Ms. Thelma Tajirian (Arabic, French and Armenian) is a seasoned international finance and development professional with 25 years experience in the US, Canada and emerging markets. Much of Ms. Tajirian’s career has involved taking new initiatives from ideation to strategy to revenue generation and sustainability. Most recently Ms. Tajirian worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where she was Program Manager and Product Leader providing advisory on access to finance services in six countries on financial and financial infrastructure projects. Ms. Tajirian was responsible for setting up the Iraq’s first small-business lending facility, and expanded the Iraqi Credit Guarantee Company, In Kurdistan she opened three micro finance institutions in Erbil, Sulaimaniya and Dahok, and expanded SME lending units. In Yemen, Ms. Tajirian worked in similar capacities for U.S. Government-funded projects. In Qatar, Ms. Tajirian has been Director of Youth Initiatives Finance for Silatech, a social enterprise of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah. In that context, she was seconded to Qatar Ministry of Business & Trade, where she advised on creating portfolio credit guarantee scheme. She started her career in the US at Wells Fargo Bank where she worked for 19 years in lending, marketing, strategy and business development. Ms. Tajirian holds an Executive MBA from University of Southern California and MA in International Relations.

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