About us
Established in 2012, we provide economic advisory and business consultancy services to a diverse range of stakeholders in the Middle East and North Africa region ranging from the public sector and private sector, government related enterprises, banks and financial institutions as well as Central Banks and Regulators of the banking and financial system.
Broadly, the company is involved in:
- Providing economic advisory & consulting services to MNCs, businesses, banks & financial Institutions and management consultancies
- Advisory to government & public sector on economic & public policy matters
- Central Bank Advisory Services: payment systems, monetary policy, regulation
- Corporate Governance advisory & consulting services
- Public speaking & thought leadership
Our Team
Dr. Nasser Saidi
Founder & President
Dr. Nasser Saidi is the Founder and President of Nasser Saidi & Associates. Former roles include Chief Economist and Head of External Relations at the DIFC Authority and Executive Director of Hawkamah, The Institute for Corporate Governance and Mudara Institute of Directors as well as the Minister of Economy and Trade and Minister of Industry of Lebanon between 1998-2000 and the first Vice-Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon for two successive mandates. He is Chair of the MENA Clean Energy Business Council, a member of the IMF’s Regional Advisory Group for MENA, a member of the Advisory Board of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) and a member of the advisory board of the Lebanon Oil & Gas Initiative (LOGI). He is active in Fintech, crowdfunding, clean energy and corporate governance.
Aathira Prasad
Director, Macroeconomics
Aathira Prasad is a trained Economist with 15 years of experience in Macroeconomic Research. In her current role as Director of Macroeconomics at Nasser Saidi & Associates, she is involved in providing advisory services, related to macroeconomics and financial market development, often to the policy makers and Federal Authorities across the region. An extension of her previous position as Director of Macroeconomics at the DIFC, this role also includes contributing to periodic publications, white papers as well as various thought leadership pieces directed at the market.
Aathira’s strong background in Economics, Econometrics and Statistics derives from her Master of Philosophy degree in Applied Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, a Masters degree in Economics from Delhi School of Economics, and a Bachelors degree (Honours) in Economics from Delhi University.
More recently, she successfully completed a certificate course on “Machine Learning: Practical Applications” from the London School of Economics & Political Science.