Our story
Opportunities Unlimited was founded in 2008 by Harald Bekkers. Since then, he has been joined by a highly skilled core team who bring a range of complementary strengths. Every member of our team has direct project experience and understands the challenges faced on-the-ground by our clients.
OU provides both individual consultants and teams for short term and long-term assignments. We also work regularly with experienced and trusted consultants, bringing further depth and capacity to the core team.
OU is a member of the Mazi Group, a consortium of leading consultants in PSD.
Dr. Harald Bekkers
Founder & CEO
Harald has over twenty years of leadership experience in institutionalizing systems approaches in programs.After completing a Ph.D. at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research on the role of business development services in India in 2005, Harald joined Katalyst as a senior manager where he was instrumental in developing and scaling the approach to impact several hundred thousand farmers and SMEs and co-developing a monitoring system to capture this impact. From 2011 to 2018 Harald led MDF as the Team Leader and established it as DFAT’s flagship systemic change program. From 2019 to 2025 Harald was the technical director of SHARPE, further adjusting the systems approach to the needs and realities of refugees caught in a situation of protracted displacement. Harald has co-written a series of guidance on managing complex programs working in different contexts. Harald is currently the (part-time) Deputy Coordinator of the DCED, focusing on evidence, fragile and conflict affected settings, and finance and entrepreneurship.
Nabanita Sen Bekkers
Director
Nabanita has eighteen years of expertise in developing and implementing results measurement systems to support effective program management. Since 2010, she has led the results measurement and evidence work for DCED and played a pivotal role in developing the DCED Standard and its supporting guidance. She is an experienced evaluator and reviewed programs including RECONOMY, REACH in Uganda and European Commission-funded portfolio of projects implemented by ITC. Nabanita uses her expertise to provide tailored advice on MEL to programs, social enterprises, donors and impact investors. She has expertise in technical topics including gender and social inclusion, resilience, poverty, system change and Impact Measurement and Management.
Muneeb Zulfigar
Senior Private Sector Development Specialist
Muneeb is a Monitoring and Results Measurement specialist with over eleven years of experience implementing effective monitoring systems across different contexts. He specializes in designing adaptive MRM systems that work in data-scarce environments and support real-time learning and evidence-based decision-making. Muneeb has led on programs such as SHARPE, REACH, and RECONOMY to embed robust MRM frameworks that integrate qualitative and quantitative methods. Previously Muneeb worked with MDF in Pakistan, Fiji, and Sri Lanka, where he held senior roles supporting women’s economic empowerment, leading successful DCED audits and inter-country results aggregation. Muneeb is a contributor to DCED’s global learning agenda, regularly conducting case clinics, webinars and supporting guidance on effective results measurement practice.
Shamminaz Polen
Women’s Economic Empowerment Specialist
Polen brings over twelve years of professional experience with a focus on capacity strengthening for Civil Society Organizations and Women’s Rights Organizations. Her expertise spans women’s economic empowerment, human rights advocacy and feminist approaches to Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning. Polen has led evidence-based research, capacity building, project design, implementation, and strategic communications across sectors including the agriculture, skills development, urban livelihoods and climate change. As a program implementer, she specializes in Results-Based Measurement, guided by the DCED Standard. Polen has designed and delivered gender justice and climate-resilient programs focused on women’s economic inclusion. Polen has worked in the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.