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Naomi Desai is a core member of the Climate & Sustainability, Social Impact, and Principal Investors & Private Equity practices at Boston Consulting Group. Naomi focuses on helping clients—including philanthropic foundations, financial institutions, development institutions, banks (including multilateral development banks) institutional investors, NGOs, corporates, and private equity funds—deploy capital for impact toward climate and other urgent issues.

She works across the entire capital stack, from catalytic to commercial investors. Naomi is passionate about helping to build the nascent field of climate finance. In 2018, she completed a secondment at LEAP|Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, an organization that provides institutional support to charities looking to scale their impact. Naomi also spent five years on the board of directors of a local health care delivery and community programming organization in Toronto, including serving as the board’s treasurer and vice chair.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

EDUCATION

  • BComm, McGill University

Publications and Videos

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Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Malaria

Extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods will drive increases in the incidence of sickness and death from malaria in Africa, according to a new study.
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Where Are Private Equity Firms on Their Way to Net Zero?

Private equity-owned companies are taking steps to reduce their carbon emissions in both the long and short term. The key is establishing a decarbonization strategy and clear goals.

Equity in Sustainability

Ensuring a just transformation to sustainable energy and food systems is essential. Sir Alok Sharma, Rockefeller Foundation’s Elizabeth Yee, and BCG’s Veronica Chau and Naomi Desai discuss how climate financing can protect the most vulnerable communities across the world.

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What Investors’ Attitudes Reveal About the Future of Climate Finance

The field of climate finance has come a long way in recent years, but questions remain about the market for investment in climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience—even as demand for capital continues to grow.
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Climate Finance Needs a Push. Asset Owners Can Supply One.

Trillions of dollars are needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Private-market investments present near-term opportunities for climate-focused investors to drive change.
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Opportunité d'entreprise canadienne : la technologie climatique

L'élan mondial en faveur des émissions nettes zéro crée d'énormes possibilités pour les innovateurs canadiens en matière de technologie climatique, mais ils auront besoin de soutien pour survivre aux « vallées de la mort» et évoluer pour avoir un impact.
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Climate Tech: The Canadian Venture Opportunity

The global push for Net Zero creates huge opportunities for Canada’s climate tech innovators, but they will need support to survive ‘valleys of death’ and scale to impact.
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Better Climate Financing Depends on Better Data

A new report by The Rockefeller Foundation and Boston Consulting Group finds that without standardized taxonomies, it can be difficult—if not impossible—for catalytic investors to trace financing flows and pinpoint gaps that they can meaningfully target.
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It’s Time for Institutional Investors to Embrace the S in ESG

Institutional investors were late to realize the alpha potential of clean tech and other environmental investments. They should avoid making the same mistake with social impact.