CAPPLUS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Lead, Digital Financial Services
Andrew Lake is CapPlus' lead on digital financial services, including digital finance strategy and institutional assessments as well as design and delivery of digital finance solutions. With 20 years in emerging markets and deep experience in digital financial services, his core strengths are strategy design and execution around novel, customer-oriented digital products. He previously worked as the Principal Operations Specialist on IFC's Global Digital Financial Services team, as well as with Risk Frontier Associates UK, MTN Group and CmO MTN Banking, and CompuServe Africa.
Dr. Joanna Härmä has researched low-fee private schooling for the poor in sub-Saharan Africa and India since 2004 and leads CapPlus' education markets research across Africa, as well as serving as an advisor to the EMII team. She is an Honorary Fellow at the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, and Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex. Dr. Härmä's work is published in the Oxford Review of Education, the International Journal of Educational Development, and the Handbook of International Development and Education, among other academic journals and edited volumes. She has designed and conducted studies for DfID, developed reports for UNESCO, and served as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Education Outcomes
- International Education Expert
Dr. Colenso is an international education expert with field experience in Africa, Asia and Europe. He was Executive Director (Education) at the Children's Investment Fund Foundation and Head of Education at DFID. His track record includes the World Bank, UNICEF, Government of Australia, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, LEGO Foundation, Sesame Workshop, Ark, and the Global Schools Forum. He has a history of building innovative partnerships with governments, multilaterals, civil society and the private sector.
Mr. Quao is a highly seasoned banking and finance expert with 25 plus years' experience in the Ghanaian financial sector working with commercial banks, microfinance, and development finance institutions. He holds a wealth of practical experience and technical knowledge in banking and financial services with a particular focus on strengthening MSMEs and agribusinesses for improved livelihoods, including applying the agriculture value chain approach, supporting enterprise development, and working with stakeholders to increase MSMEs' access to finance. He possesses valuable expertise in the conduct of due diligence on financial institutions and in particular he has been responsible for the provision and management of agricultural credit lines and capacity building programs to financial institutions. He holds an MSc. Accounting & Finance and Chartered Banker (ACIB) since 2001.
Ms. Toomey-Mys is a development finance expert with over 25 years' experience building and growing financial institutions' financial and business development services to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Risk management, product development, market analysis, program design, fund management and institutional assessments are some of Ms. Toomey-Mys' key areas of expertise. In addition, she established and managed a women entrepreneurship development program in Ethiopia, assessed and prepared human resource policies, procedures and guideline manuals for a microfinance bank in Papua New Guinea and transformed microfinance institutions into for profit operations. She has created SME, commercial, agriculture and rural lending units, established microfinance institutions, and provided a wide variety of capacity building within financial institutions in Africa and the Middle East, South and Central Asia, the South Pacific and Eastern Europe. Her experience includes implementing projects funded by DFID, the WorldBank/IFC, USAID, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Senior Banker, Edufinance
Ms.Sodipo is a banking professional with 28 years' experience spanning a broad range of financial sector roles, accrued in a successful career in retail, microfinance and SME banking, and international development consulting. She applies her small business banking experience in conducting CapPlus' Small Business Banking Diagnostics and contributing to implementation teams for MSME and affordable education initiatives. Her in-depth knowledge of relationship management, marketing financial products, and a diversity of banking principles and practices are shared with CapPlus' clients. She is an MBA from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and an MSc in Finance and Management from Cranfield University in the UK.
Geoff Renk oversees CapPlus' accounting and finance activities. He is a licensed CPA with over 30 years of accounting and finance experience, including more than 15 years in a bank senior management capacity. Mr. Renk's areas of expertise include accounting, finance, regulatory reporting, income taxes, accounting and reporting systems, and risk management. He has worked with CapPlus since 2003, initially setting up its accounting and reporting system, and later in an oversight capacity as its chief financial officer. Earlier in his career, he worked in national and international accounting firms, and provided accounting and consulting services to a broad range of clients, including financial institutions, real estate firms, and not-for-profit organizations. His consulting assignments included evaluation of loan portfolios, transaction due diligence, asset workouts, litigation support, and strategic planning.
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Senior Advisor
Gerry Monteiro has worked with CapPlus since 2006, including as Vice President Capacity Building, and now serves as investment head on CapPlus' Education Markets Impact Initiative team. He has over 40 years' experience as a banking executive in South Asia, Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Monteiro's experience includes setting up the Industrial Bank of Oman, an investment banking and project finance institution in the Sultanate and serving as its first CEO. He was HSBC India's Financial Controller and Chief Operations Officer and subsequently its Deputy CEO, managing all geographical and functional business units in implementing the strategy. He has led a number of start-up and turnaround assignments within Africa and Asia based financial institutions (commercial banks and non-bank finance companies) as well as strategic re-organization of both large and small banks in emerging markets. He has extensive risk management, credit, technology, and investment experience.
Lynn Pikholz - CEO, Founder, President
Ms. Pikholz, founder and CEO of CapPlus, is an emerging economy small business finance expert and specialist in market-based poverty reduction strategies. Lynn brings over 25 years' experience in micro and SME finance, including a focus on women entrepreneurs and the intersection of affordable education and SME finance. Currently, Lynn is leading CapPlus' launch of EMII (Education Markets Impact Initiative) to use finance as a driver of cost effective and sustainable improvements in learning outcomes, transforming the affordable education finance market. Ms. Pikholz has developed and led trainings, published papers, and recently directed extensive research on low fee schools in sub-Saharan Africa. CapPlus' Small Business Banking Network, comprising SME-focused financial institution members from emerging economies, was established under her leadership before merging into the G20's SME Finance Forum. Ms. Pikholz's earlier experience and publications includes MSME finance, impact investing, financing of affordable education and low-income housing.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Is Director
Ms. Railsback is Director, Industry Building and Impact for CapPlus' FIRST+ programme (Financial Institution Resilience an d ST rengthening) in Ghana. She has more than 25 years' experience in development finance, many of them at ShoreBank Corporation where she led implementation of major strategic initiatives, including strategies to serve new customer segments as well as marketing, IT and human resources strategies. At CapPlus, she also coordinates CapPlus' low-fee private school market research and manages thought leadership and corporate communications, as well as leads the performance and impact measurement initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Banker and Financial Consultant
- Senior Banker
Ms. Miller is a commercial banker and financial consultant with over 30 years of banking and international development experience. She has conducted SME diagnostics, developed market segmentation strategies, SME banking strategies, created financial products and cross-selling strategies, revised operating procedures, and developed case studies, including on affordable private primary school finance models. She also applies her expertise to value chains, developing new sources of credit, structuring appropriate financial instruments and procedures, identifying alternative collateral and increasing access to finance for SMEs, agricultural producers and agribusinesses. She has extensive experience in designing, using, and evaluating credit enhancements, as well as host government, provincial, and donor guarantee programs. Additionally she is an experienced training developer.
Job Titles:
- Senior Banker, Agriculture Finance
Mr. Mawuena Kofi Abba is a rural and agricultural finance professional with a rich experience in agronomy, financial inclusion, MSME and agricultural finance. He has worked in various roles within agricultural finance in Ghana for 12 years with an emphasis on capacity building, credit management and product development. He previously worked with ProCredit SLS, Fidelity Bank, Advans SLC and with IPC GmbH, a German financial sector consulting firm as a Senior Agric Finance Expert.
Mr. Ahmad Jazayeri has 35 years' experience in proposal writing, design, feasibility studies, implementation and evaluation of development projects and programs focused on private sector promotion and market systems development. His particular areas of expertise are in development finance, impact evaluation of SMEs and MFIs, financial literacy capacity building, MSME and agricultural finance product development and market research, value chain analysis and support programs, smallholder agriculture, the informal sector, cooperatives, private sector export promotion and women economic empowerment. He has worked as Team Leader in Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Afghanistan and Niger.
Mr. Andrew Muriithi is an experienced SME banker, including previous positions as Head of Enterprise Banking at Sidian Bank and Unit Head, Large and Medium Enterprises-SME Banking at Chase Bank in Kenya. His areas of expertise include relationship management, business advisory, structuring appropriate finance, value chain development and healthcare finance, trade finance, portfolio management, financial statement analysis, credit analysis and risk management, market research, product development and innovation, and leadership development. He recently served as Director, Business Development - Eastern Africa - Stichting Medical Credit Fund Kenya.
Mr. Augustine Akowuah has more than 15 years' experience in MSME banking and microfinance, including senior management positions in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. He has served as Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer in various MSME institutions. His focus areas include institutional strengthening in MSME banking, risk management, business development, personnel development and operational efficiency and the management of institutions. He held a number of positions at ProCredit Ghana/Fidelity Bank where he worked for nine years.
Mr. Benjamin Ofosu Agyemang brings a breadth of experience to CapPlus, from creating and advising microfinance institutions on investment opportunities, process mapping, corporate finance serving as a Senior Investment Officer, as well as advising companies on governance, strategic planning, operations and serving as general manager. In CapPlus' FIRST+ project, he assesses financial institutions' investment readiness and recommends strategies to become more attractive to investors who can contribute more capital. He has a Bachelor's degree in Actuarial Science, a Masters in Marketing, and is a Certified Private Equity Specialist.
Mr. Binyam Tadesse is leading CapPlus' FIRST+ programme (Financial Institution Resilience an d ST rengthening) in Ghana. He is an SME finance and access to finance expert with extensive experience advising microfinance institutions and commercial banks in the areas of strategic planning, market research, product development, risk management and institutional strengthening, including in agriculture finance, education finance and women's entrepreneurship. He set up Ethiopia's first SME-focused financial institution, and assisted microfinance institutions in digitizing their operations while working with a fintech company. He began his career as a financial sector regulator for Ethiopia's central bank.
Mr. Christopher Engelhardt is an agricultural economist by profession - and a finance, banking and MSME/agricultural/rural finance expert with more than 18 years of experience in financial institution management and banking operations as well as consulting and policy advice in over 15 sub-Saharan countries. He held several senior management positions in SME banks and MFIs in Western and Southern Africa. He served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Directorate of Economic Policy Advisory Services (EPAS) at the Ministry of Finance in Namibia focussing on regulatory frameworks for non-bank financial institutions, financial sector stability and market conduct, financial inclusion - including microfinance, micro-insurance as well as on financial capability and education. Over the last years, he managed various expert teams as team leader in agricultural finance, biodiversity finance, digital finance and economic development projects in various Sub-Saharan African countries for an array of donors, including KfW, GIZ and MCF. In addition to the team leadership, he also contributes as subject-matter senior expert in areas like good institutional governance, institutional stability, ESMS and general risk management frameworks.
Mr. Craig Feinberg has over 25 years of international microfinance and small enterprise development experience, much of it in sub-Saharan Africa. He has initiated, developed and managed a complex multi-donor nationwide microfinance sector development project, and was a long-term resident technical advisor for three microfinance institutions, two non-bank financial institutions and two commercial banks. He also served as a long-term intermittent SME lending expert for two large commercial banks in East and West Africa. He has extensive experience with rural and urban individual and group lending methodologies; small and medium enterprise lending; product design and management; training and technical assistance; market research and writing policy and procedure manuals, reports and proposals.
Mr. Cyrille Arnould is Founder & CEO, Annycent Capital Partners. Annycent Capital Partners is a newly incorporated company based in Luxembourg, backed by a leading U.S. private investment firm, dedicated to supporting and accelerating investment outcomes that are aligned with the U.N. Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Agreement. Investments are designed to advance environmental and social objectives in emerging markets and generate risk-adjusted returns for investors. Previously, Mr. Arnould was a senior advisor at the European Investment Bank Climate Office which he joined after leading the EIB's Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund. Earlier, he was a Senior Officer at EIB's Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Department, where he oversaw the development of private equity and microfinance portfolios. Prior to joining the EIB in 2003, Mr. Arnould was a Senior Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation's SME Department, which he joined after four years with IFC's Financial Markets Group, Sub-Saharan Africa Department. He was previously IFC's Senior Investment Officer based in Russia. Before joining IFC, Mr. Arnould worked in Russia for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, first as Investment Manager for Smolensk Regional Venture Fund and then as Principal Banker in Moscow. Mr. Arnould holds a Diploma from the Political Science Institute and a Master's in Law, both from the University of Strasbourg, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Senior Banker
- Senior Financial Services and Product Development Expert
Mr. Dominic Owusu Ansah is a senior financial services and product development expert with over 15 years of progressively responsible experience in financial services and product development for Ghanaian financial institutions. He has designed and developed financial services focused on youth; education; agricultural value chains; renewable energy; water, sanitation and hygiene; and auto loans. He supported the design and implementation of pay-for-performance incentive grants for financial institutions to address barriers preventing them from increasing agricultural loans. Much of his career has focused on increasing finance and other services to agribusinesses.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Creative Director / Founder of Metropolitan Group
Mr. Eric Friedenwald-Fishman (Board Chair) is the creative director / founder of Metropolitan Group. Since Metropolitan Group's founding in 1989, he has served as the key strategist and campaign counsel on hundreds of international, national, and regional projects, and he has developed extensive relationships with nonprofit, corporate, public sector, and philanthropic decision makers. Mr. Friedenwald-Fishman has worked extensively on economic development, development finance, social enterprise, poverty alleviation, food security, public health, human rights and education access and equity campaigns and programs. His clients have included Ford Foundation, World Agroforestry Centre, NASA, USDA Forest Service, IFC and numerous NGOs. He has served as creative director of initiatives in Latin America, Africa, SE Asia and North America. He has led resource development campaigns that have raised over nearly $2 billion in philanthropic and public sector investment for social impact initiatives. He is the author of Marketing That Matters (published by Berrett-Koehler in five languages) and is the principle author of the Public Will Building model, a social change engagement approach used internationally to advance systemic changes.
Job Titles:
- Data Analyst
- Inclusive Finance Data Analyst
Mr. Howard Brady is a highly skilled data analyst specializing in the inclusive finance sector, especially microfinance institutions. He creates databases using data from multiple sources to create models, analyze trends, and provide information to management to improve financial performance and operations. For example, he led a team to correct a serious delinquency management issue by analyzing a pool of 25,000 loans made by 100 loan officers to identify trends that would explain 50%PAR>30 at a Philippine MFI. Similarly, he created a 1,052 branch reporting master database from separate reporting systems for an MFI to analyze branches on key metrics, including longitudinal analysis of trends at an MFI. In addition to analyzing data, Howard enhances and trains microfinance professionals on Microfin, the leading Microfinance projection and budgeting tool, and conducts frequent trainings on strategic management and financial analysis for microfinance practitioners.
Job Titles:
- Senior Banker
- SME Credit Specialist
Mr. Ian Paddick is an SME credit specialist with over 30 years of experience in commercial banking, half of it in Africa. He is an expert in credit risk analysis, credit process review and re-engineering and portfolio management. He is also an accredited trainer and skills coach. Previously, he served as Credit Director and in other senior credit positions for Barclays Africa in Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda. His responsibilities included portfolio management and monitoring, building lenders' credit capability through training and coaching, designing early warning procedures and re-engineering credit processes. He has served on various country executive and credit committees. Prior to his credit responsibilities, he worked as Head of Local Business and as Corporate Relationship Manager for Barclays in the UK, among other banking roles.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Freelance Professional Community Organiser
Mr. Ishmael Mkhabela is a freelance Professional Community Organiser and was involved in community disputes mediation, leadership development, nation building, social and economic justice advocacy, and strategic conversations facilitation for over four decades. His experience and expertise encompass corporate governance, policy formulation and implementation support, leadership and institution development as well as community development and city regeneration. Mr. Mkhabela started his career as a school teacher. He went on to pioneer and establish the efficacy of broad-based community organizing in South Africa. At the core of the latter was the training of community organizers, values-based leadership development and community improvement in support of community, business and government stakeholders. A Black Consciousness and Black Theology proponent, Mr. Mkhabela has fostered the ecumenical mission of religious congregations for the protection and advancement social and economic rights. In the apartheid era, he founded, served or led multiple initiatives, and in transition from apartheid to democracy he founded and was CEO of Interfaith Community Development Association that supported the National Peace Accord's peacemaking processes, and served on boards of numerous organizations. He currently serves as Chairperson of Steve Biko Foundation and The Johannesburg Inner City Partnership and is a board member of CapitalPlus Exchange, FinMark Trust, Centre for Development and Enterprise, City Year South Africa, Mbhetsa Academy for Maths and Science, Donaldson Trust, and Social Housing Company (SOHCO).
Mr. John Guzowski has over 30 years' experience in working with financial cooperatives, micro finance institutions and banks around the world in MSME and Ag sector product development, loan appraisal, internal control, risk and delinquency management, governance, and strategic planning. He is a specialist in applying the value chain approach to financing, and in creating tailor-made tools to facilitate implementation.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Investment Advisor in the Chicago Office of HPM Partners LLC
Mr. Karim Ahamed is a Partner and Investment Advisor in the Chicago office of HPM Partners LLC, a leading registered investment advisory firm. Prior to joining HPM Partners, he was a managing director with J.P. Morgan Private Banking, Chicago. Mr. Ahamed has spent a considerable portion of his career in the UK, where he held senior investment and wealth management positions with Coutts & Co and UBS AG. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William & Mary and his Master of Management degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He is a CFA charter holder and member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Chicago and the UK Society of Investment Professionals.
Mr. Neeraj Sharma is the former CEO of Indian School Finance Company (ISFC). During his seven-year tenure, ISFC opened 150 more branches and grew assets under management 20-fold to fund loans to more than 10,000 schools across India, most of them LCPSs. He acquired deep knowledge of education financing by meeting school management and also by observing their loan repayment behavior. He also designed various policies on governance, compliance, operations, treasury, ALM management, and introduced technology in the company, developing customized software which made decisioning uniform across the branches for extending loans and also helped in charging risk-based pricing. He is a certified Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant with diverse experience of 25 years in companies across various sectors such as ACC, Bridgestone, BILT, AIG and Fullerton India.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Independent Consultant
Mr. Nicholas Burnett is now an independent consultant, a Senior Fellow at Results for Development (R4D), a Founding Partner at Oxford Philanthropic, chairs the Board of UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning, serves on the Boards of Educate! and Americans for UNESCO, on the NORRAG Consultative Committee, and on the Advisory Boards of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area and of the Global Business School Network, and is a Special Professor of International Education at Nottingham University. He was previously Managing Director at R4D (where he founded the Global Education Practice), UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Director of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report, and World Bank Human Development Manager for West and Central Africa. He was educated in economics at Oxford (BA), Harvard (Henry Fellow) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (MA, PhD).
Job Titles:
- Development Finance Professional
- Senior Banker
Mr. Paa Kwesi Awuku-Darko is a development finance professional with over fourteen years of experience in project management and technical assistance services in agricultural finance, enterprise development, and digital financial services. His areas of expertise include agricultural value chain development, rural and agricultural finance, impact investment, blended finance, digital financial services, and other inclusive finance approaches such as value chain finance and community-based microfinance models such as self help groups and village savings and loans associations. Mr. Awuku-Darko's previous roles include serving as Branch Manager in charge of agricultural lending at ProCredit Ghana; Regional Coordinator, Upper East Region for ACDI/VOCA on the USAID ADVANCE program in Ghana; and Associate Program Officer on the Financial Inclusion for Smallholder Farmers in Africa Project (FISFAP)-Mastercard Foundation and AGRA partnership. He holds professional certificates in digital finance, SME finance, and financial inclusion policy, as well as an academic background in development finance and agriculture.
Job Titles:
- Key Member of CapPlus' Education Markets Impact Initiative
- Senior Banker
Mr. Roger Keighley is a key member of CapPlus' Education Markets Impact Initiative, where he is responsible for sourcing deals, conducting due diligence, structuring transactions and implementing/ managing capacity building. He has over 30 years' experience in SME finance, corporate, and investment banking, and was previously Norfund's Investment Director, Financial Institutions, where he identified equity and debt investment opportunities in financial institutions and conducted due diligence on potential investees. Mr. Keighley has strengthened SME finance at multiple financial institutions, primarily in Africa. In his various investment capacities he has monitored the implementation of transactions, managed investment portfolios and advised an international banking consortium bidding to purchase a microfinance bank through privatization. He has held bank and insurance company directorships in Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania and serves as chair of a bank board's risk committee.
Job Titles:
- Senior Banker, Leasing
- Senior Financial Professional
Mr. Stephen Strauss is a senior financial professional with over 30 years' experience in the financial sector, with a focus on bank credit, leasing, and other forms of credit to MSMEs. He has managed banks and leasing companies, and has provided technical assistance on credit, risk management and leasing to banks, leasing companies and other non-bank credit institutions in developing countries of Southeast Europe, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. His financial sector management and advisory experience includes senior management positions with banks in credit and in risk management, and technical assistance to banks and to NBFIs in lending and providing leasing to MSMEs. He has provided financial sector expertise for donor-funded projects including USAID, the World Bank, DFID and KfW.
Job Titles:
- Development Finance IT Specialist
Mr. Sumit Bagchi has worked with CapPlus over the past decade to deliver information technology solutions to our clients and other development organizations, including embedding impact measurement into financial institutions' MIS. His 18 years' experience in the financial sector gives him a strategic understanding of technology and its application and delivery for achieving overall business objectives. Mr. Bagchi designs and implements IT systems ranging from simple to complex, transitions organizations to digital operations, and develops IT strategies and manages their implementation. Financial institution clients include microfinance institutions, banks, and leasing companies in Africa, India, East Asia and the Pacific.
Job Titles:
- International Training Consultant
- Marketing, Sales and Customer Service
Mr. Terry Lennon is an experienced international training consultant in marketing, sales, leadership, change management, customer service and strategy for the financial services sector. He has worked extensively in East Africa over the last 9 years and has trained over 3,000 personnel and has expanded his focus to include Ghana. Terry has also worked as a marketing and communications consultant with the microfinance sector in Jordan and with the financial sector in Iraq, Serbia and Egypt. He has a strong focus on understanding the marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion), segmentation, negotiation skills and meeting the strategic goals of financial institutions. Terry worked in Bank of Ireland as Head of Sales and Marketing for their Credit Card Division in the UK and Ireland. He was also managing director of a company in Ireland for 10 years.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Senior Service Designer
Ms. Jennifer Hoffmann is Senior Service Designer, Tesco Bank where she uses UX skills and methods to collaboratively design better services and a better experience for both the customer and the employees of the bank from the time when they recognise the need through onboarding to being supported to use the service. While the bank encourages a digital journey, it is important that customers are able to use whichever channel they prefer. Ms. Hoffmann is an experienced consultant, having founded and led RiskFrontier Consultants Ltd after a career in management in various innovative financial institutions, which included CEO of TEBA Bank and of MTN Mobile Money in South Africa. Her consulting work focused on technology for accessible banking, including branchless banking and mobile banking, business strategy, regulatory issues, and the establishment, growth and transformation of microfinance institutions. Ms. Hoffman's objective is to bring the strategic approach and methodologies of user-centered design to the institutional capacity and product and delivery channel design. She has worked with the IFC, Finmark Trust (South Africa), CGAP, and a broad range of financial institutions in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Job Titles:
- Senior Banker, Gender Finance
Ms. Maya Margie led and implemented BLC Bank's We Initiative, the first program in the MENA region dedicated to the economic empowerment of women. During her tenure, the program's IRR reached 33%. Maya has over 25 years' expertise in the financial sector, pioneering digital transformations, women empowerment programs, financial and nonfinancial products and services development, brand marketing and strategy.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Co - Founder of Antara Health
Ms. Nthenya Mule is a co-founder of Antara Health, which provides patient-centred care coordination and accompaniment through Kenya's fragmented health service landscape, and ensures quality health care is provided at an affordable rate. Ms. Mule is also an independent consultant who engages in business and strategic advisory services for businesses and organisations in the financial services, agriculture, health and education sectors. She has professional experience in over ten sub-Saharan countries and is a director of Fusion Investment Management Services Limited. She was Head of Finance at the Avenue Group, Head of Business Development, East Africa at Chandler Corporation Healthcare Division, and Manager of Fanisi Business Advisory Services. She established Acumen Fund's East Africa office, identifying portfolio companies and developing investment cases. She has a Masters in International Economics & International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a BA in Economics from Grinnell College.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Management Consultant
- Senior Banker, Edufinance
Ms. Ololade Adesola is a chartered management consultant with vast experience in finance, micro-lending and edufinance. Before going into consulting, she worked in financial institutions serving all levels of the economy from microentrepreneurs to large corporates. Since 2019, she has worked in various aspects of edufinance, including appraising financial institutions' readiness to enter the education sector, developing strategic plans for building impactful and profitable edufinance portfolios, designing edufinance products and overseeing pilot tests, training FSP staff in effective delivery of edufinance products, and monitoring edufinance portfolios.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Chief Business Strategist and Development Officer of ResAm Capital ( Pty ) Ltd
Ms. Vimbai Tsopotsa is Chief Business Strategist and Development Officer of ResAm Capital (Pty) Ltd and etfSA Investment Services (Pty) Ltd which provide portfolio management, money market and cash management services, and business solutions. Prior to joining the ResAm Capital start-up team and etfSA Investment Services she was Executive Director of Aigle TM Consulting which provided business rescue and turnaround services. She also was a corporate and business banking Account Executive for Standard Bank of South Africa for 12 years. Ms. Tsopotsa has hands-on experience in asset management, banking, turnarounds, portfolio management, project management and enterprise development for nonprofit organizations. She is a non-executive trustee of FinMark Trust, an independent non-profit trust committed to making financial markets work for the poor by promoting financial inclusion and regional financial integration. She also serves as a mentor and life coach. She has a Masters in Business Administration from Africa University and a Bachelor's degree from National University of Science & Technology, Zimbabwe.
Natasha K. Quist has over 25 years of international private and NGO management experience. Currently, she is the Senior Advisor for West and Central Africa for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation based in Abuja.
Prior to joining the Gates Foundation she was the West and Central Africa Regional Director for Save the Children International, based in Senegal and covering 11 countries (Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea). She was highly successful in scaling the World Wildlife Fund Program in Africa, as its Regional Director where she was responsible for 28 field offices staffed by over 300 people. Ms. Quist began her career on Wall Street, where she worked for various firms, including Salomon Brothers. She later worked for Walt Disney Company, and Nike Inc, where she focused on strategy, business planning, and new business development. Ms. Quist holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BSc from Leeds University.
Peter Hinton has worked with CapPlus over the past decade and is currently CapPlus' Senior Advisor of Affordable Education. In addition to his expertise in low-fee schools, he is an investment specialist and former African fund manager with a background in private equity investment and banking, with more than more than 25 years' emerging market experience. Previously Mr. Hinton was CEO and founder of Enterprise Banking Group, a Botswana-based regional banking group that invested in banks in Kenya and Botswana. He also worked at CDC plc, a private equity investor in emerging markets and four years as Managing Director of Africa Trading, a South African fair trade business that won awards and international recognition. He currently heads up the Summit Development Group and serves as a core part of CapPlus Education Markets Impact team.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- International Development Specialist
Ms. Dababneh is an international development specialist, practitioner and program manager with over 20 years of professional experience in MSME finance, banking, private sector development, economic growth, and programmatic and financial management. During her years as a Regional Director at CGAP and a Senior Financial Services Advisor at Development Innovations Group (DIG), Ms. Dababneh managed capacity building programs to financial institutions, including microfinance institutions, in North, East, and South Africa, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central and Southeast Asia. She has extensive technical experience in leading public and private sector financial and economic development programs, with comprehensive management skills in all aspects of operations, including strategic planning and budgeting.
Mr. Vaci has a 35-year international career with experience in 50+ countries across four continents. He is an expert in customer relationship management, executive management, business development, marketing and sales. He has built eleven SME/retail banks in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and is former Director of CRM for 26 EMEA countries at Citibank. He has served in senior management positions to CEO / Board Chairman level, and is an internationally recognized presenter, author, trainer and MBA lecturer.
Job Titles:
- Senior Banker, Edufinance
Mr. Orlesky is a seasoned micro- and SME banker with over 30 years' global experience both as a banker and consultant, including his role as CEO of two European banks over a six year period. His in-depth experience as a "bank operator" makes him well qualified to advise bank partners on many aspects of their operations. Recently, Mr. Orlesky has been actively involved in consulting financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa on education finance and various aspects of banking, including lending policies, processes and workflows and appropriate corporate governance structures.
Mr. Wyer is a results oriented professional with over 20 years of global experience in leadership and consulting roles in banking and development finance. He is a strategic leader that approaches problem solving with a hands-on, entrepreneurial attitude that delivers results that are effective and profitable. He has successfully built and run impact development funds in Sub-Saharan Africa and has designed and implemented bank development programs for IFC in Africa and Asia. Mr. Wyer has experience working and living in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Russia and has the proven ability to diplomatically and effectively work across various sectors with all levels of international/local business leaders and governments.
Mr. Yves Anougbre Kouadio has over 17 years of professional experience in the development field in finance and administrative management as well as project management, grant management, procurement management, project proposal writing, operations management, team capacity building, project startup and close out and other skills such as conference and workshops and field mission and logistics coordination. He has worked for various international organizations (ACDI/VOCA, Development Alternative Incorporated, OIC International, Habitat for Humanity Cote d'Ivoire), and other local organizations in various positions. Based in Ghana and fluent in French, he has worked in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. His previous position was the Finance and Administrative Manager for ADVANCE in Ghana, an ACDI/VOCA project funded by USAID.
Mr. Zibrim Biosama has over 15 years' experience in banking both in Ghana and outside Ghana, as well as in providing consulting services to banks and MFIs in credit risk management, credit lending methodology, credit restructuring, credit portfolio management (MSME finance and portfolio management), and arrears and loan recovery management (with a focus on the prevention, mitigation and reduction of credit risk). He is an experienced credit and credit risk manager who has led teams both during periods of strong portfolio growth and during times of consolidation.