Joanne Manda is the Global Lead of UNDP’s timbuktoo Initiative, supporting Africa’s startup and innovation ecosystems through a novel approach that unifies policy, finance, and academia. Previously, she was Senior SDG Investment Advisor in UNDP’s Africa Finance Sector Hub, accelerating investments aligned with SDG goals. Prior to that, she served as Regional Advisor for Climate Change and Innovative Finance in UNDP Indonesia’s Innovative Finance Lab. Over more than eight years, she has supported countries in Asia Pacific to strengthen planning and budgeting systems and implement public financial reforms that incentivise climate action, pioneering UNDP’s work on green bonds, Islamic finance, and blended finance mechanisms. She holds an MSc in Environment and Development from the University of London.