Unreasonable Mentors
Elizabeth Littlefield
Senior Partner at West Africa Blue; Former CEO of the Development Finance Corporation; Former Director of World Bank
Elizabeth is an Unreasonable Syndicate Investor and Mentor. Elizabeth was part of Unreasonable Impact Americas 2018, and has advised over 12 Unreasonable companies.
Elizabeth L. Littlefield is currently the Senior Partner at West Africa Blue, a leading nature-based solution developer working with communities on large scale conservation and restoration of mangrove forests in West Africa.
She served as CEO and Chair of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, (now the US Development Finance Corporation -DFC) from 2010-2017 in the Obama Administration.
From 2000 until 2010, Ms. Littlefield was CEO of Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, ( CGAP), a World Bank consortium charged with building the microfinance sector. Prior to joining CGAP, Littlefield was JP Morgan’s Managing Director in charge of capital markets and financing in emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa. During 1989-1991, she lived and worked in remote West and Central Africa setting up microfinance institutions.
Littlefield currently serves as Treasurer and board member of WWF-US. She chaired the board of M-Kopa, one of the fastest growing companies in Africa, from 2018-2025. She has served on the board of DAI, Women’s World Banking, the MasterCard foundation, Calvert Foundation, and many others. She was an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies from 2005 to 2008.
