THE NEXT GENERATION
Danial Shakiba Young Professional, Strategy, Sustainable Development & Partnerships, OPEC Fund
As an OPEC Fund YPDP since May 2024, I have learned that development finance is a complex process. One day you translate development impact into a sustainable, bankable loan in Finance. Next you are with Legal, realizing how a single paragraph can reshape a deal. Then in Operations you translate all of that into something that delivers results on the ground. And in Strategy you connect the operation to wider priorities, ensuring impact. Watching the same operation through different lenses adds depth to my learning.
The first cohort, 2015
be overstated. When I moved from Communications – a field traditionally dominated by women – to Operations, I noticed a stark difference. Suddenly, I was often the only woman at the table or even in the room. That shouldn’t happen in 2026, yet it does. Organizations talk about gender equality, set targets and publish glossy reports, but representation continues to lag. Women are often expected to take on traditional roles, which can bias perceptions in the workplace. However, those perceptions often change once you start working together. Institutional leadership matters. It’s important to see more examples of women in professional positions and higher up the organizational chart. It’s also important that they support and mentor other women in the workplace. In every organization (or enterprise) the tone is set at the top.
For female beneficiaries in developing countries, priorities should go beyond access to education – although that remains critical. We need to think holistically: economic empowerment, safety, health and representation in governance. In infrastructure projects, for example, gender considerations shouldn’t stop at “build schools for girls.” They should include job creation for women, both white-collar and blue-collar and address health and safety standards where physical demands differ. I’ve seen this firsthand in discussions about railway projects in Türkiye. Put simply, how do we create opportunities for women without ignoring practical realities? Another priority is narrative. Development communications often descend into images of destitution and desperation that strip people of agency. Putting a struggling mother on the
cover doesn’t empower her; it reinforces stereotypes. We need to showcase women as leaders, innovators and equal partners in progress. Representation matters, not just in boardrooms but also in the stories we tell. This means that development needs a shift in mindset. Countries come to us for solutions, not just loans. We need to add real value, which means providing technical expertise, knowledge sharing and innovative approaches tailored to local contexts. In other words, being agile, embracing technology and learning from the private sector’s adaptability without losing our development mission. As I said earlier: No two days or projects are the same. Each brings its own challenges and rewards. What stays constant in my role at the OPEC Fund is the opportunity to contribute to meaningful impact.
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