Wasim A. Tahir

Wasim A. Tahir is a specialist in climate and development finance, private capital mobilisation, and blended finance, with a growing focus on climate mobility. He is a Senior Advisor to ODI Global and the Centre for Development Finance Studies. Through these affiliations and independently, he delivers research, advisory, and training engagements for clients including the Government of Qatar, FCDO, UNDP, Saudi EXIM, CrossBoundary Group. For Accion International, he is currently developing two impact investment strategies, one on migrant and refugee finance, the other on the intersection of climate and inclusion.

From 2024 to 2026, Wasim was a Research Fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Development, where his research examined how development finance institutions manage their dual climate and development mandates, the subject of a forthcoming working paper. During the fellowship, he also co-designed the Green Swap, an instrument that disentangles climate and development impact to mobilise climate finance for mitigation projects. Prior to Harvard, he was a Director at British International Investment, the UK's development finance institution, where he defined the organisation's approach to mobilising private capital at scale, in particular for climate finance.

Earlier in his career, Wasim advised financial institutions with Boston Consulting Group and Oliver Wyman and held strategy roles at Credit Suisse and Lloyds Banking Group. He holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, an MEng from the University of Oxford, and is a CFA charterholder.