For my INSEAD summer, I chose to spend time working with TenX Nutrition, an early-stage food business in Kenya focused on making everyday foods more nutritious and accessible.

• Read more about My Social Impact Internship with TenX Nutrition in Kenya

During my summer internship, I supported the product strategy of Sustainability Compass, a decision intelligence platform built around a comprehensive sustainability framework. I assessed the product’s outputs, identified gaps and opportunities to strengthen its value proposition, and built dashboard views that translated the analysis into practical decision support for companies, investors, and customers.

• Read more about Integrating Sustainability Is a Core Value Creation Lever

During the summer break of my MBA at INSEAD, I joined the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome as a Finance Fellow in its Innovative Finance Unit. After several years in investment management, I wanted to understand how finance could support humanitarian work.

• Read more about What I Learned About Financing Food Security at WFP

This summer, I interned with Data for Change: The PARIS21 Foundation, a Geneva-based organisation that works to strengthen data systems in low- and middle-income countries, with a particular focus on Africa. In particular, they work closely with climate and gender data, two types of data that are under-captured and therefore difficult to work into policy.Coming into this internship, I wanted to bridge my background in data strategy in the private sector with the world of international development.

• Read more about Fundraising in Times of Scarcity: Lessons From Geneva

Letter to myself 1(ish) year agoHello Simmy, pre-INSEAD! This is Simmy post-INSEAD :) You are embarking on arguably your best year to date! It will be jam-packed, wonderfully extreme, and, at times, totally overwhelming.  

• Read more about 25 Pieces of Advice for Your 25J MBA Year

"Guess I will be working in Nairobi this summer," I said to my friend in disbelief. We had just landed at the airport in Oslo, and I had just taken my phone out of airplane mode and saw that I had received an email from CIFOR-ICRAF offering me a position as a summer intern. I had no specific aspirations to find an internship in Africa over the summer; the motto was "wherever work and impact take me", and I am profoundly grateful that it took me to Kenya.

• Read more about Dryland Restoration: Bridging the Gap Between Science and Finance To Restore the Planet’s Most Overlooked Ecosystem

Jobo: A Start-Up with a mission Jobo is a start-up founded in Côte d’Ivoire to tackle one of the continent’s most pressing challenges: the gap between job seekers and meaningful employment. By leveraging technology, data, and strong partnerships with employers, Jobo provides a platform that connects individuals with opportunities in the formal labour market.Jobo's mission is rooted in the belief that inclusive employment not only transforms individual lives but also fuels sustainable economic growth.

• Read more about Beyond Employment: Bridging Business and Empowerment at Jobo Academy

This summer, I had the privilege of joining Associação de Conservação da Biodiversidade – Biflores, a local NGO dedicated to protecting the rich biodiversity of Brava Island in Cape Verde. What makes Biflores unique is not only its commitment to marine and terrestrial conservation, but also its close ties with the local community.

• Read more about Building a Sustainable Fundraising Strategy for Biodiversity in Cape Verde

This summer, I had the opportunity to join the Sea2Carbon team, a venture founded by INSEAD 24D alumni Utsav Oza and José Gomes. Sea2Carbon’s mission is clear and ambitious: harness the power of marine biomass to drive climate action, foster economic empowerment, and support environmental restoration.

• Read more about The Future of Climate Innovation: My Summer Story

Stepping into the workThis summer, I worked with Programa Aurora, the branch of Peru’s Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations that operates Línea 100 - a 24/7 national hotline for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. I reported to a director overseeing the hotline and split my time between remote work and on-site operations in Lima.

• Read more about From the Andes to the Hotline: My Summer Internship with Programa Aurora