Dr. Iris Mwanza is founder of an African-based technology company focused on harnessing the mobile phone as a vehicle for financial services. In 2012, USAID awarded her company an innovation award for a micro insurance product sold on the mobile phone.

She sits on several corporate boards including a Zambian copper mining company, an asset management company, and an HIV/AIDS non-governmental organization that provides HIV/AIDS care and treatment program in several African countries.

Between 2005 and 2009 Dr. Mwanza served as Chief Operations Officer for the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), the largest HIV/AIDS non-profit organization in Africa. As head of operations, she was responsible for various HIV/AIDS treatment programs, oversaw 580 employees, and managed a $30 million annual budget of US government and privately donated funds. 

She holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and completed law degrees from the University of Zambia and from Cornell University.

She has worked as a corporate lawyer in Zambia and at the Washington D.C. law firm, Arnold and Porter. She has also worked at the World Bank in Washington DC, in the South East Asia Finance and Private Sector Development Group.