Sara al Rowais

About Sara al Rowais

I love puzzles and never wanted to stop learning. So, after 15 years working on economic growth in over a dozen countries, I am shifting my career trajectory. When I was tackling complex systemic challenges I came to see that data - getting it, analyzing it, and applying it - is crucial to solving most of the world’s challenges. I went back to my tech roots and saw that data-driven and human-centered solutions is thankfully the way the world is headed, and I want to be a part of that! My extensive experience in the design and implementation of programs an strategies in the areas of financial inclusion and private sector development along with my recently revamped technical background and skills will serve as a strong foundation for my transition to data science. Technical skills: SQL & Python Programming Languages, Data Analysis & Visualization (Plotly/Tableau/Bokeh/Seaborn), Statistical Analysis, Machine Learning (Sci-kit-learn/Tensorflow/Keras/ Pytorch), Big Data (AWS/Hadoop/Spark/Hive/Docker). Experience: financial inclusion, entrepreneurship development, impact investment, strategic advisory, women’s economic empowerment, stakeholder engagement, relationship building, data analytics, program development, and project management.

Experience

1. Senior Consultant

   Melissa Gillis Care

   Jan 2016 — Present · Washington, DC, US

   Provide critical real-time input and build coherent private sector assessment narratives with focused sectoral analysis while building a deeper understanding of long-standing development challenges for underserved communities. Developing strategic plans for market expansion, technology-based business strategies, and financial management. Worked with predominantly women-owned businesses in service sectors. Leading work on gender analysis within the private sector growth space through the development of case studies, analytics, and programmatic solutions.

Education

• The George Washington University School of Business

  Master’s Degree

  2007 — 2009

• University of Jordan

  Bachelors

  2000 — 2004

• The George Washington University School of Business

  MBA

  2005 — 2007

• BrainStation

  Diploma

  2023 — 2023

Skills

• Financial Sector Policy
• Statistical Data Analysis
• Research
• Risk Management
• Entrepreneurship Development
• Project Management
• Powerpoint
• Programming
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Innovation Policy
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel
• Economic Policy
• Economic Data Analysis
• Valuation
• Bloomberg Terminal
• User Interface Design
• Microsoft Word
• Sustainable Business
• Financial Inclusion
• Finance
• Access
• Strategic Advisory
• Competitiveness Strategy
• Corporate Finance
• Financial Modeling
• Behavioral Finance
• Women's Economic Empowerment
• Financial Analysis
• Value Chain Development
• Relationship Building