Latest News
Lighting the Lives of the Rural Poor
USAID
Bringing light to Haiti, one solar lamp at a time
CBS Evening News
Interview with Niki Armacost of Arc Finance and Dominique Policard of Sogexpress about Arc Finance's Remittances Project in Haiti
NBC Miami & Tropik TV
Where innovation pays off: Helping low-income Haitians access environmentally-friendly energy products
November 2012 FOMIN
Stima Systems' Group Microleasing Model - Promoting
Payment and Reducing Risk at the Group Level
July 2012 Arc Finance Case Study
Arc Finance Podcast: Fiza Farhan, CEO, The Buksh Foundation
July 2012 Arc Finance Podcast
Using Energy Products and Other Initiatives to Spur Growth at a Philippine
MFI
August 2012 Arc Finance Blog
How
Women Are Powering Energy Access in Uganda
June 2012 Arc Finance Blog
Financing Sustainable Enery: An Optimistic View From Niki Armacost
July 11, 2012 Ashden Blog
Climate Scope 2012 Report featuring Arc's Haiti Remittances Project
July 2012 Inter-American Development Bank Report
Can The Microfinance Sector Help Deliver Clean Energy?
May 14, 2012 CGAP Blog
Managing Director and Co-Founder Nicola Armacost on Microfinance
Link TV: Television Without Borders
Yara Akkari
Project Coordinator
Yara is Arc’s Project Coordinator, leading the implementation of a business model to promote the use of remittances as a means to purchase clean energy in Haiti.
Yara has spent her career in the development sector in a range of different capacities including governance, social development, microfinance, renewable energy and culture. Most recently, she worked at Eko Green, a company based in Nigeria, as a consultant. Her research and work at Eko Green contributed to the implementation of innovative organic farming and low cost ecological housing in Africa. Before joining Eko Green, Yara served as a project management and research consultant for various UN agencies. She worked for the UNDP in strategy development and institutional building for the Lebanese Ministry of Finance and the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) and in the promotion of cultural diversity in least advanced countries through management of projects at the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. She also consulted for Women’s World Banking (WWB), a network of microfinance institutions, contributing to their research and communication initiatives. Yara began her career at Ashoka, an NGO that supports social entrepreneurship worldwide, where she managed fundraising, developed a newsletter on innovative solutions for social change, and supported Ashoka’s fellows in their efforts.
Yara received an MS in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and a BA in International Economics from ASSAS University in Paris, both with merit. A native of Lebanon, Yara is fluent in English, French and Arabic.