Mohammed Khaled is the Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank's Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). Based in Ramallah Palestine, Mohammed works to deepen CGAP’s engagement in the region by collaborating with partners on issues such as technology, policy, and funding for microfinance. Mohammed has over 25 years of experience in developing and managing innovative projects that empower women and the poor. Beginning as a practitioner in 1994, he began Save the Children/US Group Guaranteed Lending and Savings Program which was spun off later as FATEN, the first microfinance institution in Palestine.  Mohammed has also played a number of other roles in the microfinance sector.  He served as the founding director and a senior trainer of Sanabel, the Microfinance Network of Arab Countries.  He is a Managing Partner of Microserve, a microfinance consulting firm.  He has also been working as a consultant and an advisor for several donors in the region including the Rockdale Foundation, Grameen Foundation/U.S. (later Grameen-Jameel), AGFUND, and UNDP. A Palestinian national and an American citizen, Mohammed speaks Arabic and English.