A career bridging cultures and impact: Meet the Quonan, Yasmine Shama
Yasmine’s journey to becoming the Head of Investor Relations at Quona Capital is as diverse and dynamic as the markets she now helps to shape.
By Noha Durrani
Born in the historic city of Alexandria, Egypt, and raised in the suburban landscapes of New Jersey, Yasmine Shama’s formative years straddled two different worlds. Each summer, she traveled back to Egypt, maintaining a deep connection to her roots; her academic year was spent navigating her quieter, largely homogeneous town in New Jersey. This juxtaposition of cultures cultivated a distinct worldview that would later fuel her enthusiasm for impact investing.
Her father, an engineer turned entrepreneur, sparked her interest in finance from a young age. “He was always very insistent on educating me about finance and investing,” she recalls. “Every weekend, he’d ask me to sit with him so he could teach me something about the stock market, his investment portfolio, and how important it was to invest.” These early lessons paved the way for her interest in economics, leading her to major in the subject at New York University (NYU).
Navigating the Financial World: From Wall Street to Emerging Markets
Yasmine’s career began in the summer of 2007 as a summer analyst at Morgan Stanley, where she accepted a full-time role just as the 2008 financial crisis hit. “Starting my career during the financial crisis was a trial by fire,” she reflects. “But it built a strong foundation for adapting to uncertainty and performing under pressure. That’s where I developed my professional resilience.”
After more than three years in the financial epicenter of New York, the entrepreneurial spirit she inherited from her father began to surface. When the opportunity arose to help launch a new equity financing business for Morgan Stanley in Brazil, Yasmine was the first to raise her hand. Immersed in this new culture, she quickly acclimated and fell in love with the fast-evolving market. “There was an incredible influx of smart people ready to innovate and build something. The energy was contagious, and I knew immediately, ‘this is what I want to be a part of,’” she says.
From 2011 to 2014, Yasmine’s time in Brazil was transformative, exposing her to both the inefficiencies and opportunities within emerging markets firsthand. Inspired by the dynamic atmosphere around her, Yasmine explains, “I knew my next step had to involve leveraging technology and innovation to solve real-world problems.”
A Dynamic Path to Impact
In 2015, Yasmine began her MBA at INSEAD, an experience she describes as “one of the best of my life.” During this time, she also completed an 8-week internship at a fintech startup, blending academic learning with practical experience. Her desire to use the next phase of her career to “thread the needle with a lot of interests” led her to work for private equity firm TPG. Yasmine was part of the team that launched TPG’s foray into impact investing through the firm’s RISE platform, where she played a key role in helping scale the firm’s initiatives in the space. Four years flew by at TPG, and Yasmine soon found herself seeking a more intimate and agile company environment. She transitioned to a rapidly growing investment firm in the blockchain industry, where she successfully led the effort to raise the firm’s first venture fund. “While that experience satisfied my desire to help build a firm, I realized that the blockchain industry was still in its infancy and not yet capable of quickly solving real world problems on a broad enough scale,” says Yasmine.
Her journey came full circle when she discovered Quona, a company that seemed to perfectly align with her values and professional goals. “Quona is the place that has connected so many dots in my career. It combined my excitement for meaningful impact and emerging markets and experience with fintech,” she says.
“Yasmine is a tailor-made fit for Quona: she is a true global citizen, with direct prior experience with both impact investing and fintech start ups,” notes Monica Brand Engel, Quona’s co-founder and Managing Partner. “And just as importantly, she embodies Quona’s customer orientation, can-do spirit, and desire to continually up our game.”
Outside of work, Yasmine embodies the spirit of a true “renaissance woman.” She is an avid reader and enjoys challenging herself with new activities — her latest hobbies have included pole and aerial fitness, creative writing and storytelling, improv comedy, and acting lessons inspired by her love for the theater. Growing up on the tennis courts with her father, who had high hopes of nurturing the next Serena Williams, you can still often find her on the court perfecting her serve. True to her Middle Eastern roots, she also delights in hosting lively dinner parties, bringing diverse groups of people together for meaningful conversations and connections. These hobbies reflect her dedication to continuous growth and her vibrant, multifaceted personality.
