Omon Ukpoma-Olaiya is the Regional Investment Team Lead for East and Southern Africa and the Arab States Region at the United Nations Capital Development Fund. She is a Nigerian national and an experienced investment professional. She obtained an MBA degree from Imperial College Business School, London and is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute (PMI). Omon joined UNCDF in 2020 as an Investment Specialist and has since built an inaugural investment portfolio in Rwanda, driving partnerships with UN agencies and government entities whilst mobilizing private capital from local financial institutions. Her work spans across design of blended finance mechanisms & structures, resource mobilization, and deployment of capital in critical sectors such as agriculture and health. Omon has also led investment initiatives in Malawi, Burundi, and Nigeria and conducted knowledge-sharing sessions on innovative finance mechanisms for UN country teams and other partners. Prior to joining UNCDF, Omon spent 12 years in transaction advisory, structuring and capital deployment while working with leading commercial banks in Nigeria where she managed over $500 million of investments in energy, manufacturing, and telecommunications.