Rosita Najmi

Rosita Najmi is a development finance leader with a career spanning more than two decades and over 30 countries. Najmi's early experiences as a refugee from Iran in the United States shaped her commitment to financial inclusion and expanding economic opportunity for vulnerable populations. She began her global development work by cofounding and directing an international nonprofit organization in Benin, establishing a foundation for her extensive career in international development.

Najmi has held executive and intrapreneurial roles across the corporate sector, including positions at Micron, PayPal, and UPS, as well as philanthropic organizations such as the Gates Foundation and Omidyar Network. Her work in international development includes contributions at the World Bank and involvement with civil society organizations such as Mercy Corps, Accion, and America's Promise. As a development economist at the World Bank, Najmi contributed to the institution's first global practice for financial inclusion and developed frameworks for national financial inclusion strategies. At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she advanced digital financial services for underserved populations and led initiatives in regulatory technology, cross-border payments, U.S. government engagement, and advocacy for women's financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

As vice president at The UPS Foundation, Najmi leads strategy, grantmaking, impact evaluation, learning, and innovation. She previously led PayPal's global social innovation team, focusing on financial inclusion, gender equality, and climate equity. Her expertise includes digital financial inclusion, economic empowerment, gender equality, and climate adaptation and resilience. Najmi has a record of leadership in strategy, impact measurement, grantmaking, data and technology for good, impact investing, ESG, humanitarian response, and policy advocacy. She has co-founded and led global partnerships, coalitions, networks, and alliances, including FinEquity, the Climate Innovation for Adaptation and Resilience Alliance, and the Data2X Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership.

Najmi created and served on the advisory board of the DIGITAX Programme at the International Center for Tax and Development, exploring the intersection of tax policy and digital financial services. Her leadership in fintech has been recognized by Innovate Finance's Women in Fintech Powerlists. Najmi serves on the ODI Global Advisory Board and the Finance, Risk, and Audit Committee of the ODI Board of Trustees. Trilingual in English, Persian, and French, she delivered a TED talk on multilingual leadership that has been translated into 13 languages. Najmi holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in economics, French, and politics from Wake Forest University.