Speaker details

Biography

Paola Fonseca is a seasoned legal professional with over 18 years of experience in corporate governance, ESG compliance, public policy, and structuring sustainable finance transactions, including social impact bonds and blended finance. With expertise spanning Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, she has guided multinational organizations in aligning business practices with regulatory frameworks and advancing sustainable finance and impact investment. Her work focuses on the systemic impact of sustainable procurement across value chains in Latin America, emphasizing the concept of mandatory self-regulation. This term reflects how global regulations, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), effectively impose mandatory compliance on the Global South by influencing multinational value chains. Paola has been at the forefront of addressing these regulatory shifts, empowering organizations to navigate their implications while fostering sustainable practices. She holds a law degree, an MBA, and a Post-MBA from INCAE Business School – Chinese European Business Institute, and is an alumna of the Impact Investment Program and Public Policy Program at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School and Blavatnik School of Government, respectively. Currently, she is completing a PhD at the United Nations University for Peace, focusing on regulatory frameworks for impact investment. As a Global Board Member of the Global Alliance for Impact Lawyers (GAIL) and Chair of its Latin American Chapter, Paola bridges corporate governance and public policy on a global scale. Her expertise encompasses ESG compliance, EU-driven regulations applied in Latin America, sustainability, and structuring social impact bonds, advancing innovative solutions for financing sustainable development