As the Chief Executive Officer of SIA, Shelley Spencer brings nearly 30 years of expertise from the telecommunications sector and is dedicated to accelerating the use of digital technology to improve the lives of others. She has worked to advance access and uptake of DFS since 2011. Her work has included leadership of technical assistance projects to drive DFS offerings by providers in Indonesia, research on the DFS market in India, design and management of grant programs to support NGOs’ use of DFS, and more recently research focused on accelerating women’s financial inclusion.

Shelley was first introduced to the mobile sector in the 1990s while practicing telecommunications regulatory law in Washington, D.C. Her career has been punctuated by work in law, business and start-up endeavors – all intersecting the mobile space. She founded several successful mobile companies and participated in the building boom of mobile networks that provide the main form of connectivity in much of the world today. In 2014, she founded SIA to create a team that provides strategic advice and insights to DFS providers, donors and users to realize the promise of DFS to close the gap in financial inclusion.

Shelley received her law degree from Georgetown and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio. She currently serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Small Business Association of International Companies.