Fawzieh Abuhijleh is a Deputy Program Manager for the Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII) in Palestine where she provides technical assistance, business advisory services, and financial software solutions to local SMEs. She has over 19 years of experience in the financial sector specializing in sustainable development and microfinance. Ms. Abuhijleh has worked for several international institutions in various positions: as a Program Officer at SPARK (a Dutch international NGO), an Operations Manager for FATEN (a non-profit company specializing in micro finance), a Deputy Resident Advisor for Chemonics International, and a Finance and Administrative Manager for Save the Children/US. She also provided consulting services for the Welfare Association, the KFW Development Bank, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (KFW/IFAD). Ms. Abuhijleh holds a BS in Accounting from Cairo University, a High Diploma (equivalent to an MBA) from An-Najah University in Palestine, and a Diploma in Mentorship from the Center of Continuing Education at Birzeit University. She completed several training courses from the following academic institutions: Boulder Institute of Micro-Finance at Boulder University’s Economics Institute, Colorado, USA; Leadership in the 21st Century at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA; and a training for trainers course on Entrepreneurship at SPARK and Amsterdam Business School, Netherlands.