Opportunity International Australia is delighted to welcome two new Directors to our Board, as we enter an exciting new season expanding Global Health programs and deepening our investment in impactful microfinance programs overseas.

Jai Sharma and Stephanie Judd have joined the Opportunity International Australia Board as Directors in 2024.

With combined experience across many professional sectors, including impact investment, law, non-for-profit management, banking and finance, Jai and Stephanie both bring a wealth of knowledge and insight to Opportunity’s Board of Directors, and a heart for our impactful programs supporting families living in poverty.

Jai Sharma is the General Manager of SDG Capital, a funding and capital advisory business supporting non-profits clients. He is a seasoned impact investment specialist with a career spanning superannuation, funds management and social entrepreneurship.

A serial social entrepreneur, Jai has started and exited multiple mission driven start-ups and has advised a number of prominent social enterprises and impact investment funds globally. In 2010, Jai also founded a small but pioneering rescue and rehabilitation program for vulnerable girls in North India.

He holds a Masters in Professional Ethics (UNSW) and a BA (International Relations/Development) from The Australian National University (ANU).

Stephanie Judd is a senior associate at Prolegis Lawyers, where she advises the philanthropic and charity sector. Prior to joining Prolegis, she worked in a major Australian law firm in the banking and finance team, with a focus on social finance and impact investment.

In 2019, she graduated from a degree in theological studies at the University of Oxford. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons I) from the University of Sydney, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Connecting a passion with purpose and innovation

One thing that connects Opportunity International Australia Directors is a passion to help end global poverty, as well as creating opportunities and solutions to alleviate it. Opportunity's programs help women be financially empowered and make sustainable, smart changes in their families and in their communities.

"The challenges we face as a global community can feel daunting in their enormity and complexity. Addressing them  requires the most creativity we can muster! One of the things that I find most exciting about Opportunity's model is just that: it is scalable, sustainable, and smart,” says Stephanie.

On joining the Opportunity Board, Jai said “I have always felt that three things hold incredible potential to genuinely move the needle on global poverty – Christ-like love, the power of financial markets directed for good and models of development that are genuinely self-scaling. Opportunity International Australia has a unique DNA that embodies all of these and I couldn’t be more excited to be serving this organisation and the communities it supports.”

“It's a privilege to join the Opportunity International Australia Board to  work closely with the team to develop and deploy the cutting edge of financial products and technologies to help women and families access microfinance and other impactful programs, to help them overcome poverty," adds Stephanie.

To learn more about Opportunity’s impactful programs, helping women globally use financial tools to leave poverty behind.