Ali leads the Insights team at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. In this capacity, she develops cutting-edge research agendas, incubates new ideas and initiatives and builds the Center’s knowledge assets on the future of financial inclusion, the digital economy and inclusive climate action. She ensures actionable insights reach public and private sector leaders, helping them to make more informed decisions towards building an inclusive economy.

Prior to joining the Center, Ali worked for the World Bank’s Disruptive Technologies for Development division and the Global Wildlife Program, where she managed innovative projects at the intersection of technology and development, including launching internal competitive challenges resulting in funding for scalable, technology-driven solutions. She also expanded workforce development programs for software developers across Africa during her tenure at Andela and led a research team at the Institute for Business in the Global Context at Tufts University, where she mapped financial flows across Sub-Saharan Africa to determine opportunities for digitizing cash-heavy sectors. Additionally, Ali has a background in marketing, having led the marketing division at OneWire, a software-as-a-service-based recruiting platform, where she drove global branding efforts and significantly increased user acquisition through multifaceted digital strategies.

Ali holds a master’s in international business from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a bachelor of arts in international studies from Colby College. She is a Millennium Leadership Fellow at the Atlantic Council, where she participated in a year-long leadership training and study tour in 2021.

Ali Schmidt-Fellner