Ignacio Fiestas, an economist with more than 20 years of experience, specializes in the areas of private sector development, including market systems development, SME competitiveness, and sustainable finance. He has been involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of private sector and market development programmes in Africa, Latin America and Asia. His areas of expertise also include business enabling environment reforms, strategy & policy building, and monitoring & evaluation.

Ignacio joined Nathan in 2008 and quickly acquired an applied understanding of how the private sector contributes to inclusive growth, and the instruments and approaches available for strengthening its competitiveness, inclusiveness, and sustainability. He currently leads London’s business development efforts and heads its Economic Growth practice. Ignacio has led private sector development programmes in Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia, among others.

Before Nathan, Ignacio was involved in the Operationalizing Pro-Poor Growth initiative, a World Bank programme analyzing the economic growth experience of developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. He also worked at the Regional Unit of Technical Assistance (RUTA) in Costa Rica, providing support to Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development throughout Central America.