Hélène Smertnik

Youth and Digital Livelihoods Expert

“The learning partnership with the Mastercard Foundation has been a fantastic opportunity for knowledge exchange and creation. It’s about the research we conduct but also how we conduct it, with whom, how we disseminate it and what impact it will have on the Foundation and key actors in the digital development space.”

Hélène is Youth and Digital Livelihoods Expert at Caribou Digital. Previously, Hélène was Program Director where she led the company’s learning partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. She has worked for the GSMA Mobile for Development, leading advisory to Mobile Network Operators in the utility access sector. Hélène holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Toronto (during which she did a year exchange to Salamanca, Spain) and an MA in Policy and Strategic Communications from Université La Sorbonne - Paris 1. Hélène is French and Canadian, and is currently based in Paris.

Contact them at: helene@cariboudigital.net