Amitabh Saxena

"Transferring remittances through mobile phones: a business case and policy options for Canada" - Executive Summary - Business Case - Policy Brief (forthcoming)

Bio

Amitabh is a Director in the Marketing and Product Development Unit of ACCION, a nonprofit pioneer in microfinance which, through its 34 affiliates in 24 countries, provides financial services to over 2 million poor people. Having recently moved to Washington D.C. after spending nine months in the Colombia office, he leads ACCION's global strategy on Alternative Channels and participates in implementation projects around the world. Prior to ACCION, Amitabh spent several years in Product Development at Capital One, leading cross-functional teams to launch over a dozen high-impact innovation tests. He also set up a computer training center in one of Africa's largest slums for a microfinance institution in Kenya, and had technical internships in Norway and Mexico.

His long-standing interest in public policy first came through the As Prime Minister program, where he was selected as a national finalist for his essay entitled "Thinking outside Our Borders: Ideas for an International Canada." He later co-authored Canada25's foreign policy report "From Middle to Model Power: Recharging Canada's Role in the World."

Amitabh holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from McGill University (2002), where he was recognized with several awards for academic excellence and leadership, most notably for his contributions as Vice-President Communications of the 50,000 member Canadian Federation of Engineering Students. He is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, conversant in Swahili and Hindi, and has traveled in over 40 countries. He counts climbing to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro as one of his most euphoric experiences.

Issue of Investigation

As a 2007 recipient of the Gordon Global Fellowship, Amitabh explored a breakthrough concept that intersects both aid and security: how Canada could develop an "enabling environment" that allows its diaspora communities to send money cheaply and effortlessly to their families abroad through mobile phones, while ensuring that adequate regulation and monitoring exist to address security concerns.