joined as a Senior Policy Officer in the Strategic and Policy Directorate of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Tunis (2011-2014).  

Yemesrach has diverse experience serving in central bank, academia and international research organizations and humanitarian space. Yemesrach was Research Officer in the Central Bank of Ethiopia. She has coordinated WFP funded School Feeding Programme (2003-2006), one of the largest Africa’s Social Protection programmes focusing on children and education.  Furthermore, she has a solid Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) experience following her dedicated service to the European Commission (EC) Delegation in Ethiopia as M&E Manager working within the Development Cooperation unit of the Delegation. She lectured in the Ethiopian Civil Service University College for three years and worked in the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), which is one of the most prominent research centers within CGIAR.  

Yemesrach is an economist and holds a master’s degree in Economic Policy Management from the Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Yemesrach speaks three languages: Amharic, English, and French.  

Charles (Chongguang) Yu

Charles (Chongguang) Yu leads and coordinates UNDP’s regional SDG Finance team, spanning both public and private finance dimensions. Since 2018, Charles has played a key role in advancing private sector and financial institution engagement for UNDP’s global Climate and Environment team, and has led the design of major global initiatives including the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) and the Global Green Bond Initiative (GGBI).

Charles has a background in investment and corporate finance. He was a Senior Associate in the Group Development & Strategy team of National Australia Bank working with CFO, and bank executives on investment selection, and providing modelling and due diligence support for large transactions and capital projects.  Charles has good knowledge of investment & project appraisal, equity and business valuation, and financial institutions investment. 

Charles is from Melbourne, Australia. He holds a Master of Engineering Degree from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology as well as a dual Bachelor's degree in Engineering and Commerce from the University of Melbourne. Charles is also a CFA charterholders.

Tenke Zoltani

Tenke Zoltani is the Senior Thematic Debt Advisor to UNDP, leading the debt service offering which as delivered nearly $30bn in thematic debt issuances as of midyear 2024. Her job is coordinating UNDP’s portfolio in support of governments in using a variety of debt instruments to further progress delivery of their SDG and Paris Agreement targets. She is also the founder of Better Finance, a boutique advisory business working at the nexus of impact and ESG, and focused on helping clients integrate the SDGs across impact investing and ESG strategy. She holds several board positions and is an internationally recognized speaker on the topic of impact investing. Based in Switzerland, she has 15 years' experience in sustainable finance across sectors.