Arjuna Costa

Overview

Arjuna is an accomplished emerging market investor in social enterprises. In his current role at Omidyar Network, Arjuna invests in Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion, with a focus on Africa and other emerging markets. Prior to Omidyar Network, Arjuna consulted at the Gates Foundation on the economics of delivering savings products through the different channels and business models supported by its Financial Services for the Poor initiative. Prior to that role, he was a member of the Africa and Middle East special situations investment practice at The Rohatyn Group, an emerging markets investment firm with $2.5 billion under management. He was actively involved in sourcing and executing transactions across the consumer finance, financial services, telecommunications, and real estate sectors. In 2003, Arjuna co-founded Africa International Financial Holdings LLC, a $115-million private equity fund focused on the turnaround of distressed commercial banks and the penetration of underserved market segments in sub-Saharan Africa. The fund grew out of his work advising African governments on the restructuring and privatization of its banking sector. Previously, Arjuna developed trade and investment programs targeting grassroots enterprises and agricultural groups for the U.S. Government in response to the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. Arjuna began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he spent five years in the power and transportation groups. Arjuna earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he subsequently returned to co-author a rewrite of the textbook Business Analysis and Valuation: Using Financial Statements. Arjuna graduated with a BA in computer science from Columbia University, where he received the prestigious Ravi Kapur Memorial Scholarship, given to one student from India every four years.