Rekia is Managing Partner at Barka, an early-stage impact fund that supports entrepreneurs in Africa. Barka provides innovative financing and investment-readiness capital to startups taking measures to reduce the negative impact of climate change in their communities.
Prior to founding Barka, Rekia worked as a Senior Manager, Impact Investing at Stright Hamilton, a boutique consulting firm, specializing in measuring the performance of impact investments. Rekia started her career in the private sector, working in the financial services sector across 3 continents, Bloomberg in New York, Barclays in London and JP Morgan in Johannesburg, South Africa, before moving to the nonprofit world. As Head of Project Development for the Executive Office of the President of Niger, Rekia helped raise $437 million for two greenfield development and growth-focused projects, including a climate-resilient communities project.
Rekia earned an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A in Political Science from Stony Brook University.