Speaker Profile

Paulo Barbieri is a Debt Finance Specialist at UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, where he leads advisory services on financing for development, thematic and sustainable debt instruments, and debt swap operations, with a regional focus on Latin America and Francophone Africa. He has led advisory mandates on landmark issuances, including Honduras’ inaugural SDG bond, Bolivia’s first green bond through BDP, CAF’s Blue Bond, and Ecuador’s sub-sovereign green bond program, among other innovative transactions. His expertise spans sustainable debt frameworks, investor engagement, use-of-proceeds structuring, and post-issuance MRV/impact reports. Previously, Paulo served as an Innovative Finance Officer at UNHCR, where he worked on results-based financing, social impact bonds, and blended finance structures to mobilize private capital for humanitarian outcomes. He also held senior roles within the UN system, including leading the Programmes Unit at IOM, overseeing large-scale humanitarian operations across South America. Prior to joining the United Nations, Paulo worked at the Inter-American Development Bank, focusing on regional integration initiatives, concessional financing, and sovereign loan operations. He began his career in the strategic planning division of the Government of Buenos Aires. Paulo holds degrees in Economics and Political Science from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, a Master of Public Policy with distinction from the London School of Economics, and a postgraduate certificate in Impact Investing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.