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Momina Aijazuddin
Orli Arav
Sharmila Hardi
Momina Aijazuddin
MOMINA AIJAZUDDIN is IFC’s Senior Industry Manager, Financial Institutions Group, MCT (Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Pakistan & Afghanistan). She is responsible for the IFC’s financial institutions group program for the MCT region which involves supervising a team of fifty covering investment, upstream and advisory engagements with a portfolio of US$$3.3 billion and annual commitments of over US$1 billion.
She was previously responsible as the global lead for IFC’s MSME investment and advisory activities globally, which exceeds cumulative investments of US$6 billion worldwide with over 300 MSME related players, in addition to advisory services worth $63.7 million in 68 projects across 30 countries. This included oversight of the work in Responsible Forum (which IFC manages for the GPFI/ G20), institutional transformation, risk management and product development – to better enable financial sector providers to provide diverse and reliable products and services to suit their clients’ needs. She led IFC’s efforts to scale up private sector commitments with strategic partners in the digital finance, microfinance and fintech space committed to achieving the World Bank Group’s Universal Financial Access by 2020. She was also a core member of the drafting team for the G20 Digital Financial Inclusion Principles.
Momina brings over two decades of investment transaction experience in financial services, microfinance and manufacturing sectors in over 70 countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, MENA and LAC regions. Her technical expertise includes setting up greenfield MFIs in MENA and Asia, transforming institutions to become regulated banks and engaging with policymakers and industry players. She has spent the last few years heavily engaged with IFC’s financial inclusion efforts in China with leading banks and fintech players and handled key relationships with Mastercard, Ant Financial as well as leading MSME banks around the world.
Momina currently serves on the Microfinance Enhancement Facility Board (MEF), a US$650million debt fund, launched by IFC and KFW and other private partners. Her experience prior to joining IFC includes work in the banking sector. Momina holds a Master’s degree in Economics with Distinction from the London School of Economics.
Orli Arav
Orli Arav is the Founder and Managing Director of EMFin Advisory, a boutique advisory firm specializing in private sector investments in infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on climate-related projects across Africa. With over two decades of experience in development finance, structured finance, and impact investing, she has collaborated with leading global institutions, including the World Bank Group, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Norfund, KFW, and Water Equity.
In addition to her role at EMFin, Orli serves on the boards of the Global Gender Smart Fund (GGSF), Sarona Asset Management, and Axian Energy. She is also a member of the investment committees for AgDevCo.
Most recently, Orli managed four debt funds at Cygnum Capital Asset Management, overseeing a total of USD 850 million in assets under management (AUM) and an invested portfolio of USD 330 million, spread across 70 transactions in Africa. Her work at Cygnumattracted key limited partners, including KFW and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Previously, Orli served as Director of Investments at the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), where she played a key role in supporting ventures in emerging markets, such as Aspada, IPDevII, and the WorkingCapital Fund.
Orli also co-founded Impala Energy Holdings, LLC, where she served as Chief Investment Officer, and spent nearly a decade as Managing Director of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF). Earlier in her career, she held key positions at TASC-Ernst & Young and PwC, specializing in infrastructure and project finance.
Throughout her career, she has successfully led and closed numerous infrastructure transactions, delivering capital to projects and companies in Africa. To date, Orli has contributed to over USD 1 billion in principal investments, across 21 countries and seven sectors.
Orli holds a master’s degree in economics, Magna Cum Laude, from the Eitan BerglasSchool of Economics at Tel Aviv University.
Orli’s family heritage traces back to Morocco and Egypt. Hence, she is fluent in both French and English.
In her personal time, Orli enjoys traveling, diving, photography, cooking, and exploring art and culture.
Sharmila Hardi
Sharmila Hardi is an experienced banking professional with over 30 years of emerging markets experience in both debt and equity instruments as well as innovative risk management products. Ms. Hardi joined the Global Gender Smart Fund as an independent director after retiring from her position as a Senior Manager in the Financial Institutions Group of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. In that role she led IFC’s Banking and Risk Management Function globally and directly overseeing a team of over 30 seasoned professionals focusing mainly on access to finance for SMEs and other under banked segments of society. Under Ms Hardi’s leadership IFC established its flagship program – Banking on Women – that encouraged financial institutions to create financial and non-financial products and services especially lending products for Women-owned and Women-led SMEs through the provision of best in class technical assistance and a suite of creative financial incentives.
Ms. Hardi also serves as FMO’s nominee on the Board of Directors of NMB Bank in Nepal.
Ruurd Brouwer
Alan Ridgway
Ruurd Brouwer
Ruurd is chairperson of the Global Gender Smart Fund since its’ inception in 2024. Prior to this, the shareholders of the MEF, the GGSF’s predecessor, had asked him in 2021 to lead the MEF’s transformation into the GGSF.
Ruurd is an experienced Supervisory Board member, having served on the Board of Directors of financial institutions in Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mauritania and of EM focused (PE) funds based in the UK, the US, Switzerland and The Netherlands. He was member or chairperson of several investment committees, including BIX Fund, Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund and Capital Alliance Private Equity, Nigeria. He holds a Board Director Diploma from IMD Lausanne.
He currently is CEO and chair of the Managing Board of the Currency Exchange Fund. Prior to this role he held several senior management positions within FMO both on the commercial and risk side. As investment officer, he executed dozens of transactions with a positive impact on Financial Institutions, Infrastructure and Capital Markets. Ruurd started his career in 1993 with the United Nations Protection Force, after which he joined the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the private sector department.
Parallel to his professional career Ruurd was lecturer International Finance at The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Guest Lecturer at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and the Institute of Social Studies. He thoroughly enjoys teaching on Sustainable Banking, Emerging Markets and Financial Instability and he publishes frequently on these topics.
Swapnil Neeraj
Swapnil Kant Neeraj has more than 25 years of experience as a development banker with investments in private equity and debt across Asia. He is presently based in Singapore as a Principal Investment Officer & Microfinance Lead for Asia with the International Finance Corporation (IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group). Mr. Neeraj has led several landmark transactions with financial inclusion at the core and brings decades of experience in microfinance as well as microenterprise and SME finance. Relatedly, he has also led several Technical Assistance Projects on sectoral issues or for client institutions.
Mr. Neeraj is a British Council Scholar and holds an MBA (Finance; Indira Gandhi National University, India), a B.Sc. (Honours, in Physics & Chemistry; Patna University, India), and postgraduate diplomas from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India; University of Wales, United Kingdom; and Darden Business School, University of Virginia, USA. He is a Chartered Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB).
Alan Ridgway
Alan is a full-time professional independent director and a Partner at The Directors’ Office. His career in the Luxembourg financial industry spans 35 years; from auditing to corporate banking and investment funds.
Since 1999 Alan has specialized in the structuring, set-up, operation and liquidation of regulated and unregulated investment funds, with a particular emphasis on risk management, compliance and prevention of money laundering.
Alan is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, a licensed member of the Irish Institute of Bankers and holds degrees in banking and business studies.
A native of Ireland, Alan also holds the Luxembourg nationality. He is a widow and has two adult children.
Michael Neumayr
Michael Neumayr started his career in international commercial banking with major Austrian banks in 1982. From 2002 until 2008 he was Executive Director and Member of the Board of Directors at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, representing Austria and five other shareholder countries. Since 2008, he is an independent business advisor and member of supervisory boards and investment committees of several financial institutions (including the Microfinance sector).
Suzannah Carr
Development banker with over 25 years of experience working with financial institutions and emerging markets. Broad-based expertise spanning investment structuring and portfolio management, credit policy, development impact measurement, corporate governance and information technology. Served in numerous senior-level operational and corporate roles over a 24 year tenure at International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of the World Bank Group.
Madhu Dutta-Sen
Madhu Dutta-Sen spent 27 years at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), working in multiple regions, investing in and managing IFC’s investment portfolio in emerging-market finance companies, both banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs). In her last position, she was based in Istanbul, Turkey, as Senior Manager, Portfolio (Financial Institutions), covering Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe.
Following her retirement from IFC in 2016, her independent work has covered a variety of assignments: She was a member of the Board of Directors of an Indian NBFI from 2017 to 2019; and a financial structuring consultant with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy, in 2018. Presently, Ms. Dutta-Sen is a member of the Investment Committee of the European Fund for South-East Europe (EFSE) and also serves as Chief Credit Officer (Consultant) at IFC for financial institutions in the LAC region (Latin America and Caribbean).
Christine Lier-Tomowski
Christine is a professional with more than 30 years of experience in the international commercial and development finance industry. Having worked in the private and public finance sector across Africa, Asia, Europe, Japan, South America and the United States of America in various management positions she joined KfW, the German Development Bank, in 2001. Christine served in different senior positions in Structured Finance, Export- and International Project Finance, Treasury, Private Equity and Debt Funds, Financial System Development of Central Africa and Regional Funds as well as in the Global Equity Funds and Financial Institutions Department.
She represented KfW’s shareholder interests in various impact investment funds and engaged in bilateral financial inclusion programs, focusing on SME and micro-finance. Christine acted as member and chair of boards of directors, supervisory boards, investment committees and technical assistance investment committees of Luxembourg and Mauritius-based publicprivate structured funds.
As a Certified Management Accountant Christine worked in different roles, such as Resident Financial Manager for an international group in Vietnam, as CFO of an international structured finance investment joint venture in Indonesia, as consultant in financial services and commercial mediation in Japan, in restructuring of International Project Finance and as Principal Project Manager at KfW headquarters in Germany. Following her retirement from KfW in 2021 her work as independent consultant includes assignments as Commercial Mediator.