Building Data Trails for Financial Inclusion

Colin joins CFI as a research specialist with a background in project design, monitoring and evaluation, and social performance management. He supports research projects as well as the implementation of data collection, management, review, and presentation; drafting blog posts and reports; planning events and workshops, among other things.

Colin previously worked as the social performance manager at Small Enterprise Foundation, the largest MFI in South Africa, where he led a team responsible for gathering and analyzing insights on client progress, satisfaction, and challenges. He also reviewed and developed the organization’s social performance practices, in addition to working on the design, monitoring, and evaluation of financial education and savings projects.

Prior to that, Colin spent time developing M&E tools for BancoSol in Bolivia, consulted with nonprofits and family philanthropic foundations in the DC area to strengthen internal operations, and was an intern on the Bankers without Borders team at Grameen Foundation.

Colin has a master’s degree in social enterprise from American University: School of International Service and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Sewanee.

Edoardo joined CFI in 2022 as Vice President of Research and Programs, where he oversees CFI’s thought leadership in the thematic areas of financial consumer protection, responsible data practices, and green inclusive finance.

Prior to joining CFI, Edoardo worked for IFC’s venture capital team in Washington, D.C., where he promoted enabling environments and investment opportunities in embedded finance, startup ecosystems, and the digital economy. He also worked for the World Bank’s global financial inclusion unit, assisting regulators in leveraging data and developing strategies for financial inclusion and consumer protection. Between 2012 and 2018, Edoardo worked in Kenya as Research Economist for Financial Sector Deepening Kenya, a multi-donor program supporting the development of inclusive financial markets. He led flagship nationally representative surveys and provided fintech companies with advanced analytical tools for consumer insights and segmentation.

Edoardo holds a PhD in development economics from the University of Trento and an MSc in international development studies from the University of Amsterdam.

Dr. Nouri Sakr is an assistant professor of data science and operations research at the computer science and engineering department at AUC. She received her PhD from Columbia University where she worked on data-driven combinatorial optimization and efficient machine learning frameworks under the supervision of Prof. Cliff Stein and as an affiliate of the Data Science Institute. Her research leverages connections between data science and combinatorial optimization to design data-driven algorithms that efficiently tackle real-world optimization challenges with social impact.

Dr. Sakr is the founder of the Data Science Hub (DSH), an interdisciplinary collaboration platform that connects academia and industry professionals to foster high-quality, data-driven innovation. DSH emphasizes responsible data use, inclusive design, and the integration of cross-practice perspectives. The Hub enables organizations to achieve their goals while offering data science enthusiasts valuable exposure to specialized domains. DSH partners with multinationals, local entities, and government bodies covering a spectrum of domains, including fintech, supply chain analytics, cloud storage traffic management, system scheduling, adaptive machine learning for cybersecurity, healthcare solutions, ride-sharing, smart cities and sustainable urban mobility. In addition, Dr. Sakr contributes to policy development for AI-based projects and AI education initiatives. Through her teaching and the Hub, she is committed to mentoring future data science leaders who can drive transformative, community-centered innovation using cutting-edge, practical data-driven solutions.

Ayman Ismail is an international expert in entrepreneurship and economic development. He is the Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at AUC School of Business and the founding director of AUC Venture Lab, the top startup accelerator in the Middle East and Africa. He is also the founder of AUC Innovation Hub, a platform to connect industry and academia around innovation and R&D. He is the Chairman of the Board of Egypt Ventures (VC), PayMob (digital payments), and a co-founder, angel investor or board member in several fast-growing tech-startups and financial institutions.  

Previously, he was a research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, a consultant at McKinsey & Company’s New York office and the World Bank, a co-founder and managing partner at Enovio Consulting, and a Young Global Leader (YGL) at the World Economic Forum (WEF). He received his PhD in International Economic Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has other degrees in engineering, business, city planning and information technology from the American University in Cairo (AUC) and MIT.