About us
Nawa Impact (‘Nawa’ meaning ‘purpose’ or ‘intent’ in Arabic) is a consulting and advisory firm focused on mobilising impact finance and increasing impact transparency for organisations that contribute to measurable sustainable development, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help capital providers to set and align their non-financial goals with their financial mandate, and to assist sustainable and impactful businesses and development projects to unlock capital for scalable solutions to complex social, economic and environmental problems.
Our Vision
Our vision is that responsible and sustainable capital becomes mainstream and more accessible, efficient and more affordable, and better aligned and fit-for-purpose’ for impact organisations, businesses, ventures and projects.
What is Impact Finance?
Impact finance and impact investing are powerful tools that go beyond traditional financial models. They involve the intentional use of financial capital and making lending and investment decisions that generate measurable and positive social and environmental change alongside financial returns.
Impact finance includes a spectrum of capital, ranging from catalytic grants to investments that seek a market-rate financial return alongside a social and/or environmental impact. By integrating these principles, investors can contribute to addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and sustainable economic development.
Impact Finance for Sustainable Development
in the MENA Region
Inequality is rising and climate change threatens to have catastrophic and irreversible consequences for our planet.
According to UN estimates, there is an estimated $6 trillion annual funding gap to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The impact investing market is growing rapidly (the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) estimated the size of the worldwide impact investing market to be just over one trillion USD in 2022). Therefore, impact investing remains a small fraction of total global AuM (around 1%.
In the dynamic landscape of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region – rife with complex challenges and only receiving around 2% of the global impact investing value – impact finance can play a pivotal role in driving sustainable development.
With a focus on innovation, inclusivity, and resilience, and by helping capital providers to strategically deploy capital, we seek to catalyze positive change through empowering businesses and communities to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
People
Hoda Salman leads Nawa Impact and specialises in providing bespoke advisory, consulting and programme management services. She is an impact finance and investing and MSME development specialist, with extensive experience accumulated over more than two decades, having worked with impact investment managers, development and commercial financial institutions, impact advisory firms, management consulting firms, professional services firms, business support organisations, and non-profit organisations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
She is keen to connect with like-minded people, to co-develop and collaborate on initiatives and projects that sustainably advance the socio-economic status of the Middle East region in particular.
Her work involved leading or managing grant and non-grant financing and technical assistance facilities, benefitting banks and non-bank financial institutions, impact investment funds, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and social enterprises. She has delivered public and private-funded economic development and governance projects and programmes that contributed to inclusive and sustainable economic growth and the SDGs.
Hoda holds an MSc and BSc from Imperial College London, UK, and various professional certificates as, a Certified Expert in ESG and Impact Investing and Certified Expert in Microfinance (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management), a Certified Corporate Director (IFC/World Bank-accredited), and a Certified Islamic Finance Executive (Ethica Institute). Her current interest extends to using technology to generate and scale evidence-based sustainable impact.
She has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Africa, and the Middle East, where she currently resides.
Hoda has led or advised on the design and implementation of donor (eg. UKAid, USAID) and private-funded economic development programmes, and managed impact investments and technical assistance programmes that benefitted startups, established micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and social enterprises in various countries. She has also managed public and private-funded economic governance projects and programmes that contributed to inclusive and sustainable economic growth and the SDGs.
Hoda holds an MSc and BSc from Imperial College London, UK, and professional certification, as a Certified Expert in ESG and Impact Investing and Certified Expert in Microfinance (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management), a Certified Corporate Director (IFC/World Bank-accredited), and a Certified Islamic Finance Executive (Ethica Institute). Her current interest extends to using technology to generate and scale evidence-based sustainable impact.
She has lived and worked in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where she currently resides.