Amani M’Bale is the Senior Program Officer for East Africa with the Financial Services for the Poor team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has over 20 years of international development experience in Africa, having worked with USAID, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, a series of INGOs, and as a consultant to CGAP. A financial inclusion practitioner, strategic leader and partnerships expert, Amani has worked with government (including Central Banks and Ministries of Finance in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Liberia) and the private sector, including fintechs, mobile network operators and commercial banks. Her work has led to innovation in digital financial services policy and service provision for marginalized communities.