Ava Tahet

Ava Tahet joined SEI Asia as a Research Associate under the Sustainable Finance team in August 2026. Ava contributes to the establishment of the Regional Adaptation Investment Facility (WP3), supporting analytical, coordination, and investment-readiness work.

Ava’s work focuses on climate finance, macro-financial resilience, and sustainable investment in emerging and developing economies, with a particular interest in strengthening adaptation finance systems and regional cooperation. She brings experience in mixed-method climate finance research, investment structuring, and policy engagement across diverse institutional settings. 

Before joining SEI Asia, Ava worked as a trainee with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg, supporting concessional lending operations in the Asia-Pacific. Her role included financial and economic analysis for project appraisal and structuring, review of legal and technical documentation, integration of ESG safeguards, and the preparation of high-level field missions and capacity-building workshops.  

She previously contributed to trade policy and facilitation work at the United Nations ESCAP in Bangkok, conducting quantitative analysis of trade flows, tariffs, and non-tariff measures, supporting the Trade Intelligence and Negotiation Advisor (TINA), and assisting in regional policy dialogues. Ava first gained experience in climate finance as an intern at SEI Asia in 2023-2024, where she conducted mixed-method research on barriers to climate finance across South and Southeast Asia, supported stakeholder engagement, and contributed to monitoring and evaluation activities.  

Ava holds a B.S. in Economics from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and a M.S. in International Economics and Development from Paris Dauphine University – PSL, where she completed a thesis on dynamic macro-financial modelling of Kazakhstan’s financial sector in a low-carbon transition.