Mariana leads FinEquity, a community of practice convened by CGAP and hosted by FinDev Gateway that aims to empower women through financial inclusion worldwide by bringing together individuals and organizations across the sector to share evidence, exchange practical knowledge, and take action to make financial services work better for women. She is an economist with over 20 years of experience in financial inclusion, microfinance, women’s economic empowerment, and economic development.
Mariana leads and helped build FinEquity ALC, the regional chapter for Latin America and the Caribbean, through strategic partnerships, fostering regional engagement, peer to peer learning, and collaboration among stakeholders working to advance women’s financial inclusion across the region. She also manages the Spanish FinDev Gateway (formerly Microfinance Gateway), overseeing the platform’s strategy and content development to position it as a collaborative knowledge sharing portal for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Before joining the Gateway in 2013, she worked as an independent consultant specializing in microfinance and women’s economic empowerment. 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, a network of over 500 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 holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, a Master’s degree in Economics, and a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Florida International University (FIU). She is fluent in English and Spanish (native).