I am the senior agribusiness officer of the East and Southern Africa Service of the Investment Center of FAO. I have over 20 years of experience in agribusiness financing and value chain development, leading the design of public and private investments in agrifood value chains and agribusiness industries. My work includes the development of knowledge products including analytical work and practical tools related to agricultural, marketing and value chain development. I am also an accomplished trainer on agricultural finance, for different training programs (e.g. Boulder Microfinance Training; FAR). I started my career with FAO in the Vietnam Country Office, coordinating the area of work on rural markets development. In HQs, I worked the Rural Finance Team within the Agribusiness Division facilitating Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in accessing financial services, and in becoming more investment ready. In 2021 I worked in the Regional Office of FAO for Africa, in Accra, providing technical assistance to country offices in the continent. Prior to joining FAO, I worked at IFAD as a Rural Finance Consultant, contributing to the design of investment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and in Latin America. I hold a M.A. in Development Economics, from the University of Tor Vergata, in Rome, and I speak Italian, English, French and Spanish.