Dr. Mayada Baydas is a leading expert in the field of development finance with over 25 years of research and management experience. Today, she is the Executive General Manager of Emkan Finance, a pioneer financial institution engaged in the provision of microfinance services all over Lebanon. Mayada is also the Executive Director of Emkan, a leading Lebanese NGO managing economic development projects and subsidiaries in the North of Lebanon and she serves on the board of Tameer Bank in Pakistan, the largest microfinance bank in the country and a majority-owned subsidiary of Telenor Pakistan. As a specialist in microfinance market assessment, Mayada has conducted extensive research in examining the provision of financial and non-financial services to the working poor. She holds a BS and an MS in Agricultural Economics from the American University of Beirut, and a PhD in Applied Economics from Ohio State University.