Isabelle Nowak

Capital Markets Director,
VisionFund International

Isabelle Nowak is the Capital Markets Director of VisionFund International, the microfinance subsidiary of World Vision International, a global humanitarian aid, advocacy and economic development organization. With a loan portfolio of $650 million, VisionFund helps more than 1.2 million low-income clients access basic financial services through its network of 30 microfinance institutions located in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Isabelle is responsible for commercial fundraising for both VisionFund’s own balance sheet and for its microfinance institutions globally. She also maintains VisionFund’s funding relationships with a broad range of development, impact and philanthropic investors. Isabelle is the Innovation Lead within the Finance function at VisionFund and was closely involved in structuring and setting up the African and Asian Resilience in Disaster Insurance Scheme (ARDIS), launched in January 2018 and thought to be the world’s largest non-governmental climate insurance programme.

Prior to joining VisionFund, Isabelle worked in equity research and sales, capital markets and client strategy with Credit Suisse, UBS, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. She chairs the Board of PEER UK, an independent arts charity in London’s East End.

Isabelle holds Masters degrees in Economics and Art History, from Cologne University and the University of Glasgow, respectively. She grew up bilingual German/French and speaks Spanish.