Members of the Social Finance Fund Technical Assessment Group

The Technical Assessment Group (TAG) consists of leaders and experts in innovative finance. TAG members advise the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) on the selection process of wholesaler(s) for the Social Finance Fund. The TAG helps to ensure the assessment process includes technical expertise from industry professionals.

On this page

• Alison Nankivell, Business Development Canada Capital (BDC)
• Anne-Marie Lévesque, FinDev Canada
• Bri Trypuc, Trypuc Philanthropic Office
• Gilles Duruflé, Institutional Investors Roundtable
• Karim Harji, Evalysis

Alison Nankivell, Business Development Canada Capital (BDC)

Alison Nankivell holds expertise in both Canadian and Asian finance industries. She is currently Senior Vice President, Fund Investments and Global Scaling at Business Development Canada Capital (BDC), a federal crown corporation. Alison manages BDC Capital’s indirect investments, which is Canada’s largest venture fund investor. Since 2018, Alison has led several BDC Capital’s mandates, including: funding and support for Indigenous and Black entrepreneurs, clean tech innovation, and women-led technology companies. Previously, Alison served as Vice President of the Government of Canada’s Venture Capital Action Plan. This was a $1.2 billion national venture program to encourage private capital investment.

Alison lived in Beijing and Hong Kong from 1990 to 1995. During that period, she worked as an economic analyst for The Economist Intelligence Unit, a research and analysis organization. Alison also worked at Export Development Canada both in Ottawa and in Beijing, where she spent 15 years in both finance and investment roles. In addition, Alison worked as an economist and consultant for the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Development Program. She is fluent in Mandarin and English. Alison lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Anne-Marie Lévesque, FinDev Canada

Anne-Marie Lévesque is a gender equality, human rights and development impact specialist. Anne-Marie is currently Director of Gender and Impact Management at FinDev Canada, one of the Government of Canada’s development finance institution (DFI). There, she is responsible for the development and implementation of FinDev Canada’s Gender Equality Strategy and Development Impact Framework. From 2019 to 2020, Anne-Marie served as the Chair of the 2X Challenge, an initiative of the G7 DFIs aiming to mobilize capital to invest in women.

Prior to joining FinDev Canada, Anne-Marie was a consultant at Ergon Associates. In this role, she advised private sector companies, development finance institutions and international organizations on their human rights, gender equality and labour practices. In 2021, Apolitical recognized Anne-Marie as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy. She is trilingual in English, French and Spanish. Anne-Marie works in Montreal, Quebec.

Bri Trypuc, Trypuc Philanthropic Office

Bri Trypuc is a philanthropic strategist and the founder of Trypuc Phlianthropic Office. Trypuc Philanthropic Office provides clients with philanthropic advisory, private foundation management and strategic consulting services. As the Principal Advisor, Bri currently leads the external operations and overall strategy of Trypuc Philanthropic Office.

Previously, Bri helped lead the creation of Charity Intelligence Canada, a national advisory firm for donors. Bri is a national leader on charity analysis. She has conducted research on hundreds of Canadian charities ranging from start-ups to Canada’s largest charitable organizations. She has provided advice to over 1,500 Canadian donors to date. Bri also worked in private wealth management at Cougar Global Investments and New Philanthropic Capital in the United Kingdom. Bri lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Gilles Duruflé, Institutional Investors Roundtable

Dr. Gilles Duruflé is an independent consultant with a long experience in finance. His works include advising venture capital, private equity funds, institutional investors and governments. He is currently Senior Advisor of the Institutional Investors Roundtable (IIR). Previously, he was Executive Vice President of the Quebec City Conference and President of its Tech Innovation Platform. Gilles was also Senior Partner at CDP Capital Technology Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. At CDP Capital, he was in charge of the Fund of Fund portfolio, investing in North American and European VC funds.

From 1979 to 1991, Gilles worked as Senior Partner in strategic consulting firms in the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC Group) in Paris, providing services across Africa, Europe and North America. Gilles is also a published writer of books and articles covering public policies, entrepreneurship, trade agreements and others related topics to finance and economics. He is bilingual in French and English. Gilles lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Karim Harji, Evalysis

Karim Harji is a consultant with expertise in impact measurement and impact investing. He is the Managing Director at Evalysis. This impact measurement and management firm works with investors, corporations, and ventures to measure and improve their social impact. Karim is also the Program Director of the Oxford Impact Measurement Programme at the Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Karim was co-founder and Director at Purpose Capital, where he established and led its Impact Investment Advisory practice. He was a Member of the Impact Measurement Working Group of the G8 Social Impact Investment Task Force. He was also an advisor to the Rockefeller Foundation on social impact measurement. Karim speaks English and Swahili. Karim works in Toronto, Ontario.