Independent (Penelope Gregoriou)

I am an active member of the Global Shapers Community, where I’ve served as both Impact Officer and Vice Curator of the Johannesburg Hub. In my role as Impact Officer, I led the development of impact measurement frameworks and assessments to track our hub’s community initiatives and improve project effectiveness. I also helped strengthen partnerships across local and regional networks to scale our reach and build collaboration across causes. During my time in the hub, I led and supported various youth-focused initiatives. This includes a financial literacy programme in collaboration with other hubs in Africa, digital upskilling programme, a climate awareness campaign, and a menstrual health drive that distributed 2,000+ sanitary pads while engaging over 150 students in awareness workshops. I am also leading the South African G20 youth engagement efforts, helping design and deliver surveys, consultations, and policy roundtables that captured and amplified youth perspectives on climate finance, digital inclusion, and sustainable growth. Professionally, I work in sustainable and inclusive finance. I am a sustainability researcher, community organiser, and policy advocate working to build more inclusive, just, and climate-resilient systems, especially across the African continent. I focus on sustainable finance and the role of financial institutions in enabling equitable development. My work contributes to holding stakeholders in the ecosystem accountable to the people and communities they impact, including in in low- and lower-middle-income countries.