Mariana Martínez manages the Spanish FinDev Gateway (formally Microfinance Gateway). She develops content, builds partnerships, and fosters peer-to-peer learning and sharing of best practices among practitioners and policy makers in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). Mariana is an economist with over 15 years of experience in financial inclusion, microfinance, and economic development.
Before joining the Gateway in 2013, she was an independent consultant specializing in microfinance. Her clients included international organizations, nongovernment organizations, microfinance institutions, and governments in LAC. She was an economic columnist for the BBC in 2002–2007 and a financial writer for the Spanish-language media channel, Univisión. She regularly contributed to media in the region. Mariana is a co-founder of Andares, Mujeres para las Microfinanzas, a network of over 240 women in 17 countries in LAC and 26 countries worldwide who work in financial inclusion and seek opportunities to support the leadership of women in their sector.
Mariana has a Master’s in Economics and a Master’s in Latin American Studies from Florida International University. She is fluent in Spanish (native).