Fanta Toure-Puri

Fanta was born and raised in Cote d’Ivoire. Her thinking and the collaborative approach that she promotes in her work were shaped by her experience working in humanitarian relief at the grassroots level early in her career, and subsequently for a US-based grassroots grantmaker. Fanta firmly believes that positive long-term outcomes on gender transformation and social change can only be achieved if and when communities are at the front and center of all discussions. She strives to carry forward the grantee perspective into all programmatic and policy decisions, using a pragmatic approach that has been forged through years of designing and implementing development programs in several African countries.

Prior to joining the Girls First Fund, Fanta worked at the World Bank in the Human Development department. She managed loans and grants provided to government clients to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate social protection policies and programs. Her work focused on productive social safety nets (cash-based interventions to reduce poverty and improve human development outcomes), social assistance delivery systems youth employment, early childhood development, livelihood support, and post-conflict stabilization.

She holds a MA in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University and a BA in International and Public Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.