Home About My Work Speaking Media Connect

Development Finance Leader · Africa

I am a Development Finance
& Programme Delivery Leader

With over 12 years of experience across Africa, focused on trade facilitation, financial inclusion, and climate resilience financing.

Capital Structuring | Trade Facilitation | Sustainable Finance | Agri Value Chains

"I believe capital can be structured differently. And when it is, markets shift."

— Liz Gathu

12+
Years
9+
Countries
4
Focus Areas

"I care about women having access to capital on fair terms. I care about small businesses surviving shocks and growing with dignity."

— Liz Gathu · Development Finance Practitioner

⚠ This website represents my personal professional platform and thought leadership activities. The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my current or former employers. Any speaking, mentoring, or advisory engagements undertaken through this platform are conducted in a personal capacity and independently of my employer.

Built on Practice,
Driven by Impact

My career spans commercial banking, advisory work, and regional programme leadership — each phase building a sharper understanding of how capital moves, where it fails, and how to redesign it for greater impact.

I am most effective where finance meets real markets — where strategy must become action and policy must translate into products that reach people.

Now
Regional Leadership — MicroSave Consulting
Multi-Country Programme Leadership
Leading multi-country programmes across Africa, designing and scaling inclusive financial systems, blended finance solutions, and climate-aligned market interventions with partners including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, TradeMark Africa, USAID and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
Global
Advisory & Systems Work — International Trade Centre (ITC)
Inclusive Trade & Gender-Responsive Policy
Advanced inclusive trade systems by supporting women's participation in global markets, strengthening export readiness, and contributing to gender-responsive procurement and policy frameworks across Africa and Asia.
Advisory
Advisory & Systems Work — DAI & USAID
Risk-Adjusted Lending, Agri Finance & USAID-Funded Programmes
Designed and implemented risk-adjusted lending models for agriculture and SMEs under USAID-funded programmes, supporting financial institutions to expand into underserved segments and strengthen portfolio performance.
Foundation
Private Sector — Standard Chartered & Britam Asset Managers
Commercial Banking & Capital Markets
Built a strong foundation structuring supply chain finance and SME-focused products that improved working capital and liquidity. Developed deep understanding of risk, client needs, and how capital flows in real markets.
Education & Credentials
Masters
MSc International Corporate Finance
University of Salford, Manchester
Advanced study in international corporate finance, capital markets and financial strategy.
BA
Bachelor of Arts — Economics
University of Nairobi
Grounding in economics, development theory and quantitative analysis.
CTFP
Certified Trade Finance Professional (CTFP)
Professional Certification
Specialist certification in trade finance instruments, structures and risk.

Markets I've Worked In

Eastern Africa
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania & Zanzibar
Rwanda
Ethiopia
Central Africa
DRC
Southern Africa
Zambia
West Africa
Nigeria
Global & Pan-African
Indonesia
AfCFTA Regional Platforms
Pan-African Trade Ecosystems

What I Work On

My work spans five interconnected areas where finance, markets and policy must move together to create lasting change for people and economies across Africa.

💰
Access to Capital & Financial Structuring

I design and structure capital solutions that reach the businesses, communities and markets most often excluded from mainstream finance. This includes blended finance facilities, guarantee mechanisms, and catalytic funding structures that de-risk private investment and expand access to productive credit — particularly for women-led MSMEs, smallholder farmers, and informal traders.

🤝
Trade & Market Systems

I work at the intersection of trade policy, market systems and enterprise development — helping build the conditions for inclusive, competitive markets. I support AfCFTA implementation by strengthening cross-border trade infrastructure, reducing barriers for small traders and connecting value chain actors to broader markets.

🌊
Agricultural & Blue Economy Value Chains

I design programmes that strengthen agri and fisheries value chains — from production to market — with a focus on financing, inclusion and resilience. My work integrates financial solutions with cold chain systems, aggregation models and trade infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses and improve livelihoods for women and youth in fisheries and agri sectors.

🌱
Climate & Sustainable Finance

I integrate climate considerations into financial and market systems — not as an add-on, but as a core design principle. I develop climate-smart financial products that improve income stability and risk resilience for farmers and enterprises, and support institutions in embedding green finance into their lending and investment strategies.

Impact

Across financial systems, trade programmes, and market interventions — here is what the work has delivered.

32,000+Market actors reached across multiple countries
$25MMSME fund supported for business recovery and growth
150,000+Enterprises targeted across 6 markets
30+Financial institutions and ecosystem partners engaged
32,000+Market actors reached across multiple countries
$25MMSME fund supported for business recovery and growth
150,000+Enterprises targeted across 6 markets
30+Financial institutions and ecosystem partners engaged

Where Finance, Trade and
Inclusion Meet Real Markets

I speak on development finance, inclusive growth, trade, and climate-aligned market systems across Africa — with a practical focus on how capital, institutions, and partnerships can work better for youth, women, and vulnerable communities.

My Speaking Approach

I do not speak about inclusion as theory. I speak from the lived realities of building financial and market solutions across Africa — from SME and supply chain finance in banking, to women's productive credit, cross-border trade, fisheries, climate-smart finance, and regional market systems.

Available for: Keynotes Panels Moderation Roundtables Workshops Strategic Convenings
Topics I Speak On
Inclusive Finance That Works in Practice
Youth, Women & Vulnerable Communities in Economic Growth
Trade, AfCFTA & Market Systems
MSME & Enterprise Finance
Climate-Aligned & Resilience-Focused Finance
Public-Private Collaboration for Inclusion
🎤 Speaker
GLOBALG.A.P. TOUR Stop Nairobi 2025
GLOBALG.A.P. TOUR Stop Nairobi 2025
Panelist · Sustainable Agri Finance

Shared practical lessons on expanding financial access and strengthening resilience across agricultural value chains. Explored sustainable financing models for smallholder farmers and agri MSMEs.

AfCFTA Regional Fisheries Value Chain Workshop · Zanzibar
AfCFTA Regional Fisheries Value Chain Workshop · Zanzibar
Panelist · Access to Finance & Digital Tools

Represented MicroSave Consulting alongside Mastercard Foundation and TradeMark Africa. Explored finance, digital tools and non-tariff barriers affecting cross-border fish trade for women and youth.

IATF 2025 · Algiers — Live TV Panel
IATF 2025 · Algiers — Live TV Panel
Panelist · Trade Finance & Investment

Featured in a live broadcast panel at the AfCFTA Marketplace in Algiers, discussing access to finance and investment pathways for African enterprises at the continent's premier trade forum.

🤝 Contributor
AfCFTA Agri Trade Stakeholder Roundtable
AfCFTA Agri Trade Stakeholder Roundtable
Contributor · Development Finance Alignment

Contributed to aligning development finance institutions on a coordinated financing pathway for the Agri Trade Action Plan — focusing on strategic agri-food value chains and market predictability for farmers and SMEs.

Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) Engagements
Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) Engagements
Contributor · Digital Trade & Financial Services

Contributed to sessions on digital trade and financial services in fish markets — how digital insurance solutions reduce logistical risk and expand opportunity for women and youth traders under AfCFTA.

National Fisheries Stakeholders Forum · Zambia
National Fisheries Stakeholders Forum · Zambia
Contributor · Investment & Inclusive Finance

Contributed alongside 80+ stakeholders in Lusaka on investment policy alignment, inclusion of women and youth in fisheries value chains, and translating sector potential into sustainable trade and food security.

Speaker Bio (Short)

Liz Gathu is a development finance professional with over a decade of experience across banking, advisory, and regional market systems work in Africa. She speaks on inclusive finance, trade, MSME growth, and climate-aligned market systems, with a focus on building practical solutions that expand opportunity for youth, women, and vulnerable communities.

Speaker Bio (Full)

Liz Gathu is a development finance leader with over ten years of experience working across commercial banking, advisory, and regional development programmes in Africa. Her work sits at the intersection of inclusive finance, enterprise growth, trade, and climate-aligned market systems. She has worked across SME and supply chain finance, productive credit, women's and youth economic participation, cross-border trade, fisheries and blue economy value chains, and financial sector partnerships.

Book Liz to Speak

For keynotes, panels, moderation, workshops, and strategic convenings, get in touch.

Watch & Listen

Conversations, panel discussions and media features on development finance, trade and inclusive investment across Africa.

YouTube · Panel Discussion
Development Finance & Inclusive Investment
Watch on YouTube ↗
YouTube · Interview
Trade, Finance & African Markets
Watch on YouTube ↗
🎙
Radio Algérie International · Special Interview · September 2025
Access to Finance: Unlocking Africa's Investment Potential

Liz discusses the key financing challenges facing SMEs, micro-enterprises and startups across Africa — and how catalytic capital can shift the equation.

Listen to Interview ↗
Video · Field Work
Field Engagement — Market Systems & Communities

On-the-ground engagement with communities and market actors across Africa — where finance meets real people and real markets.

Video · Programme Work
Development Finance & Programme Delivery in Action

A closer look at programme delivery across Africa — building partnerships, strengthening market systems and unlocking growth for underserved communities.

Video · Fisheries Programme · Zanzibar
Women & Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries

On-the-ground footage from the AfCFTA Fisheries Value Chain programme — capturing community engagement, market systems work and the voices behind inclusive market access in Zanzibar.

Blogs & Publications

Insights, reflections and practical perspectives on development finance, trade, inclusion and climate-aligned markets across Africa.

Blog
Coming soon
Insights on Development Finance & African Markets

Articles, reflections and practical perspectives from over 12 years of work across financial inclusion, trade facilitation and climate-aligned investment.

Publication
Coming soon
Research & Policy Papers

Academic and practitioner publications on inclusive finance, gender-responsive market systems, agri value chains and blended finance structures across Africa.

More coming soon

Subscribe to be notified when new blogs and publications are added.

Subscribe
LinkedIn Facebook TikTok X YouTube Instagram