Marie-Paule Claes

Marie-Paule has more than 25 years of financial-sector experience including two decades in impact finance in emerging markets and developing countries. As an independent consultant, she provides advice to private and public clients in the areas of MSME finance, institutional and market diagnostics, risk management, business, and impact strategies.

Her earlier experience includes work on staff at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a principal investment officer in the Financial Institutions Group and pioneering work as a senior investment officer of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), where she built a partner network and investment pipeline and created operational tools and procedures. Marie-Paule started her professional career at ABN AMRO Bank, holding multiple positions. She has served and serves on multiple boards of directors and other governance bodies in the impact field.

Marie-Paule holds a master’s degree in commercial business engineering from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and a master’s degree in management, with honors, from University of Barcelona and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.