David Mathewson

David Mathewson is a veteran emerging-market finance executive with more than 25 years in impact investing, private equity, and fund operations. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Economics (with distinction, and Phi Beta Kappa) from Stanford University, followed by a Master of Management from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He began his banking career at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York and later served as deputy head of the investment funds department at the U.S. government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in the mid-1990s, along with roles at KPMG Barents Group and Delphos International / Banc One Capital Markets.

From 2000 to 2009, Mathewson was a Managing Director at Soros Fund Management and an affiliate, where he was a founding member of the management team for the Southeast Europe Equity Fund I and II — two private equity funds covering Southeast Europe and Turkey with combined capital of roughly US$520 million. From 2010 to 2015 he served as Senior Managing Director at Franklin Templeton Investments / Darby Private Equity, holding chief operating officer responsibilities across Darby's global financial operations, fund administration, ESG, and business development.

Mathewson joined SEAF as President on August 10, 2016, and subsequently served as Senior Managing Director, a member of the senior management team, and chair of SEAF's Global Investment Committee. In that capacity he supported founder/CEO Bert van der Vaart on strategy, new fund development, post-investment performance, and optimizing SEAF's global network of local fund managers. SEAF, founded in 1989 as the private-equity subsidiary of the NGO CARE and independent since 1995, has managed 35–40+ investment funds and made 400+ risk-capital investments across more than 30 countries.

In 2022, Mathewson moved to Quona Capital, a fintech- and financial-inclusion-focused emerging-markets venture firm, as Partner, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer, based in Washington, D.C.

• Invests in growth-oriented, locally owned SMEs in frontier and emerging markets that are underserved by traditional sources of capital, aiming to deliver both financial returns and measurable social/environmental impact.
• Uses an "ESG+" investment approach, making structured debt and equity investments rather than pure minority equity — a hallmark of SEAF's model.
• Thematic priorities at SEAF center on climate, food security, and financial inclusion, with a strong emphasis on gender-lens and women-owned/led businesses.
• Emphasizes local fund-management capacity and hands-on, post-investment business/operational support, not just capital.
• At Quona, the focus shifts to fintech and financial inclusion for underserved consumers and small businesses across Latin America, Africa, and Asia — Mathewson's role there is operational/compliance leadership rather than deal sourcing.