Francesca joined Women’s World Banking in December 2020 and leads our policy and advocacy work to advance women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. She advises global and national policymakers on how they can design and implement inclusive policy initiatives that will make a tangible difference to women’s financial lives.
With a professional background in International Development, Public Affairs and Compliance, Francesca was previously Head of Community Programmes globally for Standard Chartered Bank, funding community projects focused on providing education, employability and entrepreneurship opportunities to young people.
Between 2015-2018, Francesca was Head of Profession for Private Sector Development advisors at the UK Department for International Development (now the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) and a Private Sector Development Adviser leading on financial inclusion. Francesca represented the UK at the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion and managed global programmes aimed at enhancing payment systems and international remittances, and developing innovative financial services products for the poor.
In earlier roles at Standard Chartered Bank, Francesca was relationship manager for international public affairs, including the B20/G20, World Economic Forum and Institute of International Finance. She also spent many years in Global Compliance, advising on UK regulatory standards and managing Standard Chartered’s relationships with a variety of global regulators.
Francesca holds a Masters in Development Studies from the London School of Oriental and African Studies and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Durham University, UK.