Aqeela Samat
Senior Associate
Aqeela is an environmental economist with seven years of experience in sustainable, equitable commodity supply chains and nature-based solutions (NbS) across Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa. At Terranomics, Aqeela has led and supported organisations to leverage finance for conservation. This has included leading the design of a multi-million dollar blended finance marine programme for the GFCR, developing high-quality bankable NbS in critical terrestrial and marine landscapes, serving as a technical mentor on NbS accelerator programmes, and establishing a framework of improvement for high-integrity criteria for environmental and social outcomes in carbon projects.
Before joining Terranomics, Aqeela served on the Market Transformation team at WWF-Singapore, where she led engagement to increase corporate sustainability action in Singapore and Southeast Asia. This drove action for sustainable commodity supply chains in the palm oil, seafood and packaging sectors. Aqeela managed multistakeholder platforms, advised large multinationals and small and medium enterprises on sustainable procurement policies, and engaged extensively in sustainable certifications. She also oversaw the development of pilot projects such as a life-cycle analysis knowledge platform for packaging, a palm oil traceability mobile application, and a seafood procurement platform.
Aqeela holds an MSc in Environmental Economics and Environmental Management from the University of York where she was awarded a distinction. Her dissertation, conducted with the Stockholm Environment Institute, quantified the impact of the upcoming European Union’s due diligence policy on palm oil smallholder farmers in Indonesia.
