Good-bye from Deena Burjorjee

Dear friends and colleagues, 

It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with all of you over the last three years as we collectively built FinEquity from a nascent concept, discussed between CGAP and its members back in 2016, into the thriving and committed community of practice that it is today. With over 1,500 members from across the globe, FinEquity is connecting practitioners around a common goal of women’s greater financial inclusion in a truly profound way. Through our virtual knowledge sharing and our past (and future) in-person convenings, the team at FinEquity has been helping to bridge knowledge gaps, showcase evolving good practice and bring individuals around common challenges for collective problem-solving.

It is with a great sense of pride in what we have accomplished to date, that I announce I will be stepping down as the co-facilitator of FinEquity at the beginning of August to take on an exciting new position at the IFC as the Upstream Lead for the Financial Institutions Group in MENA. While my new role is not explicitly in the realm of women’s financial inclusion, our shared gender agenda will travel with me, and I will continue to look to the FinEquity community as a platform to exchange ideas, draw inspiration, and share new practices that can inform my work. 

I will miss working closely with the FinEquity team, which has grown from a two-woman operation, with Yasmin and me helming the ship, into the committed group of professionals who will continue drive and inspire learning across the community moving forward. A big thank you to Yasmin, Nisha, Katie, Diana, and Dietlind for their continued dedication and hard work. I also want to take this opportunity to welcome Antonique Koning who will be joining the team as the new Gender Lead at CGAP and will shepherd FinEquity as it enters its next growth phase.

Thank you again for all of your openness and contributions over the years, your willingness to challenge yourselves and the community to do better, and the general commitment and good nature you have brought to all that we do. I am sure our paths will continue to cross in the future and look forward to engaging in my new capacity.

Keep up the great work! 

Deena