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Nicoletta Ghisu
UNDP, Youth Economic Empowerment Specialist
Speaker Bio
Nicoletta Ghisu is an economist with over a decade of experience in sustainable development, inclusive growth, and private sector engagement. She currently serves as Youth Economic Empowerment Specialist at UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States, where she leads the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator (GGJAP), a flagship initiative supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in advancing green growth, job creation, and access to finance across Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
Her expertise lies in designing and managing innovative SME support programmes that combine business acceleration, access to sustainable finance, and Impact Measurement and Management (IMM). She has spearheaded the development of practical tools, methodologies, and digital platforms to strengthen MSMEs’ competitiveness and resilience, with a particular focus on integrating green transition and social inclusion objectives into business models.
Nicoletta has a proven track record in mobilizing sustainable finance and building partnerships with banks, investors, and development finance institutions to unlock financing opportunities for MSMEs.
Prior to her regional role, Nicoletta held leadership and advisory positions in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe, where she supported governments and entrepreneurs in post-crisis recovery, local economic development, and private sector strengthening. Her work includes facilitating multi-stakeholder platforms in fragile contexts such as Haiti, leading post-earthquake economic recovery strategies in Ecuador and Albania, and delivering training of trainers on SME methodologies and IMM in countries including the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Djibouti, and Albania.