Sawa Nakagawa, CFA

Sawa Nakagawa is the Executive Director of AlphaMundi Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission to strengthen the long-term commercial viability of SMEs in Africa and Latin America to drive economic transformation. She is an impact-driven leader with a track record of driving societal and environmental changes through impact investing and social entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

Prior to joining AlphaMundi Foundation in 2024, Sawa founded and led ThreeArrows Impact Partner, a specialized advisory firm focused on impact investing and social innovation based in Johannesburg and Nairobi. Previously she served as inaugural Chief Executive Officer of E2 Investments (Pty) Ltd, an impact investment company with a mission to create jobs and attack poverty in South Africa. Having worked for range of institutions including Barclays Africa/Absa Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group), and UBS, Sawa has a strong financial and business acumen with a focus on emerging markets.

Sawa holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Masters in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. A Chartered Financial Analyst, Sawa holds a CFA Certificate in ESG Investing. Sawa is a Scott M. Johnson Fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program.