Inclusive Financial Systems
About 1.7 billion people worldwide — including 1 billion women — are excluded from formal financial systems. Less than two-thirds of adults in developing economies have a financial account. Because financial exclusion is often interconnected with poverty, digital financial inclusion is key to unlocking the poverty trap.
Our fintech investments expand the usage and affordability of formal financial services that drive financial inclusion through digital innovation and bolster the livelihoods of people in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa — especially women, who are disproportionately excluded from formal financial systems. We focus on innovations in digital payments, productive credit, savings, and insurance — aimed at improving livelihoods.
Investments
Investors
Elisabeth Di Domenico
Associate
Seattle
Elisabeth joined the Gates Foundation in March 2026 and serves as an Associate of the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), where she works as a generalist across the Fund’s investment areas. Prior to joining the Foundation, Elisabeth was an Investment Banking Analyst at Morgan Stanley within the Industrials Group in New York City, where she executed…
Antonio Garcia Maldonado
Principal
London
Antonio Garcia Maldonado is a Partner at SIF. He works on international investments with a focus on biotech in Europe and Israel, and tech-enabled service/product delivery in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining the foundation, Antonio worked in the investment banking division at JPMorgan. There, he worked on structuring and executing M&A, equity…
Ryan Kreitzer
Partner
Seattle
Ryan Kreitzer joined the Strategic Investment Fund in 2014. Based in Seattle, Ryan invests across fintech, healthtech, agritech & climate, focusing on innovative companies that develop new solutions to long-standing challenges that impact patients, farmers and consumers globally. He also leads SIF’s investing practice in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he invests in businesses that deliver innovations…
David Rossow
Founding Partner
London
David Rossow joined the foundation in 2010 as part of a $400 million pilot to establish the Strategic Investment Fund. He currently heads the fund’s international work with a focus on biotech in Europe, and tech-enabled service & product delivery in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining the foundation in 2010, David worked…