Breakfast and a home visit in the Green Village, Western Kenya.
In a Nutshell,
Over the past decade, I’ve served as a research lead, product manager, experience designer, facilitator, and strategy consultant in local and global contexts across the United States, East & West Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America. I believe in proximity, designing in close relationship with place, and cultivating local community-led design leadership; I have lived and worked across five continents while building new products, new markets, and cross-functional teams.
Directly within digital financial services, economic development, and emerging markets: I bring 8+ years of experience leading research and strategy from early framing through delivery and implementation. I truly see microfinance and fintech changing the fabric of ecosystems, opening potential for people to empower their financial lives and wellbeing. In quick highlights:
New products – I served as a product lead at Tala, a social enterprise reimagining microfinance and financial technology to expand financial health with underbanked communities globally. I’ve led product discovery and delivery zero-to-one across financial services, resulting in new product launches in Mexico, the Philippines, and Kenya. Key product areas include savings, debit cards, insurance, financial education, and 0% interest loans for essential community services in COVID-19.
Design research & strategy – As a research & project lead, I’ve led multi-month design research & strategy initiatives in local and global contexts across Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States. This included managing project outcomes, stakeholders & clients, operating budgets, and research & design teams to deliver foundational insights for product, policy, and program strategy. I’ve led projects end-to-end across research planning, recruitment, mixed methods research, synthesis, deliverable development, and workshop facilitation for 10-100+ attendees. Projects have resulted in the development and launch of new fintech products, tech and policy interventions for responsible microfinance, and training and data infrastructure to scale local capacity around upward mobility.
New markets – At Tala, I relocated from Kenya to the Philippines in 2017 as we launched our first market outside East Africa, owning the product roadmap and growing our user base 10X to over 1 million monthly active users. In 2019, I went deeper in new markets and led expansion strategy for a priority country in Latin America: understanding the market and opportunity, managing a team, analyzing corporate structuring, and developing partnerships required for launch.
New teams & culture – I’ve kicked off cross-functional teams across five regions, owning the roadmap to launch and mentoring research / design / product team members to cultivate market-led product leadership. This included developing product discovery frameworks and facilitating global / new team offsites to strengthen our product vision and culture.
My hope is to continue supporting changemakers with an unyielding commitment to this mission as we cultivate the empathy, perspective, and market-led product leadership to bring new horizons to life.
- Sara
Portfolio Highlights
Read on for key portfolio samples from my research, design, and strategy work within fintech and emerging markets. For the full hits, check out my resume here.
New Product Discovery at Tala
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Tala is a microfinance and data company expanding financial health with globally underbanked communities. I served as the product lead for new products across Kenya, the Philippines, and Mexico resulting in launches for savings, debit cards, insurance, financial education & coaching, and 0% interest loans for essential community services during COVID-19.
About the sample
In 2019, I was asked to create and lead a new product squad to validate a new, global product in one quarter. Over the course of two months and three countries, we interviewed over 70 customers, tested over 30 concepts, ran demand & pricing tests, and engaged with multiple partners to develop our strategy for a savings product.
Get a walk-through of our research & product discovery process, designing toward financial health.
Read the research report: understanding savings motivations & behavior, for a product that uniquely serves our customers’ needs.
Note: All documents are for supplemental review, and not for distribution.
New Market Expansion at Tala
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I served as an expansion strategist for our new markets at Tala. This included developing our recommended entry strategy for a priority country in Latin America: leading product strategy and research; analyzing regulatory, technical, and business requirements; owning business development; and managing an in-country team.
About the sample
As a case study, I outlined a proposed approach for a research trip to a prospective expansion market (Vietnam). Read through for a sample research approach with strategic engagements: from high-level research goals, key questions, and methodologies to carry us through the phases of expansion.
Note: All documents are for supplemental review, and not for distribution.
Storytelling & Empathy building
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At Tala, I piloted using micro-documentaries, photo essays, facilitation, and other forms of storytelling to deepen our empathy and knowledge around our customers and markets.
There remains tremendous distance — not only geographic, but cultural, socioeconomic, and behavioral distance — between ourselves and our customers. In storytelling, my hope is that we continue to wonder; challenge our assumptions; and allow new knowledge to guide better design and decisions for our customers.
About the sample
I relocated to the Philippines in 2017 as we launched our first market outside East Africa. My first month in Manila, I interviewed a woman named Ting.
I remember being struck by her openness and authenticity. I decided to stitch this video together to celebrate her, and her story. (I also snuck in some product feedback for the viewers — a.k.a. my colleagues.)
Watch the micro-documentary to acquaint with Ting, how she uses Tala, and her powerful story. Visit below for additional stories from the Philippines, Brazil, and Kenya.
Photography
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I find that photography is a practice of falling in love with the details, and the spirit of a place. It’s a kind of meditation, a perfect hand-in-hand with design research or any act of sense-making.
About the sample
Below are a few selects from different seasons living, working, or traveling in different regions. Click through for moments exploring new places, and standing still.
Additional Work
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While a deep chapter of my career has been dedicated to microfinance and fintech within emerging markets: my work in research, design, product, and strategy has spanned local and global contexts across a variety of sectors, particularly within social enterprise, nonprofit, and education spaces.
About the sample
If you’d like to go deeper, browse the carousel below for additional key projects and outcomes across research, product management, experience design, and facilitation.
You’ve gone top to bottom! Thanks for reading. If you’d like to explore more:
→ Get to know more about me
→ Browse my personal projects from a life in making
→ Reach out to say hello
Cheers, and thank you!
Designing a savings product, in pursuit of financial health and double bottom line impact