Fatima
Popal
Fatima Popal is the managing partner of The Popal Group (TPG), which owns and operates several popular Washington DC restaurants including Lapis, The Berliner, Lutece, and LaPop.
In addition to her entrepreneurial work in hospitality, Fatima has spent over fourteen years in Afghanistan working in the private sector. Most recently she was a board member and consultant for INFRONTIER. An investment group whose mission was to generate commercial returns by investing in market leaders in Afghanistan that had the potential to shape whole sectors of the economy. As the head of M-Paisa (Mobile Money) she helped to advance the country's telecommunications industry where she built processes and designed the financial blueprint of how mobile money can be used in different capacities within Afghanistan. Fatima has also worked with the World Bank as a Payment Systems Consultant for social safety nets in Afghanistan providing viable payment mechanism options for cash -based transfers, USAID's Mission in Afghanistan and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to conduct outreach to Afghan women as part of the U.S. government's women's empowerment programs.
Fatima graduated from Georgetown and GWU with degrees in international relations and international business. She speaks fluent Dari and Spanish and resides in Virginia with her family.