2021 IMF Youth Fellowship

AUSTRALIA: Jonathan Israel

Jonathan Israel, an Australian born and bred, seeks to work at the intersection of strategy consulting, development practice, and economic policy, in order to build sustainable and resilient financial markets around the Indo-Pacific rim. He holds first-class economics/physics degrees from the University of Western Australia, and currently is an MPhil (Economics) candidate at the University of Oxford.

BRAZIL: Rafaela Cavalcanti

Rafaela Cavalcanti is a United Nations SDSN youth leader and a fellow at the Cartier's Women Initiative and Westerwelle Foundation. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from UFPE, Brazil, and has an MBA from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands. Rafaela has worked and lived across 4 continents and expanded several businesses internationally. She is the founder and CEO of CloQ, an app that offers access to nano-credit to low-income people in order to build a credit-history that can be used to include them in the financial system.

CAMEROON: Alexia Tata

Alexia Tata is an initiative-taking management consultant, with passion to accelerate private sector development in Africa and other frontier markets, and keen interest to unlock economic opportunities and drive the inclusion of women and young girls in finance. In her last role as an evaluation analyst with the AfDB, she assisted the Evaluation and Private Sector Corporate management teams in performance monitoring and evaluation. She holds a MS in International Relations, from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon.

CAMEROON: SergeMandiefe Piabuo

Serge Mandiefe Piabuo is an environmental economist with research and development interest in natural resource-based enterprise development, green growth, industrialization, sustainable development, climate finance, and economics of ecosystem services. He is also a PhD student at Wageningen University and currently works with the World Agroforestry Centre as a researcher.

CÔTE D'IVOIRE: Fatoumata Diarrassouba

Fatoumata Diarrassouba is co-founder of Afrik’Energy Connect, a clean energy startup based in Liberia specializing in productive uses of renewable energy. She's also an economist with over 8 years of professional experience acquired in the private/public sector and international organizations. Fatoumata is a member of the SDG7 Youth Constituency which is a platform for youth to channel their actions and voices in the energy sector with emphasis on renewable energy resources. She's also an advisor for Youth Education, an international youth organization represented in 13 countries which aims to promote youth leadership, education, and improving child welfare.

DOMINICA: Danielle Edwards

Danielle Edwards is a lawyer from the Caribbean island of Dominica. She completed her Master of Laws in International Legal Studies at American University Washington College of Law in 2014. She was a member of the 2021 Caribbean Youth parliament on climate justice. She is a 2018/20 Adaptation Finance Fellow and ambassador with the Frankfurt school of Finance and Management and Thailand Development Research Institute. She worked with the Caribbean Development Bank from 2017 to 2019. Danielle also worked at the Public International Law and Policy Group from 2013 to 2014.

GAMBIA: Reuben Aubee

Reuben Aubee is a development professional with a MA in International Development for the School of International Service at American University. Reuben's research and professional interest include access to quality and affordable education, agriculture, political economy, and economic development in Africa and emerging economies. Reuben is a World Literacy Foundation ambassador and Social Innovation fellow.

GHANA: Jeremiah Sekyi

Jeremiah Sekyi is working towards a Master of Global Affairs at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University. While studying for a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree in Ghana, Jeremiah was an avid debater and public speaker, and he eventually became the first African to win the World Universities Public Speaking Championship (Cape Town, 2019) among several other recognitions. Since then, Jeremiah has worked with international education companies to teach young people critical thinking and effective communication. He has also worked with local and global health research teams to develop policies aimed at making healthcare accessible and affordable in developing countries. Jeremiah has a lifelong interest in applying discourse and advocacy to engaging the most complex global challenges of today and tomorrow.

GHANA: King Carl Tornam Duho

King Carl Tornam Duho is a CIMA qualified accountant, ACCA Prize‐winner, award‐winning reviewer, and an economic consultant with experience in academia, business, and public policy. He has consulted for UNICEF, GIZ, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Plan International, Development Reimagined, and IMANI. King runs a start-up, Dataking Consulting and was working as a finance researcher with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). He published over 15 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 15 policy/working papers. He holds a master’s degree, and his research combines broad areas of economics, finance, accounting, and public policy with the aim of solving international development issues.

INDIA: Manav Khanna

Manav Khanna is currently a PhD student in Sustainability Management at the Santanna university in Pisa, Italy. His research focuses on the relevance of circular economy with climate change mitigation and adaptation. He is also interning with the mitigation division of UNFCCC. Before coming to Italy, he worked with the independent evaluation unit of the Green Climate Fund and with the Global Green Growth Institute in South Korea. He received a master’s degree in International Trade, Finance, and Management through Posco Asia Fellowship from Yonsei University in South Korea. He recently reviewed the 6th assessment of the IPCC report. He is also an active volunteer with the Youngo (UNFCCC’s constituency), WWF Italy, IYCN India, Student Energy, GCE Europe, and Shaping Horizons (Cambridge university).

INDIA: Tanya Thomas

Tanya Thomas is a business journalist with a financial press in India and her reporting focuses on India's infrastructure development programs, the energy space (both thermal and renewable), the manufacturing and logistics sectors, and business sustainability. Her 2019 investigative feature on the financially fragility of some renewable energy developers won the Smitu Kothari Fellowship. In 2021, she won a fellowship from the Earth Journalism Network for reporting on regressive solar power policies in Tamil Nadu. Tanya currently works as an independent journalist and as a consultant at the energy practice of CFA, a think tank based in New Delhi.

INDONESIA: Cavin Dennis Tito Siregar

Cavin Dennis Tito Siregar is a senior-year economics student at Universitas Padjadjaran and an exchange student for fall 2021 at the University of Pennsylvania. He was recognized with the Most Outstanding Student at Universitas Padjadjaran and an Anugerah Satya Karya Adisiswa Padjadjaran award for his contribution to Universitas Padjadjaran at the national level. As an economics student, he’s interested in economics and business development research and consulting management proven by his experiences in doing paper research and previous internships at the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of National Development Planning Indonesia.

IRAN: Zohre Akrami

Zohre Akrami is a graduate of the University of Tehran with a master's degree in regional studies focusing on Middle East issues. She is currently a journalist at Iran's largest newspaper, donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, and focuses on global trends in issues such as climate change, especially in the Middle East.

ITALY: Giulia Carpineti

Giulia Carpineti graduated in 2017 with a BA in Linguistic Mediation and obtained her MA in Global Politics and International Relations in April 2021, both at the University of Macerata, Italy. Through her studies, she acquired a well-rounded understanding of human rights, women's rights, UN sustainable goals, as well as economic development, sustainable development, political economy and international politics. She won a scholarship to participate in a Masterclass at the University of Munich and won a national call issued by the MIUR to carry out her curricular internship at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the EU in Brussels. In this context she worked in both the culture, youth, sport sectors and the United Nations and human rights sector.

KAZAKHSTAN: Yerassyl Kalikhan

Yerassyl Kalikhan is a development practitioner and consultant at one of the country's top consulting firms and currently works on a program that focuses on the development of the renewable energy sector and promotion of gender equality in the region. Previously, he has gained experience working with the United Nations in New York, the World Bank Office in Tanzania, and a start-up in Kazakhstan. He is a recipient of the prestigious Bolashak scholarship and Adams Fund Grant. Yerassyl holds an MA in Public Administration from Columbia University and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Nazarbayev University.

KUWAIT: Faisal Alothainah

Faisal Alothainah is a media and sustainability professional with expertise in political campaigns and journalism. Currently, he represents the GYCN as a climate change ambassador. He is the founder of Joetagonist—a publishing and content creating company. Having worked as journalist and columnist, Faisal is has experience in public affairs and society’s welfare. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in finance. Faisal was selected aas one of the top 100 high achievers in Kuwait by the Prime Minster, featured in cover story of a magazine in recognition of youth media.

LEBANON: Tony Alhoyek

Tony Alhoyek is an advocate coordinator with LIFE Lebanon, pushing for economic, financial, and social reforms by publishing position papers, holding webinars, and influencing national and international policymakers within private consultation roundtables. He has 7 years of professional experience as a project management expert, offering services for a range of national and international organizations. Tony has a BE in Civil Engineering from the Lebanese American University with Honors, with an emphasis on environmental and infrastructure management, as well asan Executive Master's in Financial Management from ESA and SDA Bocconi and a PMP. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA): Project Management in developing countries using digitization at ESA and Universite de Nice.

LESOTHO: Motena Rangoanana

Motena Rangoanana is an entrepreneur passionate about the intersection of innovation, technology and economic development. Motena has been a research associate at the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARCHI-UJ) and facilitated projects on sustainable structural transformation in the fields of Industrial development, innovation policy, and inclusivity. She is the founder of Global Economic Analytics consulting. She currently holds a master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of Johannesburg. She is also one of the alumni of Alibaba business school under the Alibaba Netpreneur program.

MAURITIUS: Nandini Tanya Lallmon

Nandini Tanya Lallmon is a social justice activist adopting a decolonial perspective on human rights as African Union Youth Charter Hustler for Mauritius. As Fellow at OutRight Action International, she advocates for LGBTQIA+ rights at the United Nations and harnesses the international law system to protect LGBTQIA+ people from religion-based violence. Through the #Reform53 campaign, she lobbies against discriminatory laws on behalf of the Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network under the Royal Commonwealth Society. As community leader for Internet Health at Digital Grassroots, she endeavors to create digital learning, dialogue, and development spaces that are respectful, inclusive, and transformative.

MEXICO: Jovanna Nathalie Cervantes Guzmán

Jovanna Nathalie Cervantes Guzmán is a professor at the University of Guadalajara (CUCEA) and has training in the area of entrepreneurship by Boston University and Arizona State University. She is a finalist in the category of Creative Industries in 'TIC Jalisco 2021 by Young Americas Business Trust (YBAT)'. As a woman entrepreneur, Nathalie is the CEO and co-founder of the brand Atellier Organic Joyas de Autor. She won the 'Women and Business Contest '' at the Pacific Trade Show 2019 in Toronto. She was selected to join the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative '2020-2021 by the USA Department and IREX. Selected to participate as an entrepreneurial professor in the Santander X Entrepreneurship Educator's (SEE) Program by Santander and Oxentia (Oxford University Global Innovation Consultancy) presenting a special program focused on incentive entrepreneurship in young university students.

MOLDOVA: Vladislav Kaim

Vladislav Kaim is a youth climate advocate with a special focus on the issues of green jobs and climate finance. From July 2020 he has been serving as a member of the inaugural UN Secretary General's Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. Previously he served in various capacities in YOUNGO, the official youth constituency to the UNFCCC, and UN Major Group on Children and Youth. In 2015, he co-founded SDG International Youth Forum, the first SDG-oriented youth community in Eastern Europe and CIS. Vladislav holds a MSc degree in Economics from Lund University and a BSc in Economics from Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO). He was awarded as Best Moldovan Student in Diaspora and finalist of HM the King of Sweden Royal Scholarship for Values-Based Leadership.

MOROCCO: Hamza Saoudi

Hamza Saoudi is an economist at the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS). He is a graduate engineer from the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (INSEA). He is currently working on topics related to business cycles, unemployment, inequality, and poverty in developing countries. Hamza is also interested in macroeconomic stabilization policies, international trade and growth, and long-term economic development. Prior to joining the Policy Center for the New South, he contributed to the conception of quantitative models for bank credit risks management.

MOROCCO: Imane Lakbachi

Imane Lakbachi holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. She is one of 8 winners of the Global Feminist Pitch 2021 at Heinrich Böll Stiftung and is the founder of Concealed Narratives. She is also a Young Leader at Women Deliver, a Starling Collective fellow, the Country Coordinator of Morocco at the IYAFP, an Alumna at the Swedish Institute's Leader Lab and at the AMEL Project, as well as a Contributor to the CFC at Chatham House.

NAMIBIA: Niel Swanepoel

Niel Swanepoel is a graduate student at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where his research focuses on political communication and public diplomacy. As a member of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Sherlocks cohort of 2020, he also received training in identifying and combating disinformation in the digital sphere. Niel has served in several student governance positions including Head Student of his university residence hall. He has worked as a reporter for the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, an NGO in Cape Town, and he credits this experience for stimulating his interest in public policy and civil society engagement.

NICARAGUA: Cinthya Porras

Cinthya Porras is a monitoring and evaluation technician in the MERL area, with over 2 years of experience in the non-profit organizations sector, focusing in the Latin America and Caribbean region. She has a university degree in applied economics and a vocational certification in the development sector from the Institute of Development Policy (IOB), Belgium. She has a demonstrated track record of data collection and analysis on the evolving emergency situation in Nicaragua, with knowledge of big data and operational management projects.

NIGERIA: Khadija Nda Yakubu

Khadija Nda Yakubu is a doctoral researcher at SOAS University of London, her research focus is on security and development in Africa. She graduated from Ahmadu Bello University Nigeria with a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning and a master’s degree in Urban Management. She is a Mo Ibrahim Foundation scholar and a security and development analyst. She has over 8 years of work experience, spanning different fields such as research, town planning, teaching, and administrative management. Her motivation for taking up this career path comes from the slow pace of development in many developing countries especially in Africa, which has always been a concern of hers and is imprinted in her heart.

NIGERIA: Oyinkansola Odidi

Oyinkansola Odidi currently works as a Bridge Fellow at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), a private-sector-led think tank committed to the development of a modern, globally competitive, and inclusive Nigerian economy. In 2020, Oyinkansola was one of 16 individuals selected to serve as Special Assistant to the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, under the aegis of the Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship. In this capacity, she has garnered a rich and varied experience across different Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Oyinkansola holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and has interests in public service and public sector reforms.

NIGERIA: Stephannie Chisom Adinde

Stephannie Chisom Adinde is a development economist, writer, and researcher currently working as a senior consultant. She has authored several articles on key development topics including climate change, gender equality, governance, inclusive growth, infrastructure development, and public health. Her work has been featured on her blog, Stears Business, London International Development Centre, Money Central, and the Centre for Policy Studies amongst others. Stephannie has a degree in Economics and Politics from De Montfort University, Leicester and a Masters in Emerging Economies & International Development from King’s College London. She is passionate about changing the world one policy at a time.

PAKISTAN: Urwah Khan

Urwah Khan currently works with the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department of the Asian Development Bank as a Research Consultant. Previously, he worked with the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport as an economist. He is in the final year of his Ph.D. at Nagoya University, Japan. He has experience in intergovernmental consultations on the decarbonization of the transport and energy sector.

PHILIPPINES: Kevin Lopez-Vito

Kevin Lopez-Vito is an EPFL Switzerland Fellow and a YouthxPolicyMaker Fellow from the German Informatics Society. He also holds an MA in International Political Economy from the University of Manchester, UK and an MPM in Public Management from the Ateneo De Manila. He is leading a team, which is developing a platform aimed at unifying data sets from various sources in resolving land tenure inaccuracy. This is hoped to allow for community-driven extraction of data under an integrated and sustainable information network supported by AI and geospatial mapping technology. As a young leader and entrepreneur, Kevin advocates multi-stakeholder partnerships to support sustainable technology and international development in the global south.

SENEGAL: Lehle Balde

Lehle Balde is a global citizen actively contributing to Agendas 2030 and 2063. She holds a BA in speech communication from the University of Waterloo and a master's degree in International Marketing Strategy from the University of Northampton. She is currently the editor of the BusinessDay Weekender a Saturday publication with an intersection between business, lifestyle, and living in Nigeria, and one of the youngest newspaper editors on the African continent. She is the recipient of the Future Award Africa for intrapreneurship. She is an Acumen fellow and was named one of the most impactful women in media in Africa.

SOMALIA: Hamda Ismail

Hamda Ismail is a finance and administrative officer at Oxfam Novib with over 5 years’ experience in humanitarian work. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Hargeisa. This year, she has been working to implement a resilience-building program in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. She works to enhance the resilience of the livelihood of the community, especially for those in need. She also takes part in implementing several humanitarian projects for recovery efforts, works to mitigate, prepare, and respond to the effect of drought on vulnerable groups, and has supported agropastoral communities cope with cyclic drought.

TURKEY: Deniz Unsal

Deniz Unsal holds a BA degree in law and minor degree in political science from Bilkent University. In 2020, he graduated from Trinity College Dublin and got his LLM degree in International Law. His postgraduate studies were funded by the EU under the Jean Monnet Scholarship Program. After his graduation, he undertook his internship at Ankara Bar Association and started writing op-eds about foreign policy and global energy outlook at Istanbul-based Anadolu Agency. He was also selected as one of the three Turkish representatives to represent Turkey in the G20 Youth (Y20) Italy Summit as the “Sustainability, Climate Change, and Energy” delegate.

UKRAINE: Kateryna Meshcheriakova

Kateryna Meshcheriakova is an international master’s candidate at the GWU's Elliott School, concentrating on Economics and Development. She received a bachelor's degree from Rutgers School of Business. She participated in the RBS Business Plan Competition for MBA students and led a team in the Deloitte Technology Consulting Competition. In Ukraine, she worked for the CCL to promote civil liberties and protect minorities. Currently, she works with the USIP on her Capstone Project focusing on Russia’s media strategy in Belarus. Kateryna strives to solve economic, political, and social injustice to increase standards of living worldwide.

UNITED STATES: Rachel Svetanoff

Rachel Svetanoff is a young leader dedicated to championing social responsibility. She is the co-founder of Global Futurist Initiative, an effort housed by InternetBar.Org Institute where she was appointed executive director. Over the past 10 years, Rachel has helped efforts to achieve all 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and has contributed to over 100 projects with 89 organizations across 37 countries. For her service, Rachel is a recipient of the Tippecanoe County Top 10 Under 40 Award, 2021 Purdue University Student Life Young Alumni Award, Presidential Volunteer Service Award of AmeriCorps, and the 2020 J.B. Dondolo Water Changemaker Award.

YEMEN: Hadil Al-Ashwal

Hadil Al-Ashwal is a training and capacity building consultant at the World Bank and the Managing Director of MENA AGE, an organization that advocates for gender equality in the MENA region. Hadil has experience in leading advocacy initiatives on gender equality, delivering effective capacity building trainings on gender mainstreaming, women’s empowerment, and projects M&E. Hadil holds an MBA from Cardiff Metropolitan University, where she was selected as a representative, exemplary woman at Cardiff Metropolitan University to inspire others and recognized with Leadership and Global Mindset awards.