Isabelle Carboni

GSMA Mobile for Development, Senior Director, Women in the Digital Economy Fund

Isabelle leads the $80m Women in Digital Economy Fund for the GSMA that identifies, invests in and scales solutions to bridge the gender digital divide in Africa and South Asia, especially India. These include supporting large private- sector enterprises to optimise their digital products and services to better serve women customers. Isabelle thrives on connecting people from different industries and cultures, and leans into data and insights to identify pathways for systems change. Building on her 20-year career in international development working for both global and local NGOs in Africa and Asia, she expanded into research and data for policy and private-sector on digital and financial inclusion. At GSMA, Isabelle led the flagship reports, the Mobile Gender Gap and State of Mobile Internet Connectivity. She led cutting edge research on how women micro- entrepreneurs use mobile phones for business (especially in food, fashion and beauty). Born in Nigeria and raised in Togo, Benin and the UK, she is British- Italian and has lived in Niger, Zambia and South Africa. She is now settled in London with her husband and two children. She holds a BA in International Relations from Sussex University and a MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics.