Empowering SMEs with Fintech: Nadia Osman’s IMD MBA Story

Editor’s note: In this Real Stories feature, we spotlight Nadia Osman, a Business Partnerships Manager at SILQFi, whose MBA journey at IMD Business School bridges fintech innovation with SME development across emerging markets. From helping small businesses access finance in Sudan to driving digital transformation in Saudi Arabia, Nadia’s story is one of purpose meeting strategy.

Nadia Osman works as a Business Partnerships Manager at SILQFi, the financial arm of SILQ Group. She is helping to build the next generation of B2B financial infrastructure, enabling small businesses to become merchant-first rails. This infrastructure is embedded at every step of the journey, from procurement to payments, and from transactions to transformation.

Her career is centered on credit finance, SME development, and partnerships, helping businesses and communities access the resources they need to thrive — from structuring blended finance deals to driving digital transformation.

She is passionate about building bridges between financial innovation and SME development — at the intersection of capital, strategy, and execution to expand access to essential services. Nadia recently stepped into the credit finance space in Saudi Arabia, where the SME credit market is now worth over USD 93.8 billion — a fast-growing market.

As the sole recipient of the Backpack for Women Scholarship in her cohort, the BackPack Foundation Scholarship played a crucial role in making Nadia’s MBA journey at IMD possible.

Before your MBA at IMD

Before joining IMD, Nadia’s journey was a mix of entrepreneurship, finance, and social impact, all rooted in emerging markets. She began her career in Sudan, helping small and medium businesses access finance and micro-financing tools.

“What started as local development work quickly expanded into collaborations with international organizations and start-ups across the MENA region,” she recalls. “Where I helped design inclusive financial solutions for underserved communities”.

Later, Nadia worked on impact-investing projects in Germany; “an experience that opened my eyes to how global capital can drive meaningful change when directed responsibly —Eventually, I co-founded a start-up, blending everything I’d learned about business, innovation, and purpose into one venture,” she says.

Across all these experiences, Nadia saw how powerful finance can be as a tool for resilience, but also how fragmented systems and policy gaps can limit real progress. “I reached a point where I wanted to understand not just how to build impact — but how to scale it, how institutions, both public and private, can work together more effectively,” she says. That search for deeper understanding and transformation is what ultimately led her to IMD.

“The IMD program combines business rigor with genuine personal growth and ignited Nadia’s profound interest in impact investments.”

Why choose an MBA at IMD?

Coming from the development sector and working closely with social entrepreneurs, Nadia has seen how moving capital to the right places can create significant positive change. Also, the fact that the IMD program combines business rigor with genuine personal growth ignited Nadia’s profound interest in impact investments.

“From the moment I learned about its small, diverse class and the focus on self-awareness and experiential learning, I knew it was the kind of environment where I could truly stretch myself,” Nadia says.

“Being selected as the sole recipient of the Backpack-Excellence Scholarship for Women — a reminder of the importance of representation and women’s leadership in emerging markets- was an incredible honor,” she says. “It also came with a sense of responsibility: to make the most of every opportunity, challenge my own assumptions, and live up to the values the scholarship represents.”

Throughout the year, IMD became a catalyst for Nadia, redefining how she led, from navigating ambiguity in fast-moving projects to finding the balance between purpose and performance.

“I learned that leadership isn’t about having all the answers, but about showing up with empathy, confidence, and clarity,” she admits. “Today, those lessons continue to guide my work in fintech and SME development in Saudi Arabia, where I am focusing on building scalable financial solutions to empower businesses.”

An IMD MBA that stands out for its Leadership Stream approach

“At IMD, leadership isn’t something you study; it’s something you experience every day,” Nadia says. “The Leadership Stream runs through everything, from team projects to individual coaching.”

From the first week, she took part in 360° feedback sessions, leadership labs, and coaching conversations that push you to look a little deeper.

“The Personal Development Elective was one of those moments that stayed with me,” she says. “It made me face parts of myself I’d never really examined before, like how I respond under uncertainty or what I do when I’m not fully in control.”

“It’s not a comfortable process, but it’s an authentic one. IMD Leadership Stream teaches you that growth often starts where comfort ends!” she emphasizes.

Personal and professional challenges

The IMD MBA is often described as an “intense year of self-discovery,” and that proved absolutely true for Nadia. Moving to a new region, far from family, and everything familiar was a challenge in itself.

But what made it even more difficult was carrying the emotional weight of what her country, Sudan, was going through at the time. “Balancing that concern with the relentless pace of the program required resilience and perspective I didn’t know I had,” she reflects.

“At the same time, adapting to a new academic environment among highly accomplished peers was humbling,” Nadia admits. “I had to learn to slow down, listen, and trust the process, even when things felt uncertain.”

“Yet all of these moments became the foundation of my growth,” she says. “They taught me how to lead with empathy, stay grounded in purpose, and find strength in vulnerability.”

“IMD has a way of blurring the lines between academic learning, leadership growth, and personal transformation.”

Most valuable outcome at IMD

For Nadia it wasn’t a single outcome, but how everything came together: “IMD has a way of blurring the lines between academic learning, leadership growth, and personal transformation,” she says.

“I worked with classmates from 44 different nationalities, which made every discussion, disagreement, and group project a lesson in cultural intelligence — add to that the discovery trips to Singapore and Argentina, and an International Consulting Project in Denmark, and it truly felt like a world tour in leadership and collaboration,” she says.

Navigating all of that, the personalities, perspectives, and time zones, was challenging at times — but for her, one of the best parts of the experience.

The leadership skills she gained were incredibly valuable, learning how to stay grounded in uncertainty, make decisions when things aren’t clear, and bring people together around a common goal. “But what truly stands out is the network, a group of classmates who became lifelong friends, mentors, and collaborators across every continent,” she admits.

Perhaps the most meaningful outcome was personal wellbeing and clarity of purpose: “The MBA helped me redefine success, not in terms of titles or achievements, but in living a life aligned with my values — that balance now shapes my work in fintech and development, where purpose and performance go hand in hand,” Nadia says.

Real impact of your MBA on the ground

Ten months after graduating, Nadia can already see how deeply IMD has shaped the way she builds and leads.

“My proudest accomplishment has been stepping into the credit finance space in Saudi Arabia, where the SME credit market is now worth over USD 93.8 billion — it’s a fast-growing market that’s still new to me, but one I genuinely enjoy navigating — I now work in credit finance helping SMEs access the capital and tools they need to grow and strengthen their businesses,” she says.

IMD taught her to see business as a system that should serve people, not the other way around. Nadia says: “It gave me the confidence to connect private-sector performance with purpose and to lead teams with clarity and empathy.”

“This constant reminder to connect ideas to real value is what turns students into global facilitators.”

Are students with an MBA at IMD potential facilitators for economic development?

“Absolutely! — IMD doesn’t just train managers, it shapes leaders who can see the bigger picture and act with purpose,” she emphasizes. “The mix of intensity, diversity, and hands-on learning prepares you to handle complex global challenges with both logic and empathy.”

As Nadia explains, what makes IMD different is that purpose is built into everything. Whether you’re debating finance, innovation, or sustainability, someone will always ask: “So what’s the real impact?”

This constant reminder to connect ideas to real value is what turns students into global facilitators,” she notes: “people who can bridge sectors, cultures, and economies to drive inclusive growth.”

“I’ve seen that happen again and again, in my own journey and in what my classmates are doing now — many of us have gone on to work on things we truly care about. IMD gives you the mindset and confidence to turn global collaboration into real impact,” she says.

Financial and Personal ROI – support from the BackPack Foundation

As the sole recipient of the Backpack for Women Scholarship in her cohort, the BackPack Foundation Scholarship played a crucial role in making Nadia’s journey possible.

“I felt a deep sense of trust and responsibility — the support was not just financial, it came through mentorship, guidance, and a genuine belief in the potential of women to lead meaningful change,” Nadia notes.

The guidance and mentorship she received from the BackPack Foundation shaped Nadia’s IMD experience in countless ways. “Earlier this year, we lost Hanne de Mora, the founder of the Backpack,” she recalls. “She was a remarkable woman whose vision, wisdom, and kindness profoundly influenced my life.”

“I will always carry her mission with me, and her belief in empowering women through education continues to inspire me to pay it forward by opening doors for others, just as IMD and the Foundation did for me,” she admits.

Three tips for IMD MBA newcomers

Nadia shares advice for newcomers to make the best of their MBA experience at IMD:

1. Embrace vulnerability early

The MBA is as much about who you are as what you know. “Don’t resist the moments that feel uncomfortable, the leadership labs, the feedback sessions, the cultural friction,” Nadia explains. “Those are the experiences that stretch you the most. Growth starts the moment you allow yourself to be open and real.”

2. Build relationships, not just a network

“At IMD you’ll meet brilliant people from every corner of the world, but what lasts beyond the year are the friendships built on trust, empathy, and shared struggle — invest in your peers, they become your sounding board, your collaborators, and often, your lifelong support system,” she says.

3. Connect purpose with performance.

While completing an MBA is easy to get caught up in academics or recruiting and feel pressured to follow traditional paths.

“Take time to remember why you are here and what truly matters to you — you do not have to become a consultant or work in an investment bank to prove your success,” she notes. “Embrace who you are, trust your skills, and use this time to discover what genuinely brings you joy and purpose.”

Nadia explains: “The MBA is not just a stepping stone in your career; it is a chance to align your ambitions with the life you truly want to build.”

“IMD taught her to see business as a system that should serve people, not the other way around.”

Is an MBA at IMD worth it?

When asked whether the MBA at IMD was worth it, Nadia smiles and responds:

“Only if you are ready to meet yourself halfway — IMD is not the kind of MBA where you simply collect a degree and move on — it is intense, deeply personal, sometimes uncomfortable, and always worth it. You learn a lot about business, but even more about yourself.”

Nadia explains that what makes the program truly special are the people and experiences along the way.

“You build friendships with classmates from every corner of the world and gain perspectives that completely change how you see leadership and life — the discovery trips, the simulations, and the endless projects take you out of your comfort zone in the best possible way — every challenge feels different when you are learning beside forty nationalities and tackling real problems together,” she emphasises.

“So yes, it is absolutely worth it — there will be days when you wonder why you signed up for it and others when you cannot imagine having missed the experience —you finish the year a little wiser, more grounded, and surrounded by people who feel like family,” she concludes.

At IMD, Nadia finally found the bridge she had long been seeking — one that connects business with purpose, and finance with impact. Her MBA experience transformed the way she sees leadership and success, showing her that business can be a powerful system for serving people, communities, and especially SMEs. In a world where finance often focuses on numbers and profit, IMD helped her rediscover its human dimension — where capital becomes a catalyst for positive change. Today, Nadia channels that vision into her work, partnering with institutions to drive social progress through strategic, inclusive investments.