About CAFIID
Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID) is a community of individuals, organizations and investors who treat positive social and environmental impact and financial return as coexisting priorities.
CAFIID members combine many years of collaboration and engagement with a track record of innovation in structuring and funding impact investment products, designing and delivering technical assistance, and promoting sustainable investment ecosystems in emerging and frontier economies.
Mission
To strengthen Canada’s contribution to global impact investing by connecting, sharing knowledge and advocating in Canada and internationally
Vision
A more equitable and sustainable world through global impact investing.
2024 - 2026 Strategic Priorities
Education and Thought Leadership
Through its knowledge products, CAFIID helps raise the profile and awareness of impact investment and contributes to the continuous improvement of both its members and the ecosystem as a whole.
By driving its thought leadership CAFIID contributes to the ongoing evolution of best impact investment practices and their understanding across all practitioners and observers, in Canada and beyond.
CAFIID uses a variety of channels and tools to disseminate valuable data and information that contribute to creating a better understanding of impact investment and of its target markets.
Convening and Connecting
Directly or in partnership, CAFIID creates opportunities for members to meet, learn from each other, engage in concrete business collaboration, thereby contributing to greater cohesiveness and effectiveness of the sector.
Field-Building
CAFIID leverages its international network and expertise to contribute to the strengthening of the impact investment sector in Canada.
CAFIID enhances the profile of Canada as a global player, builds two-way bridges between Canada and international markets and helps identify business opportunities.
CAFIID contributes its expertise, network and firsthand experience to the development of a favourable, enabling environment for impact investment in Canada and beyond.
Team and Governance
Board of Directors
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Member: Finca Canada
Lindsay Wallace currently serves as the Executive Director of FINCA Canada and Managing Director of Social Investment Strategies at FINCA International. Over the past two decades, Lindsay has spearheaded impact measurement, program design, and strategic initiatives across a variety of organizations. Prior to joining FINCA, Lindsay was Senior Vice President of Strategy & Impact at MEDA. Lindsay previously spent eight years at the Mastercard Foundation, where she assumed multiple roles, including as Head of Impact, Director of Strategy and Learning. In these capacities, she led the conception of their new strategy, championing private sector growth and business-driven solutions to alleviate poverty. Previous experience includes strategic consulting assignments for the Gates Foundation, the Toronto Centre and the Millenium Challenge Corporation. Lindsay’s academic background includes an M.A. in Economics from the University of Toronto an M.P.A in Public Policy from Carleton University and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from McGill University.
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Member: Sarona Asset Management
Patrick leads Sarona’s business development efforts, including Investor Relations, Marketing and Fundraising. Over the last twelve years, Patrick has served many aspects of the business, most notably as Director in our private equity practice. He has engaged with the impact investing community since joining the company and has represented Sarona at both a community and global level, from speaking and mentoring at local universities to meeting with heads of state at the United Nations. Today, he serves as a Vice-Chair on the Board of the Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development. Patrick started his career in private equity as an analyst with Munich Private Equity Partners. He holds an honours degree in business administration from Brock University, a BSc in general management from EBS University, and is a CFA® charter holder.
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Member: Quinn+Partners
Jason Sukhram is a Director at Quinn+Partners, where he leads the firm's Responsible Investing + Impact Services. He has over 13 years of experience advising pension funds, asset owners, family offices, foundations, corporations, and financial institutions on mobilizing capital to generate social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns.
Previously, Jason worked with the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing to structure outcomes-based financing transactions alongside Canadian federal and provincial governments, and to design corporate impact fund strategies and foundation impact portfolio approaches. Earlier in his career, he supported the Clinton Foundation's poverty alleviation initiative to scale agricultural social enterprises across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and lived in Colombia to help build early-stage ventures connecting smallholder farmers and fishers to more profitable markets. He began his career in international development, conducting field research in Kenya and co-authoring articles on private sector entrepreneurship in global health with an interdisciplinary research group at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.
Jason has co-authored thought leadership for Harvard Business Review and contributed to global frameworks for scaling impact capital alongside the Impact Management Project, the Global Impact Investing Network, and the OECD. He has been an active contributor to CAFIID through the Business Development Committee, IM&M COP Steering Committee and as a former CAFIID Mentor. He holds engineering and MBA degrees from the University of Toronto and a MicroMasters in Data, Economics and Development Policy from MIT.
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Kazi Ishrat Jahan is a finance and impact investment professional with over 11 years of experience working across Asia and Africa. She has led capital mobilization efforts with development finance institutions (DFIs), impact investors, fund managers, and private sector partners to support financial inclusion, gender equity, sustainable infrastructure, and climate resilience. Her background spans senior roles in commercial banking and international microfinance, where she structured and managed complex financial solutions across diverse development contexts. At Momentus Global, she supports business development across emerging markets and priority sectors. She also serves on the Steering Committee of CAFIID’s Gender Lens Investing Community of Practice (GLI CoP).
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Member: Supivaa Advisory Group
Carolyn Burns brings over a decade of experience in impact investing, with a growing specialization in gender lens investing (GLI). She has worked extensively across global growth markets, with a strong focus on sub-Saharan Africa—including Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa—as well as North Africa, particularly Egypt.
Carolyn excels in advising on the analysis, processes, structures, and cultural adaptations required for investment opportunities to intentionally drive positive gender and development outcomes. She is highly skilled in curriculum design, training delivery, research, and the development of practical resources such as toolkits, guidebooks, standards of practice, and certification modules.
She enjoys working in monitoring, evaluation, and learning roles, and has led numerous initiatives in project management and program delivery. Her core areas of expertise include blended finance, systems change, and cross-cultural management.
Carolyn has supported a range of asset managers—including Sarona Asset Management, Grand Challenges Canada, Brightlight, Acumen, Red Hat Impact, and the Africa Guarantee Fund—on impact modeling, measurement, and reporting, as well as on investment thesis development and technical assistance strategies. On the asset owner side, she has advised Mennonite Economic Development Associates and the Equality Fund. She also supported a programmatic partner, Red Hat Impact, with a market feasibility study for a locally led, gender-focused trade finance investment vehicle in the Indo-Pacific region.
Carolyn serves on the board of the Canadian Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID), is a leader within its GLI Community of Practice, and is a Steering Group member for Women in Social Finance. She has co-created and co-facilitated four major GLI convenings: Financing the Reduction of Gender-Based Violence (Online), Feminist Financial Imagination (Online), Gender in Finance Forum (Tanzania), and CAFIID Connects Nairobi: Trends in Gender Lens Investing. Previously, she served on the Investment Committee of the Charities Aid Foundation’s Venturesome program, which supported Black women entrepreneurs with access to finance and technical assistance.
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Omoneka Oyier is a strategy and operations executive with over 15 years of experience advancing inclusive economic development across financial services, international development, and agri-food systems.
She has worked at the intersection of finance, innovation, and development, leading initiatives in organizational strategy, digital transformation, inclusive finance, impact investing, and climate finance. Most recently, she served as Director, Business Value Creation at MEDA, where she led organizational strategy and operational planning to strengthen the organization's impact and effectiveness.
Omoneka is passionate about mobilizing capital, partnerships, and innovation to create sustainable economic opportunities and build more resilient communities. As a member of CAFIID's Board of Directors, she is committed to strengthening Canada's contribution to global impact investing and international development.
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Member: ImpactAND
Geoff Moore has over 30 years of experience in the global asset management industry and has held senior institutional sales, client service, and consultant relations roles throughout his career, the majority of which has been spent with the asset management divisions of the Bank of Ireland, Deutsche Bank, GE, and State Street. He has had a variety of leadership roles including as a member of the Executive Committee for the Americas with DB Advisors; a member of the Leadership Council with GE Canada representing the asset management division, and as a member of the Global ESG Working Group while at SSGA. Impactᴬᴺᴰ Inc. is his second entrepreneurial venture in the space, and this has led to a deep appreciation and respect for all those who embark on entrepreneurial journeys.
Geoff has been active in and passionate about the impact investing space and other approaches to sustainable investing for well over a decade and was interviewed in Forbes on "The Potential of Impact Investing" in 2011. He founded a speaker series and community initiative called EYE4IMPACT to promote impact investing and social entrepreneurship and has twice participated as a delegate at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.
A transformative experience through a volunteer placement in Togo, West Africa with Crossroads International while he was still a student led to a lifelong interest in international development. He is now particularly passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how institutional investors can meet their investment objectives while contributing towards positive solutions.
Geoff is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID). He serves on the board and the Investment and Risk Committee of the Inter-Generational Fund at Concordia University. He is also a board member of Tennis for All Uganda. At the beginning of 2025 he launched the Pinned2Purpose Initiative, focused on helping remove the stigma around mental health conditions and giving people a hand up on their healing journeys.
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Member: Individual Member
Shiemaa is an impact investing and private sector development professional. Her expertise includes developing private sector development and investment readiness programs, designing and delivering impact investing strategies, managing investor relations, supporting portfolio companies, and implementing Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) frameworks. Shiemaa's passion lies in leveraging finance to create sustainable social and environmental impact in places where it is most needed. Shiemaa has a strong track record in diverse markets including the UK, MENA, and Africa.
Shiemaa comes from an international development background, having worked with organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN agencies, and other international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) across humanitarian and development interventions in Sudan and East Africa before moving to the UK and getting more involved in the impact investing landscape through Innovate UK's inaugural investment team. Shiemaa brings a rich background from working in developing countries and contributing to building the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Sudan and beyond.
Shiemaa holds a BSc. In Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Khartoum, a Postgraduate diploma in Development Planning, and completed her MBA from the University of Oxford as a Skoll Scholar.
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Principal, PlanCatalyst
Founder and President, Gen-Impact Strategies
Emrul Hasan is a transformational leader and globally recognized expert in international development, ESG advisory, and social impact. With over 20 years of experience across 27 countries, he has designed, led, and evaluated more than 150 gender-transformative, climate-resilient, and high-impact programs, mobilizing over $750 million in public and private capital to advance gender equality, climate resilience, and sustainable development.
Emrul’s work sits at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and inclusive systems change. As a trusted advisor to the Islamic Development Bank, UN agencies, Plan International, Global Affairs Canada, and leading philanthropic and corporate partners, he is known for aligning global best practices with local realities across sectors such as health, education, WASH, agriculture, economic development, and sustainable finance. As a Founder and Principal of Gen-Impact Strategies and Principal of PlanCatalyst, he advises on multi-country investment frameworks, impact research, monitoring and evaluation, international development policies, GESI/DEI audits, blended finance solutions, high-impact development program design, and results-based delivery models.
A former executive leader with top international organizations like Plan International Canada, Emrul played a key role in securing over $750 million in program funding and institutionalizing impact measurement, social finance, policy advocacy, and thought leadership. At Hill+Knowlton Strategies, he led ESG and corporate sustainability advisory for brands such as Scotiabank, Interac, TMX, Whirlpool, and Nespresso.
Emrul’s extensive expertise in impact measurement, development and humanitarian programming, and values-aligned investing has established him as a sought-after thought leader on global policy platforms, including COP28, the UN General Assembly, UN Expert Groups, and the Canadian Parliament and Senate. A Certified Sustainability Professional (ESG-P), he also sits on the boards of Results Canada and the ESG Business Institute. Previously, he co-chaired Global Affairs Canada’s Civil Society Partnership Advisory Group and was a member of JennAir Disrupting Design Initiative.
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Melek De-Wint is an independent impact measurement and management (IMM) consultant based in Québec City, working with social purpose organizations internationally. With over 20 years of leadership roles in non-profit management within the youth development sector, she has strategic acumen and hands-on experience across diverse management areas, notably monitoring, evaluation, and impact measurement. At The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, she built an impact measurement framework to demonstrate the impact of their youth development program worldwide. At Digital Moment, she drove impact initiatives for digital education accessibility in Canada, leading the development of theories of change and an impact measurement framework. Since 2020, she’s provided impact measurement coaching via the Innoweave initiative of McConnell Foundation (now hosted by MakeWay), benefiting Canadian non-profits. She’s actively engaged in impactful board roles, including on the Board of Directors for Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID), Common Approach to Impact Measurement and Türkiye's Etkiyap impact investing platform. She is the Chair of CAFIID's Thought Leadership Committee and an active member of the IMM Community of Practice. Melek is a trained Social Return on Investment (SROI) Practitioner, an accredited SDG Impact Standards trainer and an alumna of the Oxford Impact Measurement Programme and the Oxford Impact Investing Programme. Melek holds an MSc in Social Psychology from the University of Surrey in the UK and a BSc in Business Administration from the Middle East Technical University in Türkiye.
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Katharine is the Director of Project Origination and Development at Taking Root, where she leads the development of nature-based projects across Latin America. Taking Root specializes in leveraging carbon markets to restore native forests in partnership with small and medium landowners, using innovative technology to monitor impact and ensure long-term sustainability.
With nearly 20 years of experience in food systems and agricultural development, Katharine brings extensive field expertise, particularly from her work in Colombia. Now based in Canada, she supports reforestation and agroforestry initiatives across Latin America. Prior to joining Taking Root, she led international programs at the Pakka Foundation, where she supported sustainable agroforestry projects across Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Georgia. She previously spent ten years in agricultural finance with Farm Credit Canada.
Katharine holds a Master's in International Development and Economics, and a certificate in Food Sustainability from the European Institute of Innovation and Sustainability. Her expertise includes market system development, ESG integration, project management, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement.
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Member: FinDev Canada
Sumaiya Sajjad is Director of Technical Assistance at FinDev Canada. She is responsible for the development and roll-out of the Facility’s strategy and portfolio. The Facility aims to strengthen private sector entities, including clients, and lead market-level initiatives, across FinDev Canada’s priority development impact goals, sectors, and regions of focus.
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Selma Khedhaier, CPA, EMBA, GCB.D is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of leadership experience spanning finance, risk management, and digital transformation across multinational corporations and international non-profits. Currently serving as Director of Finance and IT at Equitas – International Centre for Human Rights Education, she leads strategic initiatives in financial oversight, digital innovation, and organizational restructuring, while managing multimillion-dollar funding partnerships with Federal, provincial and international entities such as Global Affairs Canada and Ministère des Relations Internationales Francophones, European Union.
Previously, Selma held senior roles at Bonduelle Americas, where she directed compliance, financial planning, and corporate reporting for over One Billion business units. Her tenure included spearheading digital finance transformations, optimizing tax strategies, and leading M&A integrations. She also served as Director of Finance at Action Against Hunger Canada and co-founded SKM Audit et Consulting firm, supporting European brands in North Africa with strategic financial consulting. She began her career at KPMG Tunisia, auditing major financial institutions and advising on M&A transactions
Selma is deeply committed to international development and impact investing, with a focus on climate resilience, sustainability, and inclusive economic growth. Her approach blends financial expertise with a strong belief in ethical governance and long-term social value.
Selma holds an Executive MBA from Paris Dauphine University (France), a master’s in accounting management from UQAM (Canada), and the Global Competent Boards Designation in ESG and sustainability (International). She is an active board member Radio Farm International (Finance, Audit and Risk Committee) and an engaged advisory member and contributor to organizations including, Cooperation Canada (Co-Chair CFO working Group), and the Accounting Standards Board of Canada (NFPAC).
Having lived in four countries and fluent in four languages, she brings a global lens to every challenge—consistently building systems that are financially sound, socially responsible, and ready for the future.
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With over 15 years of experience in the finance industry, Alan transitioned to impact-driven consulting in 2021. He specializes in capital advisory work, including the structuring of innovative finance vehicles and outcomes-based frameworks. His projects have spanned areas such as mental healthcare, educational attainment, and affordable housing. Alan leads his own consulting firm and serves as the Manager of Impact Finance at the Sorenson Impact Institute.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors, Alan contributes to the Business Development Committee and remains actively engaged in supporting and growing the impact finance and impact investing ecosystem.
Alan holds an MBA from the Executive MBA program at Ivey Business School and currently serves as a purpose mentor in Ivey’s Executive MBA Sustainability program. He actively supports entrepreneurial communities, having served on the board of the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs, mentored at York University’s YSpace Venture Catalyze program, supported the University of Toronto Mississauga’s ICUBE UTM accelerator, and participated in SOCAP22’s Entrepreneur Cohort Selection Committee.
Originally from Hong Kong, Alan now calls Toronto home, where he lives with his wife and daughter.
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Individual Member
Zarina is an Associate Partner based in Toronto. She’s supported donors and DFIs on investment strategy design across scales, sectors, and regions. For example, Zarina supported MCC to diagnose the constraints impeding blended finance in Indonesia’s energy sector. She’s also worked on a SME finance strategy alongside the African Enterprise Challenge Fund to catalyze early-stage investments ($500,000 to $1mn) in energy, financial services, and agribusiness. This included developing the fund’s investment strategy, financial model and program design. Zarina also recently supported MCC in identifying blended finance opportunities for their $500mn compact in Zambia’s agriculture, roads and energy sectors, and she’s advised USAID’s ISP on investment strategies to crowd in the private sector.
Zarina has also led value creation efforts, working with Partnering for Green Growth (P4G) in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam to deploy $1mn grants to nine investees alongside advisory support (e.g., developing market entry strategies, business development, and connecting investees to other ecosystem actors).
She holds an M.Phil (with distinction) from the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) (also University of Cape Town). In 2020, she completed the Impact Investment in Africa certificate course through the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business.
Supporting staff
Aysha Dawood - Director of Programs and Operations
Chantell Marshall - Bookkeeper
Membership Engagement Commitee (MEC)
Create programs and services that meet and advance the needs of members and CAFIID
Team
Alicia Maitland | Co-Chair
Zarina Nteta | Co-Chair
Oluwadara Adekunle
Naomi Gichungu
Alan Lo
Katie Turner
Business Development Commitee (BDC)
Increasing and diversifying revenue sources
Team
Patrick Hergt | Chair
Michel Brutti
James Graham
Alan Lo
Tarini Sharma
Jason Sukhram
Katharine Vander Laan
Lindsay Wallace
Thought Leadership Committee (TLC)
Creating opportunities to exchange best practices and strategies and act as a collective voice
Team
Melek De-Wint | Chair
Shiemaa Ahmed
Akin Alebiosu
Gigi Alsaadi
Charles Belanger Belanger
Mohammed Emrul Hasan
Habone Osman Moussa
Sumaiya Sajjad
Christy Sisko
Yingzhi Tang
Hao Tien
Steering Committee
Carolyn Burns - Supivaa
Carolina Robino - IDRC
Emily Boost - Kore Global
Katie Turner - Independent
Kazi Ishrat Jahan - Independent
Mallorie Bronfman-Thomas - Independent
Pulkit Aggrwal - Grand Challenges Canada
Sabina Bharwani - Independent
Steering Committee
Geoff Moore - ImpactAND
Hannah Sharpe - Cross-Border Impact Ventures
Joanne Norris – Independent
Laurentia Perrin - Common Approach to Impact Measurement
Moses Wang'ang'a - Supivaa
Sagar Memon - Quinn + Partners
Steve Williams – MEDA
Vasumathi Srikanth - Independent
Steering Committee
Christoph Schultz - Independent
Dan Chacko - Clear Skies Investment Management
Hira Mumtaz - Independent
Katharine Vander Laan - Independent
Omoneka Oyier - MEDA
Sabina Bharwani - Independent
2026 CAFIID Interns
Natalia Gutierrez- Climate Finance Community of Practice
Kriesha Pradhan- Climate Finance Community of Practice
Mariapaz Pajares - Membership Engagement Committee
Board Members and Members of CAFIID Committees are committed to observing and promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct in the performance of their responsibilities on the Committees.
Board and Committee Members pledge to accept the CAFIID Code of Ethics as a minimum guideline for ethical conduct.
History
The Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID) was established by MEDA in the summer of 2014. CAFIID rapidly gained support of industry stakeholders – including senior representatives of impact investment funds, non-governmental organizations, foundations, family offices, consulting firms, research institutions and businesses – who wished to offer a collective voice in support of transformative development finance mechanisms.
Early activities involved regular meetings at events such as the Social Finance Forum (SFF), hosting of public forums, development of marketing materials, awareness raising and advocacy with the government of Canada, and growth of the network itself.
In 2016, with momentum building and the support of network members, members decided to formalize the association by setting up a steering committee and working groups and move to the next stage of its development. CAFIID became a registered Canadian non-profit organization in August 2017 and elected its first board in September 2017.
Land Acknowledgement
CAFIID acknowledges that our work takes place on the traditional and unceded territories of many Indigenous Nations across what is now called Canada.
While our registered address is in Kitchener-Waterloo on lands covered by the Haldimand Treaty of 1784, a formally ratified agreement granting six miles on either side of the Grand River as treaty territory belonging to the Six Nations of the Grand River, and within the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe, Chonnonton, and Haudenosaunee peoples, we recognize that our community and activities extend across the country.
We honour the deep relationships that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples maintain with these lands and waters, and we commit to carrying out our work in the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and reconciliation, wherever we are present.
As an organization dedicated to enhancing Canada’s global impact investing presence, we recognize the importance of embracing diverse histories and perspectives, both within Canada and internationally. Guided by Indigenous teachings of reciprocity, stewardship, and responsibility to future generations, we are committed to fostering dialogue, collaboration, and learning. We strive to foster relationships founded on respect and mutual responsibility as we work toward a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable financial system.