Who we are

Our journey builds on an existing heritage

AVRIO was established as a joint venture between AdVision Finance and Amarante Consulting, two mature consulting companies with collectively more than 20 years global experience to promote inclusive and sustainable economic development in the MENA region.

With a focus on digital and financial inclusion, agriculture and technology, AVRIO leverages their combined teams and consultants, project experience and established partnerships to enhance efficiency in the banking and finance sector, and contribute to entrepreneurship by working with innovative women, farmers and young entrepreneurs.

  • We contribute to sustainable growth in the MENA region by improving access to finance, knowledge and technology
  • We promote financial innovation and fintech as tools to enhance efficiency and expand financial inclusion
  • We partner with both Private sector and NGOs/ Public sector organizations to deliver our expertise
  • We build capacity and improve operational efficiency of our clients
  • We unlock the potential of Small & Medium Enterprises
  • We focus on inclusiveness and empower women, migrants and refugees, farmers, and youth

How do we "walk the talk"

Our Team

We are a dynamic team drawing on accumulated practical experience from around the world to create insights that help us rise to any challenge.
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Managing Partner

Diana Cazacu

Impact Finance and Strategy

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Managing Partner

Sahana Arun Kumar

Digital Financial Services & Inclusion

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Project Manager

Mohammed Al Khatib

Project Management

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Program Designer

Yolanda Gibb

SME, Gender, and Research

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Regional Representative

Farida Matta

Innovation and Impact

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Business Development and Innovation

Leilah El Mokadem

Business Development and Innovation

Diana Cazacu-Jamieson

Managing Partner

Over 20 years of international experience in financial inclusion, having worked with impact investors, banks, microfinance institutions, credit unions/cooperatives and fintechs in more than 25 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe.

Diana is a seasoned strategist and advisor to boards of directors, C-suite executives and multi-stakeholder organizations and programs. Her expertise is organization effectiveness and change management, operational and process efficiency, digital transformation and innovation design.
Diana is currently a board member in a number of microfinance institutions, a Digital advisor for an impact investor. She has held executive management (COO, CTO and Deputy CEO) positions in three microfinance banks in Kenya and Mozambique and she's been the Regional IT Director for Africa for a large microfinance network.

d.cazacu@avrioimpact.com

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Sahana Arun Kumar

Managing Partner

Over 13 years of experience in the digital and financial inclusion space, Sahana focuses on enabling innovative business models for sustainable development in emerging markets. She has worked with a wide range of stakeholders from telecom operators to financial institutions to international donor organizations and investors in order to assist them with their digital projects and achieving their objectivesĀ  for improved efficiency and better serving their target customers.
Sahana is an advocate for triple bottom line businesses, and her work has covered a number of countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America and Asia. She is also a speaker, trainer and mentor for digital and financial inclusion initiatives with contributions to various events organized by the likes of LHoFT, Boulder Institute, GIM UMEOA, Sanabel, ADA, Hult Business School etc.Ā 

 

S.arunkumar@avrioimpact.com

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Mohammed Al Khatib

Microfinance Expert

Over 20 years of experience in the microfinance industry working for national and international organizations, setting up greenfield microfinance institutions, building and growing existing institutions, strategic and business planning, product development and productivity and efficiency improvement. Mohammed has been the CEO of two microfinance institutions, and was among the first microfinance experts who built the microfinance sector in Syria.

 

m.alkhatib@avrioimpact.com

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Yolanda Gibb

Gender and Research Expert

Over 20 years experience advising company founders and directors in their expansion strategies. She leverages her private sector expertise to assist trade promotion organisations, business associations, accelerators and other business ecosystem members to develop strategies, create more effective and innovative product & service portfolios, and align their marketing and service delivery with the needs of specific MSME segments, including women and youth. Yolanda also works with policy makers, focusing particularly on investment climate assessments and the design of gender-responsive entrepreneurship policies and strategies. She has worked with a range of international institutions and donors, including ITC, UNDP, EBRD, GiZ. Her work has taken her to 40+ countries, particularly Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, MENA and sub-saharan Africa, and she works in English, German, Spanish, French and Russian.

 

y.gibb@avrioimpact.com

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Farida Matta

Innovation and Impact Expert

Over 6 years of experience designing and monitoring strategic, innovative and inclusive interventions, as well as policy advisory; specifically in the area of MSME development, job creation & sustainable entrepreneurship, access to finance/innovative financing, and ICT for Development. Specific experience in strategic digital transformation for MSMEs in MENA region. She is fluent in Arabic, English and basic German.

 

f.matta@avrioimpact.com

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Leila El Mokadem

Business Development and InnovationĀ 

Over 4 years of experience researching and coordinating innovative projects across various sectors, including digital transformation/governance, tech-logistics, education, fintech, and SME development. Leilah is passionate about integrating social, behavioural and market insights into digital product design to achieve socioeconomic impact through technological innovation. Throughout her career, she has created and managed strategic relationships with key stakeholders and partners, while developing and implementing impact-driven business development strategies. She is fluent in English and Arabic and has worked in Egypt, India, and North America.

l.elmokadem@avrioimpact.comĀ 

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